Breathtakingly Intricate Papercut Landscapes

 

 

Happy Friday! I would like to wrap up for the weekend with the beautiful work of Annie Howe an illustrator and a papercut artist from Baltimore, Maryland.

She graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Fiber. After graduating she worked as a creator of large-scale puppetry and shadow puppets in the Baltimore art community for many years. Her love for storytelling shifted from three dimensional objects to intricate papercut artwork. She creates elaborate stories by hand cutting patterns on plain paper. Her work is inspired by woodland creatures surrounded with clouds, trees, mushrooms, and words. The lace-like pieces appear light and delicate. You can take a closer look at her work on Instagram.

Woodland Creatures Hand-Painted on Ceramics by James Ward

Jimbob Art was founded in 2009 by James Ward an illustrator based in UK. He illustrates silly woodland animals in his quirky style that adorn ceramic plates, platters, stackable coffee cups, beer tankards and more. The anthropomorphic characters are so playful and comical depicted in monochromatic design with a splash of bright colors that bring these animals to life. Owl in neck tie, piglet in a party hat, sloth playing ukelele "can describe so much about human emotions and personalities with the juxtaposition of the animal’s expression against his clothing, an item or text' from his profile.

Initially he hand-painted every single ceramic with fine architect's pens, now he is also printing with digital lithograph which makes the ceramic dishwasher safe and durable. His products are can be found all around the world including well-known stockists such as Liberty and London.

Besides making whimsical products for his brand he works regularly in collaborations and commercial commissions. His clients include UNIQLO, White Stuff, Hyundai department stores, Harper Collins, Folded Wing, Channel 4 and Amnesty International. His work has been featured in press and number of magazines - the Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, Country Living and the Portland Mercury are few to name.

You can find ceramics and art prints in his online store - Jimbob Art.

Driftwood Sculptures by Vincent Richel

 

Vincent Richel is an artist and a sculptor based out of Rangeley, Maine who creates amazing sculptures using driftwood. He collects the driftwood from the Western Mountains of Maine lakes, cleans it, never treats and then sculpts with them. His sculptures are inspired by natural elements and animals often depicting them in their natural environment. Every piece of driftwood is naturally weathered and shaped over time giving the sculptures timeless charm and uniqueness. Through his work he gives tribute to the cycle of life. 

“The pieces come together to create sculptures that evoke a feeling of having drifted naturally; like the flow of water creating a drift in a lake.”

Jim Bachor Beautifies Potholes with Colorful Mosaics

Chicago based artist Jim Bachor is known for filling potholes with beautiful themed mosaics. In the last five years he has created eye-catching whimsical images of food, flowers, animals and patterns with tiny hand-cut pieces of italian glass and marble. His mosaic work often represent something that you can relate to in the neighborhood. 

“I think it’s fun to possibly brighten someone’s day in the most unexpected way,’’ he said. “You don’t expect to see art on the street, so I want the subject matter to be odd.”

He has worked on several series - "Treats in the Streets" depicting popsicles, "Vermin of New York" shows cockroach as one of the NY vermin, "Woodland Creatures" feature owl and fox, "Fanciest Pothole" well-recognized brands' patterns, "Flower Pot Hole" is a series of flowers, "Pretty Trashed" renders trash in mosaic and many other promotional campaigns. To complete each installation it involve anywhere around eight to tens hours in artist's Chicago studio, and afterwards two hours at the site.

“Temperature plays a big part of the process. It gets warm enough around April for the installations to set properly. Given my canvas is a city street, occasionally the artwork gets paved over or patched with asphalt. That comes with playing the street. For me the only risks/challenges are making sure not to get hit by a car during an installation. There is a limitless supply of pothole candidates. When the weather cooperates, an installation takes about two days to complete.”

To see more of his work from the past go to Instagram.