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Anatomy and Ancient Sea Creatures Converge in Hiné Mizushima’s Felt Sculptures
by Aurelia Butler 22 July 2025, 13:24
Group of anatomical felt brooches. All images courtesy of Hiné Mizushima, shared with permission
Anatomy and Ancient Sea Creatures Converge in Hiné Mizushima’s Felt Sculptures
July 22, 2025
ArtCraftNature
Kate Mothes
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From the spiral shells of prehistoric ammonites to uncanny depictions of organs and fish, Hiné Mizushima has a knack for combining cuteness and humor with the unusual and unseen. The Vancouver-based artist (previously) continues to create vibrant dioramas and wall sculptures that toy with textiles, anatomy, and taxidermy.
Using felt, sequins, embroidery thread, and yarn, Mizushima builds colorful displays of coral, animals, and botanicals. A mounted moray eel, for example, mimics a natural history display, showing a cutaway of its belly revealing a—rather lively—baby eel.
“Squids”
Recently, the artist also sewed a series of brooches in the form of microscopic organisms like Daphnia and Paramecium and anatomical human organs. Nerves and blood vessels extend along the root and crown of a tooth, complete with a filled cavity.
Mizushima is currently preparing for a group show at Ranbu Gallery in Osaka this fall, plus another group exhibition at Beinart Gallery in Melbourne in early 2026. The artist looks forward to experimenting with some new craft techniques and focusing on her Etsy shop, where original pieces and prints are available for purchase. Explore more on her website, Instagram, and Behance.
Anatomical felt brooch
“Anatomical Moray Eel”
Detail of “Anatomical Moray Eel”
“Phantom Squid”
“Ammonite”
Anatomical felt brooch
“Turtleback Twin Beasts”
Anatomical felt brooch
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Wang Mansheng Turns to Nature to Make His Own Paintbrushes from Organic Materials
by Aurelia Butler 17 July 2025, 19:11
All images courtesy of the artist and The Huntington
Wang Mansheng Turns to Nature to Make His Own Paintbrushes from Organic Materials
July 17, 2025
ArtCraftNature
Kate Mothes
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Have you ever sought out the best variety of paper, highest quality paints, or most-trusted brand of equipment only to find that a cheaper, more readily available version actually worked better? That’s something Chinese painter and calligrapher Wang Mansheng thinks about a lot. Making his own brushes from natural materials, the artist considers how organic imperfections are often ultimately more interesting than anything produced “perfectly” in a factory.
The artist’s solo exhibition at The Huntington, Without Us, envisions a world literally devoid of us, which he describes as a “pure land without humans, without pollution, without humans’ damage.” Comprising a series of 22 ink paintings on silk scrolls suspended from the ceiling, the body of work highlights the interconnectedness of all living things. Starting with the equipment he uses, nature remains central in his practice.
A short documentary produced by The Huntington delves into Wang’s process of creating his own brushes from scratch, utilizing stalks of grass and pieces of twine. “Manufactured things have a certain form,” the artist says. “Like a manufactured brush—they are all really fine. The factory is trying to make it as fine as they could. But when you use it, all the lines come out as smooth and beautiful. But sometimes, I think it’s too perfect.”
To bring out the character of old trees and dramatic cliffs in his paintings, Wang employs brushes that produce a rougher line or texture. In the film, he demonstrates how he transforms the soft, wide bristles of tall reeds into a tool suited to his needs. Through trial and error, he taught himself how to shape and use different sizes and densities to achieve a variety of effects. Overall, the texture mirrors age and exposure to the elements that shape how trees and rocks look over time.
Wang Mansheng: Without Us continues through August 5 in San Marino, California. Find more on the artist’s website. (via Kottke)
Installation view of Without Us at The Huntington
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Tenderly Crocheted Sculptures by Caitlin McCormack Contend with Existential Dread
by Aurelia Butler 10 July 2025, 14:15
“Let’s Get Demonized (Instructional Polyhedron).” Photos by Jason Chen. All images courtesy of Caitlin McCormack, shared with permission
Tenderly Crocheted Sculptures by Caitlin McCormack Contend with Existential Dread
July 10, 2025
ArtCraft
Kate Mothes
