(Check out our complete collection of Extraordinary Art from Ordinary Objects.)
Paintings normally require canvas and most theater takes a stage, but carvings can come out of almost any material - a fact which some talented artists have put to into practice in amazing ways. Most people are familiar with amazingly carved ice statues and perhaps even giant cheese sculptures, but what about eggs, pencils or books? Here are three approaches to carving used to create amazing art from ordinary (and often fragile) objects.
Lew Jensen, Don Lisk and Brian Baity and others have approached the art of egg shell carving in a variety of ways and with strikingly varied results. Some artists work layered reliefs into the seemingly one-dimensional shells, others are subtractive and emphasis the relationship between figure and void. One set of artists has even gone into the business of taking larger bird eggs to create lamp shades.
Mizuta Tasogare and Kato Jado divide their incredibly intricate pencil carvings into four basic types and the rest they consider variations on these basic themes. Any mistake, they note, is fatal for an individual work which must remain intact throughout the delicate carving process. Creating link after link without breaking through thin wood barriers and while dealing with the material change between the graphite and surrounding wood is extremely challenging.
Brian Dettmer is a kind of “book surgeon,” performing “autopsies” on old volumes with engaging three-dimensional results. He uses an array of precision instruments to create or reveal patterns within a given book or set of books, often taking advantage of the particular appearance, form and content of his subject material. In many cases, the connection between the material, process and product is overtly evident, as he reveals an interpretation the past through history books and the dissects virtual bodies via anatomy texts.
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20 Comments
December 31st, 2007 at 12:30 am
Pencil carving is a great way to express creativity in an affordable format.
I like the little sculptures that are made out of pencils.
December 31st, 2007 at 7:09 am
Its cool, but what a waste of time and effort, a CNC machine could be programmed to whip these things out in probably a few hours. Art is not about how difficult or tedious something can be, but how beautiful, something that can’t be programmed.
December 31st, 2007 at 10:35 am
In response to James’s message:
“Art is not about how difficult or tedious something can be, but how beautiful, something that can’t be programmed.”
I disagree. Art and its beauty are inseparable from the tools, materials, technique, and thought that were poured into it. Furthermore, there is value in displaying the depth and intricacy of human ability, regardless of how efficiently a computer might be able to accomplish similar tasks.
January 1st, 2008 at 6:55 am
Funny :)
January 4th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
wow. amazingly amazing faboulous
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:56 pm
it’s cool but it’s difficult.
‘m so impressed.
i made many little thinks(like card,gift etc )
i also use paper,pencil,wood etc.
but u r the hero in this world.
if possible i want to see u.
i know that it’s quit impossible.
June 15th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Love the one carved out of books
July 31st, 2008 at 3:42 am
hot like my dick
September 20th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I am an Eggshell Sculptor. Remeber one thing and one absolute truth about art, art comes from the heart and no computer will EVER match that. A computer may do anything and even create what might appear as art but it can not make it because in order to be creative and imaginative, your art must and always should come from the heart or it’s called garbage. Computers create products- that’s it.
September 20th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
To further illustrate my point, ask yourself one simple question… Do you love getting a handwritten letter from a friend or an email? An email was written fast with minimal effort and short as possible to get point across and that’s it. A hand written heart felt letter can reach and touch your soul and it may become a treasure for you to cherish rest of your life unlike an email you don’t hestitate to delete with one click. Anything created without a heart, has no meaning no value. Art comes from the heart and computers have none.
December 29th, 2008 at 1:51 am
realy amazing hats off to ur idea
June 24th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
CNC No thanks. Damn It Jim Am An Artist, Not A Programmer
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