(images via: Ceramic Arts Daily and Notes on a Party)
Who is Laura Zindel and why is she intent on bugging our meals? To address the first question, Laura Zindel-Lauterbach and her husband Thorsten Zindel Lauterbach are the two artists behind Laura Zindel Ceramics, located (as are they) in an old farmhouse in southern Vermont.

(images via: Blackbird)
Laura Zindel learned the tricks of her trade not by puttering around in her basement, but by becoming an accredited potter with the letters to prove it – a BFA in Ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Ceramics from the University of Massachusetts.

(images via: Big Daddy Seashell)
Zindel’s natural talent for drawing is something that cannot be taught, merely refined. All of the meticulously detailed images on her ceramics are hand-drawn in pencil, then printed with enamel to become ceramic transfers which are subsequently collaged onto the raw pieces and fired for permanence in a process known as transferware. First adopted in the 18th century, transferware embodying such complex and delicate artwork is not commonly practiced these days.

(images via: Bioephemera, The Vintage Chair, Newshopper and Core77)
When asked about her inspirations, Zindel mentions the Victorian Cabinets of Curiosity, which were intensely personal collections of natural oddities and objects of beauty accumulated by the wealthier members of British society. What Zindel refers to as “The art of collecting and displaying ones’ passions” originated before Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne in 1837 – perhaps even before the establishment of the British Museum in 1753, which popularized collecting as a reputable hobby.

(images via: LauraZindel.com)
Officially Victorian or not, Zindel’s work evokes a sense of great age, scientific craftsmanship and quality worthy of an heirloom. The latter is perhaps the most appropriate. As Laura Zindel’s artist statement expostulates, “I believe that some objects can carry a personal history through a family from year to year. I hope that I can make art that a family member can buy to be handed down the line. Something bought on a whim, that becomes the platter for the turkey, or sits on the mantel. ‘Crazy old Uncle Larry bought that peculiar spider platter, and we just can’t seem to part with it’, I would like to be a part of that.”

(images via: John Coulthart and This Next)
Are Zindel’s pieces destined solely for the mantelpiece, there to collect dust and scare your kids (and their kids)? Definitely not – each piece displays a non-toxic, low fire glazed surface and are slip cast with low fire white earthenware. Food safe they are; appetite safe… well, that depends how hungry you are.

(images via: Apartment Therapy, Hello Blackbird and My Opinions Are Important)
Zindel’s frighteningly beautiful ceramic wares can’t be found on the shelves of your local Wal-Mart or Piggly Wiggly. As handmade fine art creations they are not exactly numerous, though over the years the Zindels have crafted a wide variety of sizes, styles and designs. Visit the Laura Zindel Ceramics website for a list of galleries – the Exploding Head Gallery in Sacramento, CA for example. Certain specialty online stores like Blackbird also carry Laura Zindel pieces – search and ye shall find.

(images via: Not Wild Style and LauraZindel.com)
The current list of designs features beetles, birds, bees, dragonflies, moths, spiders and snakes, just to name a few. Light Blue, Pine Green and the intriguingly named “Iron Buffalo” are usually used as edge trimming or for the interiors of mugs and tumblers.

(images via: LauraZindel.com, A Farm Fresh Wedding and Kaboodle)
At present there are over 30 different types of ceramic dishware available featuring Zindel’s naturalistic motifs, ranging from small dessert plates to huge round serving platters a full 17 inches in diameter. Pricing varies generally with the size of the item but small pieces need not be budget breakers: an Espresso Cup and Saucer combo goes for just $26.00, for example.

(images via: Apartment Therapy and Wooden Stone Gallery)
Even stores that do not normally specialize in ceramics have noted the unique ability of Laura Zindel’s ceramics to attract, repulse, and intrigue. The above displays were assembled by the Scarlet Sage Herb Co. in Valencia, CA, and show off some of Zindel’s more unusual (if that can be said) designs. Among the many marine creatures depicted above in Zindel’s ancient zoological style are seashells, starfish, sand dollars, seahorses and jellyfish. I seafood… and I like it!

Laura Zindel’s startling ceramics effectively bridge the gap between historic sensibilities and modern practicality, with a dash of “shock & awe” thrown in for good measure. It’s a recipe for success at the dinner table, though if your guests aren’t quick to chow down you’ll have something else to blame besides your cooking.

