Millefiori - Fabian Oefner

I can't stop looking through Fabian Oefner's work, he has some incredible projects. These photographs are a little hard to get your head around, as they look so bizarre. The structure itself looks as if its from another planet. Or something infectious under a microscope. But the vibrant colours in the images contradict this assumption and give the photographs a beautiful aesthetic. I'm not even going to attempt to explain how this works, instead you can read about the project and watch a short video on Fabian's website, and also check out this review from its nice that. 

http://www.fabianoefner.com/64838/556924/projects/millefiori

http://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/fabian-oefner

"The shapes, you see in these image are about the size of a thumbnail. They are created by mixing ferrofluid with water color and putting it into a magnetic field.

Ferrofluid is a magnetic solution with a viscosity similar to motor oil. When put under a magnetic field, the iron particles in the solution start to rearrange, forming the black channels and separating the water colors from the ferrofluid. The result are these peculiar looking structures." 

Fabian Oefner - Black Hole

Swiss photographer Fabian Oefner creates stunning photographs which aim to capture the unseen. He calls himself a 'curious investigator' and aims to 'invite us to stop for a moment and appreciate the magic that constantly surrounds us.' His latest project Black Hole explores the movement of paint when thrown from a spinning drill. The drill causes the paint to form amazing circular shapes which Fabian captures with perfect timing!

The photos are striking because of the string contrast of the black background and vibrant colours of the paint. The project reminds me of a similar concept from Dentsu London, who photographed paint sculptures being projected from music speakers. (See post here).

Fabian has many other projects on his website, which is definitely worth a look! http://www.fabianoefner.com/64838/1159918/projects/black-hole

Rachael Ashe - Paper Cut Sculptures

Lovely paper sculptures from artist Rachael Ashe. It is really interesting to see the way she has explored free standing sculptures as opposed to flat paper cuts. The lighting in the photographs is beautiful, and the shadows cast really emphasize the delicacy of the structures. 

"I’m trying to work out how to make interesting structures from paper that can support themselves when most of the material has been removed. The paper cutting makes a big difference to the integrity of the piece, how it holds together, and its ability to stand."

You can see more of Rachel Ashe's paper cutting on her flikr site. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/goddess_spiral/sets/72157629258631062/with/8549713776/

Ross Sonnenberg - Camera-less Photography with Fireworks

Photographer Ross Sonnenberg has created these amazing abstract photograms by exposing photographic paper to fireworks. He has been experimenting with camera-less photography for his project 'Color Bang'. 

I love this technique and have looked at many photographers exploring this process during my self directed study at uni. I went to a really interesting exhibition at the V&A called shadow catchers (see post here). My project was looking at how artists have challenged the assumption that a camera is necessary to make a photograph. 

Ross Sonnenberg's photographs definitely caught my eye because of the dramatic colours. The light from the fireworks have created these stunning colourful images which look like galaxies.  

I have always been fascinated by the planets and stars, looking through telescopes and wondering what these far off places might look like. With this series I have tried to create imaginary solar systems and super novas using different materials, and fireworks for my light source to make one-of-a-kind camera less images directly onto color and black and white photographic paper. Like the darkness in outer space, I work in the dark to create images that mimic the interstellar places that I always dreamed about going to as a kid.

You can see Ross Sonnenberg's series of photograms on his website.
http://rosssonnenberg.com/

 

Frozen Trees - Timothy Corbin

Beautiful photographs from Timothy Corbin of ice covered trees on the shore of lake Ontario in Canada. I don't think I have seen anything like this before, the photos are absolutely stunning.

Timothy found the icy trees after a winter blizzard in February which caused the waves to crash on the shore. I find the photos especially striking because of the contrast between the violent icicles and the calm waters. You can see more of timothy's work on his website or flikr stream.

http://inplain-sight.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/timocorbin/8458688378

Meet Stanley - Interactive Piano

I have only just come across this amazing project by creative agency Digital Kitchen. Stanley Piano is the world's first interactive piano! In July 2012 A piano was placed in Seattle which was linked up to three computers, which would play songs requested by twitter users. Uses could tweet their song choices to @stanleypiano and were notified when their songs were due to play. The piano would then play the request fully visible with all the keys moving! I think this is such a brilliant and innovative way to connect with an audience and interact with social media.