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Caitlin McCormack is known for her crocheted, skeletal animals and otherworldly plants that nod to a speculative future in which the earth has endured environmental catastrophe. Motifs of skeletal baby birds and mammals read as cautionary tales about the human relationship with nature today and how much more disconnected—and disastrous—it could become.
Through crochet, with which we often associate domestic comfort and even quaintness, the artist channels a nostalgic medium to peer more closely at what we ignore in the present. Bundles of stones and knick-knacks encased in lacy fibers are complemented by skeletal specimens and strange botanical sculptures.
“Never Let the Party Die”
A new body of work that goes on view this weekend in There You Will Find the Stone at Harman Projects. The show includes a nebulous, blue wall sculpture titled “Earth Before Eyeballs Existed,” containing niches for tiny bundles of found objects. Pairing a slightly unnerving hue and a collection of tenderly crocheted packets, McCormack illuminates a reverence for tiny overlooked or discarded items.
Many of the titles of the artist’s pieces express a sense of dread, tension, or excess. A series of bundles titled They Come Back But They’re Never the Same and sculptures like “Don’t Let the Party Die” hint at a human crisis of control. “You Picked the Wrong One,” with a nest of unsettling, skeletal baby birds, brims with foreboding.
McCormack’s recent work emerges also from her attempts to process loss and illness in her family, including her own medical diagnoses. “These experiences have catalyzed a reevaluation of deep-rooted existential positions, specifically those grounded in skepticism, atheism, and a lifetime of anxiety,” she says in a statement. These pieces “serve as manifestations of an evolving worldview shaped by grief, loss, and an obsessive search for meaning.”
There You Will Find the Stone runs from July 12 to August 2 in New York City. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
“Earth Before Eyeballs Existed”
Detail of “Earth Before Eyeballs Existed”
“Milkvetch, How Much More Can They Hold”
Detail of “Milkvetch, How Much More Can They Hold”
“They Come Back But They’re Never the Same V”
“You Picked the Wrong One”
Detail of “You Picked the Wrong One”
Detail of “Never Let the Party Die”
“I Came Here to Try to Have a Good Time”
Detail of “I Came Here to Try to Have a Good Time”
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Wood and Ceramic ‘Guardian’ Assemblages by Expanded Eye Emphasize Earthy Materials
by Aurelia Butler 9 July 2025, 18:52
Casa Mahala installation. All images courtesy of Expanded Eye, shared with permission
Wood and Ceramic ‘Guardian’ Assemblages by Expanded Eye Emphasize Earthy Materials
July 9, 2025
ArtCraft
Kate Mothes
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Blurring the distinction between abstraction and figuration, Expanded Eye’s recent works explore themes of the divine feminine and “the peaceful power of the Earthmother,” the duo says. Comprising Lisbon-based artists Jade Tomlinson and Kevin James, Expanded Eye is known for characteristically geometric, figurative tattoos and assemblages (previously) that incorporate wood and repurposed materials into bold compositions. Through large-scale installations and framed pieces, the artists explore the possibilities of texture, pattern, and color.
Tomlinson and James have put their tattoo practice on hold to focus on sculptural reliefs. Ceramic, in particular, has become a central tenet of their practice, inspired by the rich tile tradition of Portugal, known as azulejo—an exemplification of cross-cultural exchange. The artists are interested in “using this grounding, ancient material from the earth to depict serene guardians in earth tone colors, to evoke stillness and calm in this fast-paced world.”
“Earth Flow” (2025), glazed hand-cut tiles in wooden tray frame, 58 x 48 centimeters
Past and present converge in Expanded Eye’s compositions, channeling an interest in timelessness and the continuum of clay, carving, and building methods. The graphic elements and fragmented features also call to early 20th-century art historical Modernism, especially the Cubist movement. It’s this “fusion of traditional materials with a unique modern approach that excites us—connecting the past to the present,” the artists tell Colossal.
Expanded Eye is currently working on their largest tile commission to date and plans to further merge ceramics with other facets of their practice. Explore more on the artists’ website and Instagram.
Casa Mahala installation
Detail of Casa Mahala installation
“Earth Mother” (2024), glazed and hand-cut tile panel in wooden tray frame, 117 x 71 centimeters
