made me laugh :P

Su Blackwell: Book Sculptures!

Su Blackwell is a very unique artist who sculpts using books. She depicts scenes from stories in a three dimensional sculpture using the paper and words from the book itself.

Here are my two personal favourites: 

Little Red Riding Hood

Alice in Wonderland 

She also created a set for the theatrical production of "The Snow Queen" at The Rose Theatre in the United Kingdom:

I'm always mind boggled whenever I find an artist like this. I just keep wondering where the inspiration would come to make something like this and how one would begin with the execution. It would take several days of planning - imagine wondering how much you need to cut out and where the shadows would land and the different layers. What would be in the background and in the foreground. I think Little Red Riding Hood is one of my favourites because she has lighting included in it. She also framed it in a glass case. It gave it the 'frozen, snow globe' effect (as I like to call it). 

The British artist's work is enchanting and inspiring because of several aspects. She uses stories to make figures tell their stories. Her talent combines different arts together - the writing influences the charming visual sculptures which is made out of the physical story itself. Reading expands the mind and creates wonderful images in the brain. Su Blackwell re created these images in an interesting way using the same material that created the physical story. 

Making something similar to one of these would be insane. I may just try it one day.

Su Blackwell's website.

Demetri Martin

If you're in need of some humour, click here.
Demetri Martin is a comedian who enjoys transferring jokes to doodles.  His doodles are refreshing and funny, but the one I liked in particular was "Self portrait from a distance." I began to wonder what it would look like if he expanded the distance even further, even passed the solar system. Would the doodle just be black? After all, the Universe has no edge, just infinite space that goes on and on and on and on. Humans are just one fraction of this fascinating universe, maybe one day astronomers will have found an 'edge' to the universe...in the mean time we continue to bask in the infinite-ness (I like making up words and phrases) of it.
I'm not sure how these doodles brought me to talking about the universe. Anyway, check them out, they're fun to look at. If you want to see more, click for his Twitter. He posts a lot of doodles there.

Spotting Unusual Graffiti on the Internet

I guess the title says most of what this post contains. Here are some interesting words that have been illegally placed on buildings and other man made structures around the world:

In my opinion, I love all three of these. Not only do they make me laugh, but they are not something I normally see. Most of the graffiti I see is tagging - which I personally hate. 

I enjoy the graffiti that shows the artist has a lot of skill, not just the paint and the urge to vandalize a building. I guess these don't take much skill, however I enjoy them just as much as professional graffiti. 

The problem I'm having is answering this question: Are these examples of Graffiti or just vandalism?

Are these pictures art or just words? Or both?

Just something to think about. I would love to hear some opinions! 

The Evolution of the Coke Bottle

I was on StumbleUpon when I came across this picture and I thought I should share it with the few lovely people who happen to pass by my blog. 
At first I wasn't too sure if Coca-Cola even existed in 1899, so I Google-d it. Turns out these were the exact dates when the designs of the bottles changed. Interesting, huh? I like the way you can see the shape/structure of the glass bottles become more and more modern-ized. 
However my favourite part of this picture is the evolution of the logo imprint on the bottles. Faintly you can see the different fonts that changed through the years. I wanted to learn more on the different logos over time  so I found this picture: 




I realized that originally the logo was just the typeface reading "Coca-Cola," which is interesting because whenever I see think of Coca-Cola I always picture the bright red and white logo popping out at me. 
I find it interesting how the company kept the script typeface until now, even after all typefaces became modernized and more "Helvetica-like." The typeface in this logo is called Spencerian Script, and it was developed around the 1840s. At the time, it was a very popular font - most formal writing was done in either this typeface or another similar to it. 
Here is a coupon from 1888, interesting how the red from the newer logo isn't even present in this design. 

I find this fascinating, I hope whoever reads this finds it interesting as well. Have a wonderful day! :)

Skull Drawing

Our latest project in art was to draw several white items on white cloth - one of those items being a skull. I am very happy with the outcome of this project because I think the shading was done well (mostly on the teacup handle). I really focused on keeping my work very faint at first and not adding too many outlines as there are no outlines in real life - just light against dark and vice versa.
If I had to choose my favourite part of this drawing it would be my teacup handle. I thought the handle looked real and the shadows were perfect. I really concentrated on adding the darker shadow towards the end of the project and keeping it lighter in case I messed up. I am happy with the whole teacup, however I like the handle the best.
I had a lot of trouble with the left side of the skull because it had a lot of details and gaps on it. As time ran out I decided to simplify it instead of struggling and having it ruin the drawing. I am satisfied with what I did because I was still able to show the dark and light areas of the skull. I had a lot of trouble with not smudging the piece - especially when it came time to draw the background. Drawing the shadows of the cloth was very difficult for me, however without them the piece looked as if there was something missing.
The skull drawing project is my favourite from the year thus far. The movement of this drawing is nice because the cloth shadows at the top lead the eye into the centre of the drawing. The shadows are balanced and shapes create a dynamic repetition. Overall, I am happy with this work and glad we were able to do this project.

AGO Trip

At our recent AGO trip we were required to write about two pieces that made us think/had an emotional affect on us, one from our tech class and one from art.

Contemporary Art Exhibit:

Younger by Kori Newkirk was astonishing. It inspired me because I know these materials were items I would play with as a child, I'd wear them around my neck and wrists while not knowing they could make such wonderful art. I thought NewKirk's design was absolutely brilliant, she took ordinary objects and made them into something original and beautiful.

Canadian Art Exhibit:

The Bird Shop, St. Lawrence Street by Maurice Cullen was my selection for the lower level. This one was fairly similar to the pieces around it, but something about this painting caught my eye in a way no other painting on the floor did. Part of my attraction to this piece was seeing the shapes form the entire image, as I thought about this I also visualized what the process of painting this would be like. I thought of the shapes that would form the houses with the windows, doors and roofs. Also the outline of the figures and horses interested me. One thing that I also felt while looking at this piece was a type of nostalgia. It was like I felt nostalgic for a place I've never been to or seen in real life. The painter made the image so beautiful and calm that I would personally want to see where he set up his canvas to paint such a stunning scene.