Hot Sculpture Posts
How To: Sharpen your chisel inexpensively
In this tutorial, we learn how to sharpen your chisel inexpensively. This is an art you have to learn if you are going to have to learn to work with tools. To start, you will first need to lay down a piece of paper down on a block of wood. After this, lay a piece of grit down on top of the and grab your chisel. Spray the grit with some water and then use the bevel on the chisel to move it around. Use your body to move the chisel, not just your hands. Continue to do this around the sides until...
News: Artist Paints the World Invisible
“Western Imports”, by artist Cayetano Ferrer, uses inkjet prints to create site-specific optical illusions in public spaces.
News: Vote Now to Electrocute This Artist
Oleg Mavromati's latest project, Ally/Foe, allows online voters the chance to electrocute the Russian artist at a mere fifty cents a pop. From November 7th to November 13th, viewers of Mavromati's livestream can pay to vote “innocent” or “guilty.” 100 guilty votes result in the artist voluntarily shocking himself in front of the camera, live, with his homemade electrocution machine.
News: See a Woven Rug? Look Again
Dutch designers Marcia Nolte, Stijn van der Vleuten, and Bob Waardenburg are the masters of illusion behind We Make Carpets. Look, then look again. What you initially see isn't what it appears to be...
News: Bicycle-Go-Round
Artist Robert Wechsler has salvaged and reassembled 9 bicycles into a carousel arrangement. The best part about the project? Wechsler leaves his bicycle-go-round in public places for strangers to ride. Imagine stumbling across one of these in a public park! Genius.
News: The Soccer Smoothie Maker + 29 More Wonderfully Useless DIY Inventions
UK-based designer Dominic Wilcox's Speed Creating Project presents the challenge of making something creative everyday, for 30 consecutive days. Wilcox's best results are pointless in an utterly delightful way. True junk drawer resourcefulness. My 7 favorites below; click through for all 30.
How To: Recycle plastic bottles to make hanging art
In this video, we learn how to recycle plastic bottles to make hanging art. First, cut the bottom off of the bottle and then cut it in half. Then, cut the other end off of the bottle as well. After this, you can grab the bottle and start to paint your choice of color all over it. Use different colors and transition and blend with them. Lay these on one side to dry when you are finished. When you're done with these and they are completely dry, you can use them to decorate around your house. Th...
News: Lots and Lots of Panties Make For Good Mood Lighting
We've seen chandeliers made from paper, light bulbs and Chiquita banana cartons, so why not ladies' undergarments? Video artist Pipilotti Rist recently showcased her glowing underwear chandelier at New York's Luhring Augustine gallery. Rist's underwear of choice (granny panties) aren't exactly sexy, but there's something oddly interesting about the cascading, pastel skivvies.
News: Quivering, Pulsating Organs Give Life to Electronics
Just in time for Halloween, a collection of creepy, pulsating biological monstrosities designed by interactive media artist Mio I-zawa.
News: Bodies in Plain Sight
Choreographer Willi Dorner's curiously charming “human sculptures” invade New York City as part of the French Institute Alliance Française’s Crossing the Line festival. More images of Dorner's Bodies in Urban Spaces at the Wall Street Journal photography blog.
News: Massive Geometric Sculpture Resembles Tsunami of Black Caviar
Designed by a computer, milled by machines and assembled by a team of robots, Federico Díaz's Geometric Death Frequency 141 isn't necessarily the warmest work of art you'll see this year. But it is, nevertheless, quite a lot of fun to behold:
News: The Astonishing Car-Part Art of James Corbett
Car-part sculptor James Corbett can do things with an automobile that would make a Transformer blush! We call him the Rodin of the Hot Rod. The gallery below should give you an idea as to why.
News: Takashi Murakami Invades Versailles (Much to Old Art Fogie Chagrin)
As some of you may know, contemporary king of kitsch Jeff Koons exhibited at the French palace of Versailles last year. While the exhibition was embraced by many as an exciting context for contemporary art, predictably old fogies and critics of the art market balked.
News: Prosthesis From Hell
Artist Sascha Nordmeyer presents her concept Communication Prosthesis as the “ultimate communication tool,” or the solution to self-expression. Once inserted into the subject's mouth, the prosthesis forces strange (and horrific) expressions.
How To: Incorporate Magic Glos to your polymer clay projects
Magic Glos is a fun product that you can add to polymer clay or resin products to make your project glossy and shiny. You can even apply Magic Glos to paper projects, though you'll need to seal it to prevent bleeding.
How To: Melt a vinyl record in the oven and shape it into a plastic bowl
Spice up your next party with some unique party dishes, and we're not talking about food here, we're talking about the actual dishes, specifically bowls. But not just any bowls, vinyl bowls, made from authentic vinyl records. The steps are simple: melt the vinyl record in the oven, then take it out and mold it (safely) into a plastic bowl. Change the shape up each time!
News: Psychedelic Paper Bunny Hole
A mass accumulation of $5 donations allowed NYC artist collective SOFTlab to install the below piece, entitled CHROMAtex, at the Bridge Gallery. The piece is constructed with each donator's name printed as a photo paper tile, laser cut and then assembled with everyday binder clips. Elegantly constructed! Previously, Elegantly Crafted Paper Chandeliers.
HowTo: Start a Fire With Stuff From Ikea
Apparently IKEA does not sell matches or lighters, so Helmut Smits was forced to improvise. Titled FLAMMA, this conceptual art piece is outdoor survivalism for the resourceful yuppie set.
How To: Work with Polymer Clay for Beginners
Polymer clay is an exciting arts & crafts medium. Actually, "clay" is a misnomer; it contains no true clay, but rather consists of tiny particles of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) combined with plasticizer, which is what makes it malleable like clay.
