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Vintage Tapestries Cloak the Wings of Larysa Bernhardt’s Plush Moths
Art
Craft
#insects
#moths
#sculpture
#textilesJanuary 23, 2022Anna MarksAll images © Larysa Bernhardt, shared with permissionIn a cozy studio overlooking a garden in Blackwell, Missouri, artist Larysa Bernhardt creates colorful moth sculptures with a needle and thread. Her fabric creatures are embroidered with old tapestries, often portraying historical people, animals, and delicate botanical forms on their wings: one specimen with a rusty orange abdomen depicts a little bird taking flight, while another is blue with a Medieval woman looking at a flower.Able to stand on their own or hang from the wall, the handmade moths feature eyes made from Czech glass beads and bodies of cotton velvet and Belgian linen. Bernhardt also wires their wings, enabling people to shape them into their desired position.The artist initially began by collecting vintage textiles, including silk tapestries and wool, and was interesting in analyzing and unraveling their histories, taking an interest in how creatures, such as moths, often inhabit such materials. “I have some very old wool and silk tapestries, and I’m still trying to unravel the stories behind them,” she tells Colossal. “Those will never be cut, they’re treasures, and I’m constantly checking for moth larvae…and just like that, moths entered the chat! What I love and what I fear melded into my work, in what I believe is a magical, albeit slightly menacing way.”In addition to the material components, the moths are inspired by travel, television shows, books, and “even phrases someone drops in the grocery line to checkout,” Bernhardt says. “I will never tire of seeing how magically creative humans are,” Bernhardt explains.Some of her works are on view now at New Orleans’ Mortal Machine Gallery, and you can view more of her work on Instagram and shop available pieces on Etsy. (via Supersonic Art)
#insects
#moths
#sculpture
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Meticulous Sculptures by Artist Carol Long Highlight the Curved Lines and Colorful Embellishments Found in Nature
Art
Craft
#animals
#ceramics
#insects
#plants
#potteryNovember 30, 2021Grace EbertAll images © Carol Long, shared with permissionHonoring the humble shape of the vessel is at the center of Carol Long’s practice. From her studio in rural Kansas, the artist throws simple ceramic cylinders that she contorts into supple butterfly wings, curved chrysalises, or vases with embellished handles.“When it comes off the potter’s wheel, that’s just the beginning,” she tells Colossal. “I usually sit for a second and look at the piece and see which way I can push it out or in.”The resulting forms are evocative of both flora and fauna and traditional pottery, although Long’s sculptures emphasize smooth, sinuous walls and squiggly bases rather than angled edges. She uses slip trailing to add tactile decorative elements to the piece like small spheres, handles, or raised linework. “The relationship between the glazes that are inside the vectors, the shapes made by the slip trailing, are really important in how they’re divided and how they sit next to each other,” she says, noting that the process is particularly meticulous because it involves applying the material to each intricate, ribbed pattern and delicate outline.Whether a vase or wide-mouthed jar, the whimsical sculptures are brimming with color and textured details. “I love the flowing lines, and I love the idea of framing a picture on my pots. A lot of times I have a focal point like an animal or insect and then I’ve framed it with other designs,” the artist says.Long is hosting an annual open house at her studio next month and will show a body of work at Charlie Cummings Gallery in July of 2022. Until then, shop available pieces on Etsy—she also has an update slated for mid-December—and follow her latest pieces on Instagram. (via Women’s Art)
#animals
#ceramics
#insects
#plants
#potteryDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story More - in Art
Evoking Dutch Genre Paintings, Intimate Scenes Peer into the Lives of Mushroom Characters
Art#insects
#mushrooms
#paintingSeptember 27, 2021
Grace Ebert“The Nap” (2021), oil on cradled wood panel, 16 x 20 inches. All images © Bella Ormseth, shared with permission
In her ongoing series Human Nature, Dutch artist Bella Ormseth paints lavish domestic scenes inhabited by central mushroom characters and a cohort of plants and oversized insects. The evocative subjects stem from those the artist encounters around her home in Puget Sound off the coast of Washington and are human-like in their gestures and poses, whether draped over a chair during a nap, embracing over wine and oysters, or staring out the window.