Overall Stanley recieved 220,000 web views and almost 5,000 song requests. You can see the project on the website below and on twitter. Stanley still recieves song requests to this day. 

http://stanleypiano.com/
@stanleypiano


 
Introducing Stanley from DIGITAL KITCHEN on Vimeo.

Ohh Deer Homewear - Illustrated Cushions

I love these cushions from online shop and website ohh deer. The brand was founded by Jamie Mitchell and Mark Callaby in 2011, and have a number of illustrators working with them to create beautiful products from stationary and cards to home wear and phone cases.

"Above all things, the brand aims to be fresh. There are increasing number of companies who produce the same recipe of ‘ordinary’. Ohh Deer wanted to take the work of exceptional illustrators and create something extraordinary, objects that everyone can adorn their houses with, or pop in the post for a friend’s birthday. we promise to continue finding and producing work that you will love for one reason or another, be it through ungodly cuteness or obscene vulgarity."

They have many products with really beautiful prints but my favourite by far are these handmade cushions. Each one is made to order in the UK. I wish I could buy them all, they would definitely brighten up my little flat! For a list of all the illustrators involved and to buy these cushions and many more yourself, look on the ohh deer website. http://ohhdeer.com/

Also follow ohh deer on facebook for daily uploads from their blog. There are definitely lots of funny and inspiring pictures that will put a smile on your face.

https://www.facebook.com/ilikeohhdeer

Choros - Experimental Dance Film

I absolutely love this new experimental dance video from director Michael Langan. Choros is a film that aims to enhance our perception of motion by exploring movement of the human body. The film echos a technique developed in the 1880s by photographers such as Eadwaerd Muybridge and Etienne-Jules Marey. This experimental film captures the movement of dancer Terah Maher. Michael was able to capture the most subtle movements by layering 32 sequences without fear of overexposing the film. There is a beautiful dreamlike quality to the piece and it is really nice to watch. 

"Choros revisits these technical innovations and attempts to contribute original innovations of its own. Using recent advancements in digital compositing, the technique developed for Choros introduces color, frees the film from the confines of a black studio, and allows the dancer to linger in one position without risk of overexposure, resulting in a variation of this historical technique that allows a degree of subtlety heretofore prohibited by technical limitations."

The music accompanying the film is 'Music of 18 Musicians' by Steve Reich which adds to the almost hypnotising rhythm of the piece. You can watch the film below or on vimeo.

https://vimeo.com/35770492

Choros from Michael Langan on Vimeo.

The Paper Cut Project - Amazing Paper Hairpieces

The Paper Cut project is Atlanta based artists Amy Flurry and Nikki Nye (formerly Nikki Salk), who aim to transform paper into unique and outstanding wigs. This includes amazing 18th century hairpieces, which seem to defy gravity and rise to incredible heights. I love paper sculpture and Amy and Nikki's work shows such depth and detail.

"Our custom-made paper art installations are fuled by a love of fashion and an appreciation of the grace and nuance of this humble material."

Their work is very popular all over the world and the duo have exhibited and presented work in New York, the V&A in London and Italian Vogue! I wish I'd had the chance to go and see their work for myself at the V&A's Hollywood Costume exhibition last month! I will definitely be keeping my eye out for their work in the future.

You can see more of The Paper Cut project's hairpieces and masks on their website.

http://www.paper-cut-project.com/

Lovestar Handmade Vases

How cute are these heart shaped vases from Lovestar! Each vase has been individually handcrafted in Australia and are made with a matching hand printed calico bags. They look so beautiful mounted on the wall, if only I had the money, or the space! The vases are deceivingly large! I would love to have my own neon pink vase to fill with flowers as a table feature.