How To: Make a surreal paper mache hand
If you're looking for ideas for creepy decorations to make for your next Halloween party, or just want to have a little fun, you can use papier mache, cardbord paper, a little foil and some paint to create a surreal cartoon hand.
News: Artist With Death Wish (No Photoshop Used)
It is conceivable that Chinese artist Lei Wei has always dreamt of being a superhero. Or that he simply has the desire to fly. Or maybe he is constantly confronting a fear of heights. Whatever the impetus of his work may be, Wei creates illusions of a dangerous "reality".
News: 108 Garbage Bags Become 1 Giant Computer-Breathing Organism
Berlin based artist Nils Vöelker's plastic bag installation entitled "One Hundred and Eight" features 108 plastic bags that inflate and deflate by 216 individually controllable computer cooling fans. Völker originally intended the piece to be a giant display screen, but the end result became something much more compelling. Via Wired:
News: Zipper Motorboat "Unzips" the Ocean
Evocative of master Pop artist Claes Oldenburg, Japanese artist Yasuhiro Suzuki built a motorboat facsimile of a massively scaled zipper pull. From an aerial view, it's parting stream resembles a parting zipper. Absurdly fun. Previously, Soft and Squishy Sculptures.
News: The Barrel of a Gun Has Never Tasted So Sweet
In keeping with today's theme of dark and twisted sweets (edible blood slides), check out this German gun-sucking art project. For a piece entitled Freeze: Revisited, Florian Jenett and Valentin Beinroth made handgun replicas crafted from ice, in an array of flavors, including coke, black currant, licorice, and cherry.
News: The King is Back! More From the Anal-Retentive Pencil Tip Sculptor
Yes, that's Elvis Presley. Yes, that's a pencil tip. Yes, that's simply...insane. The Telegraph shares more work from the incredible Dalton Ghetti. Miss the last post? Check it out.
News: Dead Flylashes
Would you glue fly legs to your eyelids? More or less stomach churning than gluing your eyelids to your...eyelids? (Shudder.)
News: Evan Penny's Real Life Acid Trip
When viewing Toronto based artist Evan Penny's work, Ron Mueck immediately comes to mind. The clear similarities include a representation which is completely photo-realistic, a playfulness with scale, and the mutually shared background in Hollywood SFX.
HowTo: Print Cement
Printers are getting pretty high tech these days. Print a building, print some organs... and now, print your own cement sculptures.
News: If the World Were Made of Pixels...
Texas based artist Shawn Smith brings the digital world to reality with his woodcut pixelated sculptures. The combination of a traditional material (wood) with a contemporary concept results in surprisingly fresh work. Plus, the craftsmanship appears to be impeccable. Check out his artist statement below.
News: Careful, No Pooping in This Pizza Box
It's amazing what you can do with an ordinary material like cardboard... or a truckload of discarded pizza boxes.
How To: Make your own cookie cutters with Threadbanger
Had enough of cookie-cutter cookie cutters? Make your own! It's easier than you'd think. So easy, in fact, that this DIY guide from Threadbanger can present a complete overview of the process in about three minutes' time. For complete instructions, and to get started a-makin' your own cookie cutters, watch this video guide.
News: Cardboard Mechanics
We love it when everyday material is used in a new and unexpected application. Cardboard is something most of us take completely for granted. We need it when we're moving, and that's about it. When Frank Gehry created the cardboard chair in 1972, he blew the minds of both the furniture and the design world. So strong. So durable. So fluid.
How To: Use daylight lamps and do polymer clay silkscreening
Ray Charles created music in the dark (literally), but somehow we doubt you'd be able to create the same magic while attempting to mold polymer clay in the dark.
News: Olafur in the Sky with Diamonds
Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson totally inspires us here at Wonderhowto. His waterfall installations on the Hudson River. His incredible sun exhibit at the Tate in London. His concepts and execution are dazzling. Plus he has Taschen book that weighs a frickin ton. (Yes. The tonnage does translate to respect.)
News: The World's Slowest Porsche
Sounds like an odd bragging right, but hold your horses, artist Hannes Langeder's handmade Porsche is pretty damn interesting.
News: This $50K Sculpture is Made of What?
53-year-old artist Scottish artist David Mach uses tens of thousands of matchsticks to create sculptures of animals, as well as religious and political icons. He first creates a plastic or fiberglass mold, and then inserts the matchsticks, one at a time. His work sells anywhere from $30,000 to $52,000... unless he sets the piece on fire, of course.
News: Massive Cocoons Trap Humans Like Flies in a Web
INSANE what you can do with a truckload of packing tape. Viennese/Croatian design collective For Use/Numen uses the common junk drawer office supply to create massive, self-supportive cocoons that visitors can climb inside and explore.
News: What's Going on Here? Amorphous, Living, Breathing... Butts?
Love it. Spooky. Weird. Visually compelling. Entitled, "Klunk Garden", the piece was made by (well-known-in-the-art-world) Austrian artist collective, Gelitin. Looks like one of those cheesy little tabletop zen gardens. You know what I'm talkin' about:
News: Azuma Makoto's Serious Flower Power
I'm totally drooling over artist Azuma Makoto's insanely lush, decadent floral arrangement-sculptures. Drop. Dead. Beautiful.
How To: Make mini churro charms out of polymer clay
Learn how to sculpt a miniature churro charms out of polymer clay with this free video art lesson. While this tutorial is best suited for those with some familiarity of polymer clay sculpture, novice sculpters should be able to follow along given a little effort. For specifics, including step-by-step instructions, and to get started crafting your own mini polymer clay churro charms, watch this sculpture tutorial.