Each of the oil-based pieces is a study of Dutch genre paintings and their light, composition, color palettes, and techniques—Ormseth shares glimpses into her process and longer descriptions of specific references on her site. The ornate, tied-back curtains in “The Nap,” for example, mimic those in Johannes Vermeer’s recently restored “Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window,” while “The Conversation” (shown below) works within the subgenre doorkijkje, or look-through, that offers a view of one room while in another, with the intimacy of family bonds present in Pieter de Hooch’s “The Bedroom” and “A Woman with a Child in a Pantry” apparent, as well.
Although the works glean elements common in the Dutch Golden Age, Ormseth veils each with contemporary contexts, including the pandemic-induced loneliness that exudes from the character in “Waiting by the Window.” She explains further in a statement:Dutch genre paintings, with their depiction of everyday scenes of ordinary life, marked a significant turning point in Western art, away from biblical and historical subjects. It stirs me to see this elevating of domestic life to a subject of art—of seeing not only beauty but something profound in the everyday business of life… While I look to history for guidance, my paintings depict my own time. The idea for a painting always starts with an emotional response to something that is happening in the world, either in my own life or the world at large.
“The Nap” is currently on view through October 2 at Copro Gallery, and Ormseth is working on another Human Nature piece for a January group show at Roq La Rue Gallery in Seattle. She’s also starting new series about an adventurous group of women in the 1920s and their connection to the intertidal life of the Salish Sea, which you can follow on Instagram. (via This Isn’t Happiness)
“The Booth in the Back” (2020), oil on cradled wood panel, 24 x 18 inches
“Waiting by the Window” (2021), oil on cradled wood panel, 12 x 9 inches
“The Conversation” (2020), oil on cradled wood panel, 24 x 18 inches
“The Wish” (2020), oil on cradled wood panel, 20 x 16 inches
“Abandoned Reading” (2019), oil on cradled wood panel, 24 x 18 inches#insects
#mushrooms
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Watercolor Illustrations by Steeven Salvat Cloak Natural Specimens with Elaborate Metallic Motifs
Art
Illustration#beetles
#butterflies
#drawing
#insects
#watercolorAugust 6, 2021
Grace EbertAll images © Steeven Salvat, shared with permission
History, science, and nature converge in the watercolor and ink drawings of French artist Steeven Salvat (previously). Whether encasing beetles in ornate armor, rotational gears, and antique dials or rendering vast entanglements of flora and fauna, Salvat’s works exquisitely apply a fanciful veil to wildlife and insects. Each piece, which is the result of hundreds of hours of painstaking linework, stems from biological studies and 18th-century engravings, two themes the artist returns to as a way to allude to the precious qualities of the natural world.
Salvat’s Nymphalidae series will be on view from August 14 to September 12 at Haven Gallery in Northport, New York. Find a multitude of videos detailing his process on Instagram, and shop limited-edition prints and originals on his site.#beetles
#butterflies
#drawing
#insects
#watercolorDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!
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Whimsical Illustrations and Motifs Dyed with a Traditional Wax-Resist Method Cover Caroline Södergren’s Eggshells
Art
Craft
Illustration#animals
#eggs
#insects
#waxJune 22, 2021
Grace EbertAll images © Caroline Södergren, shared with permission
Formally trained in glassblowing, Stockholm-based artist Caroline Södergren transfers her experience working with a delicate, fragile material to an ornately illustrated collection of eggshells. She adapts the traditional Ukrainian craft called pysanky, a wax-resist method that involves drawing a design on a clean, empty chicken, turkey, goose, or ostrich egg with hot beeswax. The shell is then dipped in multiple baths of dye and the seal washed away with oil to reveal the colorful, layered design—you can watch the entire process in the video below.
The technique often is combined with folk art, although Södergren illustrates her own botanical motifs, beetles, and mythical creatures that stray from traditional designs. “You have to think before you start a pattern as the different color layers must come in the right order,” she says. “If you make a mistake with the wax, it is not possible to change, and a written line is where it is. A constant challenge that makes it so fun to work with!”
