A while back, I went right-click crazy and saved a giant folder of
images by Davide De Agostini. His work can be unsettling to look at in some cases, but is nonetheless utterly compelling.
I poured through these beautiful, macabre images and admired his ability to fuse warm aesthetics with chilling, haunted faces and bones.
I’m reminded of Stephen Gammell pieces, brought to life with color.
Oh Lordy, I’ve been here…
Light Figurine caught my eye with stunning phoenix sculptures. The blue phoenix appears floating in flight.
How gorgeous are these grand fire birds?
But if you want something completely different…how about a snake in a purple hat?
Or a snake in a straw hat? Until now, I’d never given much thought to the potential existence of chapeau shops for snakes. But the natural world is full of surprises, isn’t it?
This one is simply called CAT SCIENTIST.
Toronto based illustrator and sculptor Bailey Henderson works in a variety of mediums; oil paint, bronze, resin casting.
I’m partial to her Monstrorum Marines series, which recreates the images of mythological sea beasties depicted on Medieval maps.
Her detail is as fine as the pen and brush strokes on those antiquated documents. Gorgeous.
Her bronze castings are nice done as well.
Calisto Jewelry has a touching little story behind it, told by the daughter of the creator.
About a year ago, my father (45) came to me and showed me a piece of jewelry he made out of scrap metal. The jewelry junkie inside me felt like my world had just turned upside down.
I was full of surprise, admiration and love for my father who just lost his job but still remained a creative person that never stopped using his hands to bring some beauty and magic to the world.
From that day on we’ve been designing different types of pendants, earrings and bracelets, all inspired by mythology, ancient cultures, Indian tribes, Celtic symbols, etc. My father is a real modern polymath: he draws beautifully with both hands, carves sculptures out of wood, used to be a tattoo artist for a while and now, he makes beautiful jewelry.
There are some really stunning pieces in his collection, all of which are one of a kind (never duplicated), and he takes requests!
Sarah Sheil’s artwork has me mesmerized. Here is a detail from my favorite piece:
She creates dark, mystical images that glow and swirl with light and shadow. We see shades of iconic figures…life and death.
Her subjects seem poised between the earth realm and the cosmos (or the underworld).
Magic is afoot, indeed.
I’m in the process of switching computers to a new laptop, so today we have a quick post. Enjoy the surrealist work of Leonora Carrington
X-Presion, a unique, cutting edge hair studio, recently debuted a coloring technique that mimics colored pixels.
At this stage in my life, I doubt I’d ever be daring enough to do such a thing (and it might look a bit less striking on blondes).
Side note: back in college I had jet black hair, and when I went to a professional salon to restore my normal color, I ended up with something similar to this…and by “similar” I mean every color between blonde and black in splotches with no particular pattern. It looked like I’d lost a bet or fallen victim to a seriously awful prank. I wish I’d taken a picture.
Would you try this?
If it has “oddities” in the title, there’s a good chance I’ll go down a massive rabbit hole exploring it. Thus, Oddities Store was an enjoyable find indeed.
I desperately need these:
They have bisected animals…
Bell jar skulls of all sorts…
Fish sticks (literally):
Diaphonized beauties:
Skulls on plaques:
Lovely shadow boxes:
And…Lung Salve!
Browse the rest of the collections at the Oddities Store.
Jordan Elise makes delightfully unique faux taxidermy creatures she calls Horrible Adorables.
I like her layered felt technique. Who would’ve thought to make animals out of multicolored felt, cut and positioned like scales? Now that’s imagination!
Some of the eyes are eerily real, which (in my opinion) is a great design element.
Wouldn’t one of these be excellent in a child’s bedroom? I wish I’d had a Horrible Adorable as a kid!
SheWalksSoftly 