“Lunar Guardian” (2024), glazed and hand-cut tiles in wooden tray frame, 34.5 x 24 / 13 x 24 centimeters
“Guardians series 3” (2024), glazed and hand-cut tiles in wooden tray frame, 54.5 x 24 centimeters
“Earth Dance” (2025), glazed ceramic tile panel in wooden tray frame, 128 x 71 centimeters
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Blackburn’s National Festival of Making Celebrates Collaborations Between Art and Industry
by Aurelia Butler 9 July 2025, 14:32
Morag Myerscough in collaboration with Crown Paints. Photos by Robin Zahler. All images courtesy of the artists and the National Festival of Making, shared with permission
Blackburn’s National Festival of Making Celebrates Collaborations Between Art and Industry
July 9, 2025
ArtCraftDesign
Kate Mothes
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Every year, in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire, a vibrant festival erupts with creativity in a celebration of art, craft, and industry. This year marked the seventh edition of the National Festival of Making, organized along the theme of “Art in Manufacturing.” Acclaimed artists and designers teamed up with industry leaders to create works using a variety of materials, from Morag Myerscough’s collaboration with Crown Paints for a vibrant new mural to Liaqat Rasul’s partnership with textile producer Herbert Parkinson for an optical installation.
Locality played a central role in the festival, as artists were paired with manufacturers in Lancashire. Matter at hand, the design practice of Lewis Jones, teamed up with Darwen Terracotta and Faience, which focuses on traditional glazed earthenware for home products and restoration (faience is a type of tin-glazed pottery).
Liaqat Rasul in collaboration with Herbert Parkinson, “Umeed (Oh-meed) امید – Gobaith – Hope”
Matter at hand created a large-scale installation titled “Poured Earth,” which takes an architectural approach to materials in the northern transept of Blackburn Cathedral. The piece invites visitors to walk through an archway of wooden crates and around cast elements in various shapes and sizes, emphasizing the timelessness and continuity of earthen building materials and styles.
Morag Myerscough transformed a corner building into a characteristically vivid, geometric floral mural with complementary garden boxes and a water tank. Rasul’s piece, a multifaceted textile assemblage suspended in the Blackburn Cathedral crypt, features a friendly face made of independent elements that merge into a full visage when viewed from the front.
Titled “Umeed (Oh-meed) امید – Gobaith – Hope,” the piece was created from scraps salvaged from Herbert Parkinson’s factory floor in addition to the artist’s own archive. Rasul tenderly embroidered the Urdu, Hindu, and Welsh words for “hope” amid various found elements like cord and safety pins.
The National Festival of Making features a program of more than 100 workshops, performances, artist talks, markets, and more across more than 20 Blackburn venues. Emphasizing the power of collaboration, cross-disciplinary exploration, and community, the festival aims to empower people of all ages to lean into curiosity and get making.
Rasul and Lewis’s work will be on view through July 12, with Myerscough’s mural intended for long-term display. Find more on the festival’s website.
Matter at hand in collaboration with Darwen Terracotta, “Poured Earth”
Matter at hand in collaboration with Darwen Terracotta, “Poured Earth” (detail)
Morag Myerscough in collaboration with Crown Paints
Liaqat Rasul in collaboration with Herbert Parkinson, “Umeed (Oh-meed) امید – Gobaith – Hope” (detail)
Matter at hand in collaboration with Darwen Terracotta, “Poured Earth” (detail)
Detail of a mural by Morag Myerscough in collaboration with Crown Paints
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Site-Specific Textiles by Rachel B. Hayes Radiate Within Vast Landscapes and Sunlit Interiors
by Aurelia Butler 7 July 2025, 17:29
Mirror Lake, Bottomless Lakes State Park, New Mexico, 2015. All images courtesy of Rachel B. Hayes, shared with permission
Site-Specific Textiles by Rachel B. Hayes Radiate Within Vast Landscapes and Sunlit Interiors
July 7, 2025
ArtCraftDesign
Kate Mothes
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From myriad swaths of vivid, translucent fabric, Rachel B. Hayes conjures striking installations that transform our experiences of both interior spaces and expansive natural landscapes. The Tulsa-based artist suspends large-scale patchwork compositions in spaces ranging from barns and greenhouses to open fields and lakes, experimenting with scale, color, pattern, light, and movement in joyful installations.