Konsthantverkets Vänner, an organization dedicated to supporting Swedish arts and crafts, just awarded Södergren a scholarship for her batik designs. Browse available eggs in her shop, and find a larger collection on Instagram. (via Lustik)
#animals
#eggs
#insects
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Metallic Specimens by Dr. Allan Drummond Perfectly Replicate Prehistoric and Modern Insects in Bronze and Silver
Art
Design
Science#3d printing
#insects
#metalJune 15, 2021
Grace Ebert“Thorn,” bronze and sterling silver, approximately 4 x 2 x 3 inches. All images © Allan Drummond, shared with permission
Dr. Allan Drummond works at the intersection of art, design, and science with his metallic replicas of wide-eyed spiders, ants, and other winged insects. He buoys his research in the departments of Medicine and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the University of Chicago into a creative practice that casts biologically realistic specimens with a focus on anatomical elements of prehistoric organisms most likely to be lost in the fossil record, including underbellies.
Each creature starts with a digital rendering created in Blender that’s 3D-printed in individual pieces—you can see examples of these initial models on Instagram. Drummond then casts the replica in bronze or silver with the help of jewelry designers in his current city of Chicago and later assembles and finishes the metallic components, which results in a meticulous copy of the actual insect whether life-sized or enlarged to magnify its features.
In a note to Colossal, he writes that the body of work shown here utilizes more advanced techniques than his previous models and came together with the help of two mentors, sculptor Jessica Joslin and the jewelry designer Heather Oleari. “Feeling the pieces for the thorn bug snap together in my hands—a total rush—was less a relief from stress and more a confirmation that, at least when it comes to building giant metal arthropods, I know what I’m doing,” he says.
If you’re in Seattle, head to Roq La Rue Gallery before July 3 to see Drummond’s exacting metal insects in person, and dive deeper into his process on Instagram.“Proudhopper (Dictyopharidae),” bronze and sterling silver, approximately 5 x 3 x 3.5 inches
“Naphrys,” bronze and black glass, approximately 10 x 14 x 2 inches
“Naphrys,” bronze and black glass, approximately 10 x 14 x 2 inches
“Semibalanus,” bronze, steel, and silver, approximately 4.5 x 4 x 3.5 inches
Detail of “Semibalanus,” bronze, steel, and silver, approximately 4.5 x 4 x 3.5 inches
“Thorn,” bronze and sterling silver, approximately 4 x 2 x 3 inches
“Proudhopper (Dictyopharidae),” bronze and sterling silver, approximately 5 x 3 x 3.5 inches
“Bellacartwrightia,” sterling silver and patina, 5.5 x 4 inches
“Farm To Table,” bronze ant, sterling silver aphid with black glass, two-carat cubic zirconia, approximately 9 x 5 x 2.5 inches#3d printing
#insects
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New Articulate Cardboard Sculptures by Greg Olijnyk Populate Miniature Worlds of Fantasy and Science Fiction
Art
Craft#cardboard
#insects
#light
#robots
#science fiction
#sculptureMay 20, 2021
Grace Ebert“DvG 2.0.” All images by Griffin Simm, © Greg Olijnyk, shared with permission
An eerie pair of buildings, a jet-powered dragonfly, and a sci-fi-inspired retelling of David and Goliath complete with an oversized robot and samurai comprise the latest cardboard sculptures by Greg Olijnyk (previously). Fully articulate and outfitted with LED lights and glass where necessary, the extraordinarily detailed works are futuristic, slightly dystopic, and part of larger world-building narratives. The architectural constructions, for example, are “the start of a series of pieces exploring the fear, fascination, and curiosity aroused by the stranger in our midst. The weird presence out of place. The building of unknown purpose with no windows and with lights flickering at night,” he says. “What’s going on in there?”
Olijnyk is based in Melbourne and shares works-in-progress and more photos of the machine-like sculptures shown here on his Instagram.“DvG 2.0”
Detail of “DvG 2.0”
“Dragonfly Bot”
“The New Neighbours,” 80 x 75 x 30 centimeters
“The New Neighbours,” 80 x 75 x 30 centimeters
Detail of “The New Neighbours,” 80 x 75 x 30 centimeters
Detail of “Dragonfly Bot”
“Dragonfly Bot”#cardboard
#insects
#light
#robots
#science fiction
#sculptureDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!
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