How is it made?

Alright,  I am going to give out a blog post challenge that is going to be worth 3 blogs to the first person that figures out everything I want to know.

 I want to know how the pictures below were made.  What mediums are being used and how the technique is being used.  I also want to know who the artist is.

If you can be the first to find all of that info, I will give you credit for 3 blogs.  Good Luck.

So....

Have you ever just wanted to create something out of nothing?  Have you ever been so bored you decided to build something out of staples?  What?? You haven't thought of building a city out of staples like this guy?

Peter Root decided to just create his own city, out of office staples.

So what do you think of this city?  Is it creative, crazy, or just plain cool?  Would you have the patience or be willing to put in the effort?  What would it take to get you to create something like this?

Photo or Drawing???

I recently came across the art by Dirk Dzimirsky from Germany.  He takes very emotional photgraphs of people and turns them into large scale very emotional photorealism drawings and paintings.

I want to know what you think of his artwork.  Do you think it is a photo or a drawing?

Does this intimidate you or inspire you?

New look to leaves

Do you ever stop and really look at leaves?  Do you ever imagine different images you could put on leaves?  Did you ever think about turning an leaf into a piece of art?  Well one artist has.

Would you have the patience to do this to a leaf?  Will you now stop and look at leaves in a new way?

Peaked interest

South of Wales you will find a place where they have transformed a strip-mining area into a beautiful new park and attraction.  After strip-mining the area for years one local artist came in and shaped this beautiful horse and planted the grasses to make it seen from the air.  It is now becoming a popular tourist attraction.

Do you think this is an attraction you would be willing to see?  Do you think this was a smart idea or would you have created a different shape?

Leap of Art Faith

Earlier this year the Met in New York had an artist put in an installation that is basically a leap of faith.



SO I am wondering if you think this is art?  Would you be able to stand under it while people are bouncing above?  Would you want to be one of the people who tries to walk across it?

The top of the bottle

How many of you have ever even given a thought to the bottle cap on the top of an old fashioned soda bottle?  Have you ever thought of making that little cap into a work of art?  I am sure the answer is no, but after looking at these artworks that are made from bottle caps maybe you will think differently.

These are bottle caps on a car.  Yes, a car.

Now will you at least look at those caps and see what colors they have on them before you throw them away?

Jumping paint

How can paint jump you might ask?  Well artist Martin Klimas has found a way to make paint jump and then photograph it.  In order to take his shots he has to set his shutter speed to 1/7000th of a second.

But how does he get the paint to jump?  I am curious what you think would make the paint fly through the air like it is in these shots.

I love the colors he chooses, and I love how the paint is starting to mix and swirl as it flies into the air.  But that brings me back to my main question, how does he do it?  What is he using to make the paint fly?

The first correct answer gets double points.

Need a refill??

So what is the strangest medium you could think someone would recreate the image of the Mona Lisa in?


She has been done in candy, and tools, but what might seem stranger yet??

Anything....


How about this?  

Did you guess what they used to make this image??
I will give an extra blog post to the first person to tell me what they used and how they made it look like different tints and shades.

Oh George...

So how many one dollar bills would you need to decide to just make them into artwork?  How many 5s are you willing to just cut up and use for a face?  Well that is how artist Mark Wagner creates his works of art, is with money.

So this begs to ask the question, how many dollar bills do you think it took to create these works and is it just me or do that many George Washington heads get a little creepy?

Got Tape???

So I found the work of artist Erika Iris Simmons who is a self taught artist.  She likes to focus on Pop Art (short for popular culture art).  She likes to use everyday items in unconventional ways.  For all of these pictures she used various tapes and films and created the stars that created them.

If you could create art out of anything what would you create it out of?  Can you think of an unusual medium that would make interesting art?

A fine doppelganger

Have you ever heard of the term "doppelganger?"  Well if you watch "how I met your mother" they are always on the look for someone's doppelganger.  Basically a doppelganger is someone else that looks just like you.  Have you ever been told you look like someone else or that they look like you?

I have been told I look like either Drew Barrymore or Amanda Seyfried.  I will let you decide which one or maybe you think I have been told wrong.

Anyways, I found this post of people who have found their doppelganger in art museum paintings.

Do you see the resemblence in any of these pictures?  Do you have a doppelganger?  Have you ever seen a work of art that looks like someone you know, or maybe one that looks like you?

I will give you extra points if you can find a work of art that looks like you or someone that I would know.

Starry Gym

I found this youtube video of a school that remade Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night on their gym floor out of cereal.

I have many questions, but i am curious what you think of this?

A new Breed of art

I found some images from the artist named John Breed and I was fascinated by his work.  He has actually been creating work for about 20 years now in England, but it is just in the past few years his work has become recognized.

He loves to use everyday objects in unique ways.

There are 1568 pieces used in this piece known as "food-hunter"

Medusa's Shoes

There are 145 shoes and legs in "Shoe Salon Breuninger"

So what do you think of his work?  Would you like to see it up close?  Would it catch your attention?

If you could create a sculpture out of anything, what materials would you use and what would you do with those materials to make it a unique design?

What do you see?

I really don't know what else to say about this picture.  I would really like to just know what you see and what you think about the piece.

What catches your eye first?  

What do you think is the most creative part?

Don't trip

So I saw this picture online and thought that I would share it with you.

So what do you think this is?  Would you be able to be in a room like this?  Would you want to have a room like this?

When a line travels

Until a few days ago I thought the following picture was someones idea of being very creative with a continuous line. It wasn't until I read into it that I learned it is actually a very old joke that had turned into an art form.  Yes, a traveling salesmans joke.

It turns out that traveling salesmen would map out the routes they had either walked or traveled and the started to see that they were forming artwork on their maps depending on how their European streets were mapped out.

Of course these pieces are not the route someone has walked.  This is the artwork someone has created from the TSP (traveling salesmen's Problem).  They are one continuous line that weaves in and around.  In fact it might be the best mazes in the world.  Since none of the lines ever touch.

Do you think you could find the beginning or the end of these lines?  Would this be a project you would ever like to try?  Do you think you could do it?

If you want to see more look up TSP art.

First Day

The first day can mean different things to different people.  Some love the first day and they can't wait for it, while others are filled with fear and dread of the unknown.

What were your feelings on the first day?  Were you excited, scared or nervous.  What are you looking forward to this year?

Threading a nail

So those of you who are reading this blog know that I am easily amazed by the patience that some artists have to create their works.  Well i found another artist that has that phenomenal patience.  Kumi Yamahita is a New York artist that uses white boards, galvanized nails and black thread.  That is it!!

She takes that single-unbroken strand of black thread and winds it around the nails.  So anywhere that the thread gets darker is just her weaving it around the nails as many times as she needs to to get the denisty that the picture needs.  I hope that makes sense.  Can you explain it better?

She calls the overall collection "Constellation"  any ideas why that is the title of her show?  You know I have to ask if you could do this?  And no I am not going to have you do this, at least not this year.