Hayes’ works have been exhibited extensively around the U.S. and Europe, often stretched like quilted sun sails over courtyards. Her recent piece “Horizon Drift,” in collaboration with Black Cube in Denver, comprises a series of overlapping triangular elements that cast colorful shadows onto the pavement, similar to “A Moment in Time” in Capri.
“Horizon Drift” (2024) Denver, Colorado. Photo by Third Dune, courtesy of Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum
Usually installed for just a few weeks or months, Hayes’ installations temporarily merge with their surroundings, a nod to Jeanne-Claude and Christo’s monumentally ambitious fabric interventions. Richly patchworked or woven, the pieces also emphasize a joyful experience of light, breeze, and time-honored American quilting practices.
Hayes always enjoys looking back at earlier works and in situ experiments to inform new pieces. “I still get so much inspiration and energy from my temporary experiments…I keep coming back to my favorite sites that I know like the back of my hand but also learn and see new things every time I visit,” she says. She often returns to various sites in South Dakota, Missouri, and New Mexico to document work multiple times. The light, weather, and changes in the landscape always “read” differently, and she thinks of many of these pieces as part of a “long vision” within her practice.
Sometimes, Hayes’ works remain installed for a while longer, and she has embraced becoming something of a “fabric engineer.” Several long-term projects will likely be installed outdoors for at least five years, challenging the artist to select materials that will be both visually effective and endure the elements. “It is truly exhilarating to try and find ways to make my outdoor experiments last for longer periods of time,” she says.
Light, especially sunlight, plays a significant role in Hayes’ compositions and site selection, particularly indoors where architecture and prescribed routes influence how people move around and can view the work. “I am usually chasing the sun to see where it peeks through the space and plays with reflections and color-casted shadows, so it’s really important that I make the appropriate choice for the site,” she says. While the artist uses software like Photoshop or Procreate to compose the overall pattern, she primarily focuses on the physicality of the material and its unique interactions with different places.
Installation at Foreland, Catskill, New York. Photo by Adam T. Deen
Hayes’ installations are on view in Patterned by Nature at the Chicago Botanic Garden throughout the summer. You can also see her work in Soft Structures through August 8 at Jane Lombard Gallery in New York City and Body’s First Architecture through August 10 at Ely Center of Contemporary Art in New Haven, Connecticut.
Her semi-permanent exhibitions can be seen at the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, and The Gathering Place in Tulsa. And if you find yourself in West Texas, Hayes’ flag is currently flown outside Ballroom Marfa during the gallery’s opening hours. Explore more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
You might also enjoy Wally Dion’s translucent quilts that honor Indigenous traditions.
Fruitlands Museum, Harvard, Massachusetts, 2023
“Garden Loom” (2015), Roswell, New Mexico
Menlo Park, California
“A Moment in Time” (2022), Capri, Italy. Photo by Istanbul’74
Detail of installation at Mirror Lake, Bottomless Lakes State Park, New Mexico, 2015
“Cloud Report” (2021), South Dakota
South Dakota
Fairfield, Iowa
Flint Hills, Kansas
Greenwood, Missouri
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From Velvet and Vintage Textiles, Larysa Bernhardt Embroiders Otherworldly Moths
by Aurelia Butler 7 July 2025, 14:47
All images courtesy of Larysa Bernhardt, shared with permission
From Velvet and Vintage Textiles, Larysa Bernhardt Embroiders Otherworldly Moths
July 7, 2025
ArtCraftNature
Kate Mothes
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“Mythology and folklore surrounding moths and butterflies carries complex and sometimes contradictory symbolism,” artist Larysa Bernhardt says. “I was always attracted to their paradoxical nature.” While on one hand, she dreads certain types of the winged creatures turning up in her house because of the risk they pose to textiles, she is fascinated by their variations and loves to see them thrive.
Dualities abound in Bernhardt’s sculptural, embroidered textile moths. Her creative process begins outdoors in a seemingly unrelated aspect of the studio—her garden. The artist tends to a “moon garden” every summer, comprising fragrant botanicals like tobacco, moonflower, datura, and jasmine that perfume the air and blossom with small white flowers that “glow in the dark like stars,” the artist says. Sphinx and luna moths often visit, accompanied by thousands of fireflies.
