a new geology

Piles and piles of trash create a new form of sedimentary sculpture, and surprisingly, integrate beautifully with natural forest floor.

Oak 2004 Gong-Ju, Steven Siegel
Korea paper

Siegel’s sculptures draw attention to the process of compaction, layer upon layer, building up in our landfills.

New Geology #2, Steven Siegel
1992 Milan, NY

Siegel stacks literally tons of newspapers over large wooden armatures to create massive boulder shapes.

Bridge 2 2009 Arte Sella, Steven Siegel
Italy paper

His works have been installed across Europe and North America. He enlists the help of paid staff and volunteers to complete his projects, using free materials that are available in large quantities.

See more of his work on his website:  http://www.stevensiegel.net/index.html

thinking of the earth

On Earth Day, thinking of the Earth . . . I found artist Terry Berlier.

Reclaimed Time, Terry Berlier
salvaged wood
2′ x 2′ x 2″

Berlier works primarily with sculpture and expanded media.  She often focuses on everyday objects, the environment. With “Reclaimed Time”, she reflects on the “perspective of deep time and long-term thinking, both into the future and into the past.” (from her website)

Long Time II, Terry Berlier
Plywood, aircraft cable

In “Long Time II”, Berlier created the sculpture in Girona, Spain. There are 61 rings in the sculpture, referring to Professor Nalini Nadkarni’s research comparing the number of trees in the world to the population. Back in 2008 Nadkarni did a study using data from NASA, finding that the world’s human population as of Dec. 31, 2008,  was approx.  6,456,789,877.  It turns out that in 2008, we had about 61 trees on the planet per person.

Core Sampling (Tick Tock), Terry Berlier
FGR-95, dyes, steel, motors, MAKE Controller, computer, sensor, microscope camera, PVC, aluminum, pocket watch, MAX

“Core Sampling” is pretty interesting – it creates sound from handmade pseudo core samples.  See and hear it in action:  http://www.terryberlier.com/core.html

We all know the common things that come from trees, like paper, books, & furniture.  Here are some things you might not have thought of:  buttons, chewing gum, cork, crayons, linoleum, luggage, pingpong balls, rubber, tambourines, tires and turpentine. (compiled by Professor Nalini Nadkarni’s graduate students)

it kinda creeps me out

Maybe its just a thing I have with dead insects. Despite my prejudices, I can truly appreciate the delicate and fine work that goes into Ten Donkelaar’s artwork.

“Goudraffeltje”, Anne Ten Donkelaar

Dutch artist Anne Ten Donkelaar collects broken butterflies and repairs them with fine care and skill.  The broken wings above are fixed with gold leaf to give them new, luminous edges.

“Zwart vlek vlinder”, Anne Ten Donkelaar

Look closely. Not a fuzzy photo, but two embroidered wings on top.

“Landkaart”, Anne Ten Donkelaar

My personal favorite, the moth whose wings are completed with pieces of maps. Some of the maps used are the ones of the country where the moth originated.

See her website for more of her work.  She also creates flower collage pieces and other intricate threadwork art. http://anneten.nl/

Also visit her new website, with tiny embroidered treasures:  http://miauski.com/ (via http://bloesem.blogs.com)

art in your pocket

Krista Charles spends about two hours per artistic creation, painstakingly drawing inside a matchbox cover.

Our Specialties Are Fourfold, Krista Charles

Charles finds the physical location of the business on the matchbook, then searches Google Maps.  Inside the matchbook, she makes a pencil sketch of whatever is shown at the location.

McCarvers Old Town, Tacoma, Washington, Krista Charles

She describes her work as a unique view into the previous business, the dreams of its owner, and how places and histories change over time.

It Pays to Look Well, Krista Charles

The artist has a website:  http://xa.pcmxa.com/index.html and a shop on Etsy:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/xacharles?page=1 (via Booooooom)

reflections and mist

Although Sandra Kantanen’s work is photography of real landscapes, her technique is other-worldly, fantasy come to life.

forest, sandra kantanen

In her earlier work, she was inspired to work in the tradition of Chinese landscape painting, developing a technique to combine painting and photography.
In this series, Shadow Images, she has photographed places in China, Tibet, Finland, and Japan.

“Entering these different cultures have given me insight into very different ways of perceiving image.” Sandra Kantanen, from Helsinki School

lake3valmis, sandra kantanen

Kantanen creates acrylic paintings on metal plate, then prints her photographs with pigment over the painting, finishing with varnish. The results are magical, misty and dream-like.

lake4valmis, sandra kantanen

Each beautiful work evokes a story; I feel like I am peering through illustrations of a fantasy novel.  See her website for gorgeous, large images of her work: http://sandrakantanen.com/works

building blocks of jewelry

I don’t often put the words “architecture” and “jewelry” together, but that is exactly what artist Ute Decker does with her sculptural, wearable pieces. She is being showcased in July of 2012 at the London Festival of Architecture.

Pointed Arm Sculpture, Ute Decker
semi-matte recycled silver

“Ute Decker’s work has a contemporary yet somehow timeless feel. Her pieces are not so much literal re-interpretations of actual edifices but rather wearable sculptures suggestive of an architectural language of forms. “  from Art Daily

Curvature – arm sculpture, Ute Decker
individually hand-crafted in recycled silver
sand texture, matte finish

I so admire the careful thought Decker maintains regarding every aspect of her craft. She utilizes fair trade gold, 100% recycled silver, and recycled packaging materials.  When her pieces are created using resin, she substitutes bio-resins derived from sunflowers for the traditional toxic resin materials.

Minimalist neck cuff, Ute Decker
semi-matt, individually hand-crafted in recycled silver

Decker is influenced by the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, which is the art of finding beauty in imperfection, accepting natural cycles of growth, decay and death, simple, slow, uncluttered and authentic.  On her website, she writes, “serene beauty requires discipline, not ostensible splendour – or even perfection. by leaving small marks of the work-process of bending, forming and joining the hand-made quality of crafting remains visible as a humble recognition of our human flaws and imperfections.” See more of her work: www.utedecker.com

floating garden

The environmental art commission for Islington’s City Road Basin was launched about a year ago, in May 2011.  British artist Tania Kovats designed a floating garden, an organic sculpture, to attract attention and enhance this hidden public space.

HABITAT, Tania Kovats

The island is constructed from a floating pontoon, and contains planted trays and a damp water meadow made up of rare local aquatic plants.  The nests are inspired by local birds, including moorhens, herons and swans.

HABITAT, Tania Kovats

Writer Sarah Butler is part of the same project, creating her works of art in the form of short literary works in relation to HABITAT.

Listen to Planting List

Meadow Sweet, Cotton Grass, Wild Red Clover
Scabious, Cowslip, Sorrell
Yellow Rattle, Toadflax, Ox Eyed Daisy
Marjoram, Milfoil, Yarrow.

Water Mint, Musk Mallow
Birdsfoot Trefoil
Cat’s Ear, Weeping Sedge
Salad Burnet

Ragged Robin, Campion
Ladies Bedstraw

Hawkbit, Plantain
Tufted Vetch

Cranes-bill, Self-heal
Yellow Flag Iris

Buttercup, Betony, Bulrush

In advance of the Walk | Talk on 17th Sept – a piece inspired by the list of plants used as ‘plugs’ for HABITAT, and those found growing in the meadow turf. (from Sarah Butler’s blog:  http://secretgardenproject.wordpress.com/)

HABITAT, Tania Kovats

Kovats’ overall body of work has focused on landscapes and geological processes.  Online articles abound regarding her work, but I did not find an artist’s website.  If you want a quick glance of her body of work,  search “Tania Kovats” in Google Images.