Bernie Peyton: Origami Animals

Bernie Peyton is an origami artist and a wildlife biologist who has been making some incredible paper animal sculptures for over 50 years. He has doctorate in zoology from the University of California, Berkeley and has been able to combine art and science to bring attention to the environmental issues and spread awareness about the threatened species to the masses.

“I write a lot of boring [academic] articles nobody reads, but conservation also has to appeal to the emotional side,” Peyton says in an interview with Wired magazine. “That’s why I do art.”

He published a book Eco Origami which consists of 35 lifelike models of walrus, polar bear, puffins, fox, owlets, owl chicks (shown above), red-eyed frog, eyelash pit viper and more. There are detailed step-by-step instructions with illustrations to guide you fold each model from the beginning to end. Available here.

DIY: Chubby Fabric Birds

Designer Patti Milazzo shares this tutorial for making chubby stuffed owls using some fabric scarps. What a cute idea! These will look perfect in a new born's room or as fun addition to a party or even as fall decor. Feel free to play with different colors of fabrics to match your decor. Go to Fiskars.com for the complete tutorial and step by step instructions.

You'll need the following few things for the project:

- assorted fabric scraps 

- trim/embroidery thread

- buttons 

- polyfil 

- felt scraps

Freebie: Vintage Owl Hang Tag

Today’s freebie is this digital hang tag featuring a vintage illustration of an owl reading a book. The image can be used for any paper crafts, halloween project or simply print it as is to enjoy it as a bookmark! Download it from here.

The Owl Museum, Penang Hill

I just recently found out that there is a museum dedicated to owls. The Owl Museum on Penang Hill, Malaysia seems like a neat and fun place for all us owl lovers to visit. The museum has a collection of over 1,000 unique artifacts of owls created by artists across the world. Wow! I wish I had known about the owl haven on my last trip to Malaysia that I took a couple of years ago. But now I have already put this place on my list of must-visit places for the next time I'm in Malaysia. Did you know about this place?

To learn more about the museum or for visitor information go to their website.

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Anna Walker

Happy August! Let's begin this brand new month with the lovely artwork of a Melbourne artist Anna Walker whom I first discovered through here. You can visit her website to view more of her work and award winning children's books illustrated and written by her.

Fantasy Clay Creatures by Ellen Jewett

Ellen Jewett was born in Markham Ontario and has been creating three dimensional sculpting from a young age. She hand makes these incredible fantasy animal sculptures with mind boggling details using only fingers and paint brush.

"To Ellen sculpting has always been about life, biological narratives and cultural statements. The tedious hours of labor act as the mysterious foundation from which each sculptures' personality springs forth."

Artist's remakes on her work: "The process begins with a handmade metal armature over which light weight clay is sculpted. The painting is done with acrylic or oil pigments and the embedded eyes are glass or acrylic. When complete the whole piece is glazed to intensify color and strength.”

Talisman Designs: Beech Wood Utensils

Talisman Designs was founded by Katherine Waymire in 2002 that offers a wide range of beech wood kitchen utensils and serving pieces. The 'woodland range' features birds, owls, hedgehog, squirrel amongst other creatures that are laser etched so it will not fade with everyday use. I have picked out few of my favorites to share with you, for rest of their products click here. The products shown above are:

Talisman Designs Get Real Nature Beechwood Cheese Board

Talisman Designs 12-Inch Solid Beechwood Mixing, Slotted & Corner Spoon with Nature Design (Set of 4)

Talisman Designs Get Real Solid Beechwood Measuring Spoon, Set of 4

Talisman Designs Solid Beechwood Spreaders, Set of 4

Talisman Designs Get Real Nature Beechwood Cheese Board

Ivor Abrahams: Sculptures

UK based sculptor and artist Ivor Abrahams makes unique and imagery gardens, cityscapes and seascapes, human figures and oversized bird sculptures. For building the owl sculptures he made use of photographic images that are cut, altered, painted over and turned into three-dimensional form.

Why owls? The artist shares: "The owl is so various in its forms and chameleon-like, it seemed rather a good theme to alight on, as I'd started to move into the animal world. These sculptures are fun to do, they're enjoyable. I don't have to soul-search or worry about content. I'm out there doing it. It's an externalization - it gives me a freedom". 

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Owl Dream Catcher

This is the most beautiful owl dream catcher I have ever seen. Crafted by Holly of Peace Frog Designs.

Nippon Kodo Cafe Time Owl Incense

Have you ever heard of an incense that reminds you of a cafe? Incenses generally have fragrance of flowers or herbs but Nippon Kodo introduces a new and unique idea of incenses that will fill your room with aroma of a coffee house or tea house. 

Each box features absolutely adorable animal illustrations including - owls(Cassis and Mocha), cats(Sakura and Green Tea), chickens(Orange and Darjeeling Tea), elephants(Apple and Jasmine Tea) and frogs(Lotus & Wine) and more. Each set contains an incense burner and 10 cones of two different scents. I am tempted to collect them all but the owls and the cats are on the top of my list. Find them all here.

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Jean-Manuel Duvivier: Animals in Love

I am admiring these simple yet strikingly artistic illustrations from 'Animals in Love' series by Belgium based freelance illustrator Jean-Manuel Duvivier. More of his work can been viewed on his website and to learn about his past projects go to Behance.com.

Me and Oli: Custom Made Owl Dress

Lalita Lu (aka Me and Oli) is an illustrator and a designer based in Sydney with passion for animals which is apparent in her work. She launched a pretty neat website where you can choose a print, garment type and shape of your dress or top which is then custom made for you within 3-5 weeks and shipped anywhere in the world for free (for a limited time). I am in love with the owl print fabric which looks lovely for a dress and a top. Check out Lalita's website here for more details and to place an order.