Quirky Characters Hand-Sculpted In Clay By Yen Yen Lo

Yen Yen Lo is a ceramic artist who makes quirky characters inspired by the imaginary worlds the artist daydreams about. After working as a graphic designer for 20 years, the artist took a hiatus from her career and enrolled in a clay workshop with an aim to find her true calling. At the time she had no idea that she would fall in love with hand building, and more joy in working with clay more than working on a computer. Eventually, she took a path which later in her life turned out be a full-time career.

"Designing in clay offers another creative outlet which is both challenging and fascinating. Allegorical works, people watching, interesting words and dreams are what inspires me. I have a love affair with delicate brushwork and detailed sgrafitto which you'll see a lot of here."

Each of her pieces is made using raku clay, and is intricately textured decorated with slips. She makes wall hanging art, bells and sculptures that you would crave in your life. To view her work from the past and learn about her current projects go to Instagram. 

Japanese Artist Combines Real and Imaginary Worlds in Illustrations

 

 

 

Hazuki Koike is a Japanese artist who draws whimsical illustrations. The artist uses watercolors and pencils to draw animals, plants, and night scenes that are perfect for children's books. There is a fusion of real and imaginary worlds in the artwork. The artwork often depict a human figure hanging out with an owl, flamingos, swan, and fox in the night time. As if they have escaped the real world and have gone to a different planet where anything is possible. The background of the illustrations feature moon, and stars emitting a soft light to the artwork. Hazuki's work is done in soft hues and bring a feeling of calm.

Lovely Illustrations by Nadine Safa

Nadine Safa of Vüvie is an illustrator based in Sydney, Australia. After studying Graphic Design, Nadine worked for a packaging design studio where she got numerous opportunities to illustrate for some major brands.

She paints owl, butterflies, dragonflies, turtles, whale, squid, and sea horse using traditional watercolor technique. She loves the challenge of creating textures and effects by hand which gives a sense of accomplishment at the end of a piece. Her work is filled with tiny details, it's hard to believe that she paints only when she finds time when her kids are asleep.

She finds inspiration in nature, however she found a deeper connect with the natural world when she noticed her toddler being curious around flowers and leaves. It was then she started to see incredible details and connected with nature on a spiritual level.

She doesn't sell online yet but you can find more of her work on Instagram or email me on vuvie.creative@gmail.com.

Street Artist Bordalo II Creates Small And Large Scale Sculptures Using Trash

Portugese artist Bordalo Segundo also known as Bordalo II uses things that have been discarded as trash to make amazing sculptures. He uses old doors, shutters, windows and benches as canvas on which he then assembles plastics, electronic material, fabrics, light metals, children's toys, hammocks and whatever else he can find that'll fit the construction of his subject. He collects the materials for his work from the streets, empty spaces, garbage dumps or recycling centers. Finally, all the elements of his work are cut, bent, drilled, and joined with machines and workshop tools.

He has been working on pieces for the Large Trash Animal Series, Small Trash Animal Series and its subseries Half Half and Plastic Animals. The series with the sculptures with half of its side painted in color and half left unpainted to show the original materials.

His sculptures make us question our choices, how our insatiable consumption is generating trash and harming the planet. To view more of his work and to learn about what is he working on currently, visit him on Instagram.