I was captivated by this paper clay sculpture by Pat Lillich. She is called The Courtesan; a haunting memento mori of skin deep beauty.
This one, a smooth, nearly alien angel, conjures feelings of redemption and transformation.
And some characters are just plain fun.
Doubleparlour is a husband and wife team, specializing in peculiar custom toys and sculptures. They exhibit all sorts of emotions; surprise, excitement, ennui…
And some are interesting conceptually…
Some are rather unsettling (the bellies that seem to be marked by an elaborate scarification process certainly jack up the creepiness!).
Brooke Weston makes interesting mixed media sculpture, in which animals house tiny worlds within them.
From the artist bio:
Her work is primarily made from old taxidermy and almost all recycled material. Almost all of her pieces share the concept of small worlds and dioramas situated in objects. She gathers inspiration from antique fairy tale illustrations, amusement parks and artists like Bosch and Joe Coleman.
It might be wise for every human being to take a step back and view him/herself as an empty bust. What would decorate the inside of yours?
Perhaps there is a rare skin condition among deer that looks like a rash of villages and ships. (Kidding! I love the imagination here)
Ah, come have a seat by the fire…in this goat neck.
Anna Barlow is one of my favorite ceramic artists. She creates decadent heaps of melting, oozing treats that seem to defy the laws of physics (obviously, treats really do defy physics otherwise I wouldn’t be totally up for dessert on a full stomach, which I often am. The regular stomach and “dessert stomach” are separate organs).
In her own words:
I am fascinated by the way we eat food, especially by the rituals around celebrational or indulgent treats that have developed; the way they are assembled, displayed and then eaten. I am also interested in how food tells a story of the people and place it’s in. A full stand of ice creams could suggest a hot day or treats abandoned for some mysterious reason…
I find Debra Bernier’s “Earth Sculptures” profoundly moving and uplifting.
I’ve always loved (and believed) the idea that a unique, yet universally interconnected life force exists in all things. It’s as if Debra draws this life force out in her gently emerging figures…gorgeously defined, fading seamlessly in and out of the natural structures they inhabit.
As a very imaginative child, I frequently saw shapes and faces in wood, rock, sand, etc. These sculptures remind me to keep looking.
I’ve brought you X-Ray Lamps before, but here’s another way to bring bones into your home lighting. This one comes from Necrosculptures.
You will also find a chandelier:
I feel there should be a positive descriptive word for bone inspired creations. Osteoriffic? Osteolicious?
Now THIS is how you hold up a pane of glass for a coffee table! Kirk McGuire has a series of bronze sculpture tables that add a dash of marine adornment to the home.
The octopus is definitely my favorite.
But the giant squid is pretty great, too.
And the leafy sea dragon is a bit more understated, which is nice if you don’t opt for the bold look of cephalopods.
Ellen Rixford creates mixed media puppets, sculptures and automata that are fun, beautiful, imaginative and full of character.
One of my favorites in her portfolio:
I haven’t seen many artists do cloth portraits of this type, but I think it works!
Rogan Brown has a beautiful series of intricately cut paper sculptures called Outbreak, celebrating the fractal patterns of the microscopic natural world.
In his own words: I am inspired in part by the tradition of scientific drawing and model making, and particularly the work of artist-scientists such as Ernst Haeckel. But although my approach involves careful observation and detailed “scientific” preparatory drawings these are always superseded by the work of the imagination; everything has to be refracted through the prism of the imagination, estranged and in some way transformed.
I want to communicate my fascination with the immense complexity and intricacy of natural forms and this is why the process behind my work is so important. Each sculpture is hugely time consuming and labour-intensive and this work is an essential element not only in the construction but also in the meaning of each piece. The finished artefact is really only the ghostly fossilized vestige of this slow, long process of realisation. I have chosen paper as a medium because it captures perfectly that mixture of delicacy and durability that for me characterizes the natural world.
I always enjoy art that draws inspiration from nature, whether it is hyper-real, surreal or entirely fictional in a way that evokes recognition of natural structures. Rogan does a stunning job with this, doesn’t he?
I’m really digging these glass bird skulls by Sean Ayerst. I love his color choices in this first one.
These would make perfect little paperweights (on my desk, anyway!)
A google image search did not reveal many glass bird skulls on the market out there. I wonder if Sean is selling these beauties.
SheWalksSoftly 