When the sun comes up, the garden transforms into a riot of color, with zinnias, poppies, and roses attracting daytime pollinators like butterflies and bees. “It’s the duality of it—night and day, sun and moon, moths and butterflies” that fascinates Bernhardt. She adds, “It’s an incredibly complex balancing act I am forever mesmerized by.”
Mirroring the supple fuzziness of the insects’ wings, the artist enjoys working with velvet to achieve the moths’ elegance and whimsy. It’s a challenging material because the pile can be unforgiving; make a mistake and the ghost of the stitch will remain as a mark on the fabric. Bernhardt stitches freehand when applying motifs to the wings, starting with a loose sketch but allowing intuition to guide her in creating star-like patterns and symbolic objects like vases or eyes.
Bernhardt also loves working with vintage needlepoints and old tapestries. “I find textile pieces in dusty corners of antique stores; I love these discoveries,” she says. “And I love giving them another chance to go back up on a wall and be admired again, cherished.”
The artist’s work is currently included in Daughters of Eve at Quirky Fox in Taranaki, New Zealand, and Beyond the Sea at Nanny Goat Gallery in Petaluma, California. In August, Bernhardt will be part of a show with Beinart Gallery in Melbourne, and she’s currently working toward a solo exhibition at Haven Gallery in Long Island, New York. Find more on her website and Instagram.
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Vibrant Patterns in Frances Priest’s Ceramics Emanate Historical and International Influences
by Aurelia Butler 3 July 2025, 16:00
“Byzantine.” Photos by Shannon Toft. All images courtesy of Frances Priest, shared with permission
Vibrant Patterns in Frances Priest’s Ceramics Emanate Historical and International Influences
July 3, 2025
ArtCraft
Kate Mothes
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In vibrant effusions of color, Frances Priest creates ceramic vessels, tiles, and sculptural forms that explore the possibilities of pattern. The Edinburgh-based artist’s interest in decorative motifs stems from a book she received as a child, The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones, originally published in 1856.
Jones compiled elaborate documentation of decorative motifs around Europe, the Middle East, and other regions represented in British museum collections of the time. An international focus has long inspired Priest, who incorporates a wide range of visual languages into her pieces.
Jar with a chevron pattern
Priest (previously) emphasizes geometry and color, merging ideas of precision with organic movement—some of the elements appear to be floating away or overlapping playfully with others rather than remaining in perfect alignment. She also continues the patterns across the bottoms of the pieces, emphasizing an all-around completeness.
Recent works include a series of cylindrical vessels with lids influenced by Chinese ginger jars. The artist recently completed a large-scale tile commission for Theatre Clwyd in North Wales titled “Stellar,” and a series of encaustic floral tiles dotted the floor of a garden at London’s 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
If you’re in Edinburgh, see Priest’s work at &Gallery in the forthcoming group exhibition Fragments, which runs from July 5 to 30. Find more on the artist’s Instagram and website, where some of the pieces shown here are available for purchase in her shop.
Jars with (L-R) triangle, chevron, and bow patterns
Detail of the triangle-patterned jar
“Wait”
Installation view of “Byzantine”
Detail of “Byzantine”
“Pace”
Jar with a bow pattern
Detail of “Byzantine”
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More stories

Anatomy and Ancient Sea Creatures Converge in Hiné Mizushima’s Felt Sculptures

Wang Mansheng Turns to Nature to Make His Own Paintbrushes from Organic Materials

Tenderly Crocheted Sculptures by Caitlin McCormack Contend with Existential Dread

Wood and Ceramic ‘Guardian’ Assemblages by Expanded Eye Emphasize Earthy Materials

Blackburn’s National Festival of Making Celebrates Collaborations Between Art and Industry

Site-Specific Textiles by Rachel B. Hayes Radiate Within Vast Landscapes and Sunlit Interiors

From Velvet and Vintage Textiles, Larysa Bernhardt Embroiders Otherworldly Moths

Vibrant Patterns in Frances Priest’s Ceramics Emanate Historical and International Influences

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