You can find more products from Helen Bayley on the Lovestar website, and also check out her instagram page for more beautiful design and craft photos.

http://www.lovestar.com.au/products
http://instagram.com/helsy

 

Penguins - Spy in the Huddle

The last part to the BBC documentary series 'Pengiuns - Spy in the huddle' was on this week. This creative program uses undercover spycams in the form of penguins, rocks and ice to film up close the true characters of penguins. I love watching wildlife documentaries, and this series definitely showed a new insight to these fascinating creatures. The technology behind the penguin cams was incredible, and all the colonies accepted them as one of their own. This enabled the team to film some never before seen characteristics of the penguins.

Producer John Downer said that he had never got so close to any subject for such a long period of time. Thata there was so much detail that you cannot watch without being moved.

"Throughout all the filming, penguin cams became part of the penguins lives. They have witnessed countless events that have never been seen before. And even became part of the huddle. But being accepted also provoked jealousy, and things didn't always go to plan. And even though none of them got eaten in the process, a couple did manage to get caught up in some penguin love triangles." 

It was very amusing to watch the rockhopper penguin 'flirt' with the spycam, and then to have its jealous mate beating it up! The Rockhoppers also like to take a ride on the rockcam, and many penguins tried to adopt the egg cams!

You can see a clip of the series below and watch all three episodes on BBC iplayer.

http://jdp.co.uk/programmes/penguins-spy-in-the-huddle

 

Castle on the Ocean - Wataru Itou

This incredible paper castle is the work of Japanese art student Wataru Itou. He exhibited his stunning creation in 2009 in Tokyo which shows a complete city, with lights and even a working rollercoaster train!

The piece took over four years to make, showing us how beautiful paper architecture can be when you have the patience. We can really appreciate the intricacy and extreme detail Wataru Itou had put into a structure like this.  I wish I had the opportunity to go and see this amazing piece in person!

Photoshop Inspired Interactive Music Video

This is a really interesting new interactive music video for the song "Not the Same" by Tanlines. The experimental video was created by creative agency OKFocus and has been inspired by the layout of photoshop. Each member of the band is a different layer which can be selected, moved and resized. There are also other tools and interface items to experiment with, including changing the background and muting different instruments. This also gives you the opportunity to listen to the intricate sounds in the piece and isolate certain elements of the song. Its a really fun way to interact with a music video, go and check it out! Im sure it will probably go viral soon!

http://www.notthesa.me/

3Doodler First 3D Pen

I thought the idea of printing in 3D was incredible, but now there is a pen which you can draw your own three dimensional sculptures instantly! The 3Doodler is the world's first pen to do this and was created by wobbleworks. The pen uses ABS plastic which is the same material used by many 3D printers. The pen has an inbuilt heater which melts the plastic and it comes out the end like a cake-icer or super glue gun. However the plastic instantly cools and stays suspended in the air where the user had drawn it. Watch their video to see how the pen draws shapes which freeze in the air as if my magic! It looks so fun!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1351910088/3doodler-the-worlds-first-3d-printing-pen

Rain Room - Barbican Centre

Last weekend I got the chance to go to Random Internationals new exhibition at the Barbican Centre in London. The Rain Room has had an overwhelming response therefore we had to queue for a couple of hours, but it was well worth the wait. Inside the room appears to be raining, water falls and the sound and smell enhance this feeling. However when you walk through, sensors in the ceiling stop the water from falling on you. You have complete control of the rain. It was really fun to put the installation to the test and extend my arms and move around the room avoiding the water.

You can see more work from Random International on their website. http://random-international.com/

 

Samuel Silva - Photorealism Portraits

Its hard to believe that these pieces are in fact hand drawn and not photographs! These incredible illustrations are the work of portugal based Samuel Silva. Amazingly, art is his hobby and not his main profession. His pieces are drawn with coloured ball point pens, and he uses the technique of cross hatching layers to 'blend' the colours and create a photo realistic style. The drawings can take up to 50 hours to produce! I wish I had enough patience to practice his style of drawing as it is so stunning. You can see more of Samuel Silva's work here http://vianaarts.deviantart.com/gallery/.