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Gazing at the portfolio of artist Matthew Albanese, you’re likely to marvel not just at his guts for getting so dangerously close to a tornado or erupting volcano, but luck for always seeming to be in the right place at the right time. But Albanese isn’t a storm chaser – the truth is even more interesting and impressive than that. These incredible landscapes are actually miniatures made from everyday materials.

Steel wool stands in for ominous clouds, salt for a waterfall blurred by motion, cotton for smoke and phosphorous ink for lava. Albanese even grew sugar crystals for a month to create the vaguely otherwordly look of an arctic landscape.

It all started when Albanese accidentally spilled a tub of paprika and began seeing the colors and textures of a landscape in the grains. That discovery led to “Paprika Mars”, which required 12 pounds of paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili powder and charcoal to create.

For the photograph to look convincing, Albanese must use a mix of scale, depth of field, lighting and white balance techniques. It takes hours to set up the backdrops and determine the exact angle from which to take the photo.

“My work involves the construction of small-scale meticulously detailed models using various materials and objects to create emotive landscapes,” Albanese writes on his website. “Every aspect from the construction to the lighting of the final model is painstakingly pre-planned using methods which force the viewers perspective when photographed from a specific angle.”

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10 years into the 21st century, film photography has been almost completely written off as obsolete, with even amateur photographers ditching traditional cameras for the crispness and convenience of digital. But there’s something missing from today’s almost-too-perfect pictures: that indescribable magic that film can have. All the Photoshop filters and iPhone apps in the world can’t quite approximate the effects of low-tech photography taken with pinhole, Polaroid and Holga cameras.

Pinhole Photography

(image via: xiao shan)

The concept of camera obscura may be older than we know, with observations of the way light passes through a hole and projects an image onto a surface going back to Chinese philosopher Mo-Ti in the 5th century BCE. But once the first pinhole camera took advantage of this phenomenon along with the development of chemical photography, the result was permanent photographs that have an infinite depth of field and often an eerie, otherworldly feel to them.

(images via: nhung dang)

Considering how expensive and complicated many modern digital cameras are, it’s refreshing to realize that essentially, a camera is just a dark box with a hole, a shutter and some photo paper or film.  Tea tins, oatmeal tubs, paint cans, pumpkins – all of these things can be turned into a camera with a needle, some tape and possibly black spray paint. Corbis even offers downloadable templates to create your own colorful camera from paper.

(images via: ralph howell)

These pinhole cameras are sometimes fascinating and beautiful objects in themselves, so it’s no wonder that photographer Ralph Howell decided to allow his creations to take their own self-portraits using mirrors. Conch shells, shoes, coffee bags, plastic Buddhas and a Krusty the Clown jack-in-the-box are just a few of Howell’s chosen objects.

“I perceive the pinhole as a “seeing eye”, a single hole sieve that filters information,” Howell says in his artist statement. “The human mind has the capacity to perceive and form perceptions into thought and image and to then reflect upon both itself and its products. This concept is the basis for the Mirror Reflection series: the pinhole camera’s “self-portrait” is an image of creator reflecting on its creation. I am also concerned with the pinhole camera-as-object, as a ‘ready-made’ – the pinhole camera being as important as the images it creates.”

(images via: papercams)

It doesn’t get much simpler than this: Thomas Hudson Reeve’s pinhole camera is made out of photo paper itself. The photo paper, fitted with a pinhole in a brass plate, creates a direct positive image made complex and absolutely unique by the manner in which the paper is folded. “Like a salad bowl made of lettuce leaf, and consumed with the meal, the camera doesn’t exist after its utility is fulfilled. There is no machine. It is more of an arrangement than a thing,” Reeve says on his website.

Holga Photography

(image via: cherie)

What is it that gives amateur 1970s and ‘80s photographs that signature diffused, dreamlike look? It has a lot to do with cheaply made camera bodies and flawed plastic lenses, both of which combine to allow little streaks of light in, create subtle vignetting and give parts of the image a blurred or grainy look. To most photographers, these qualities are undesirable – but when you give in to them, they can conspire to create images that just can’t be replicated any other way.

(images via: vick the viking)

Enter the Holga: a piece of plastic made-in-China junk that takes unbelievably magical photos. The shoddy construction of this medium-format toy camera is actually what makes the images taken with it so special, so completely one-of-a-kind. No one Holga takes pictures quite like any other. Since its debut in Hong Kong in 1982, the clunky Holga has amassed a cult following addicted to the rush of constantly being surprised by what the camera produces. That’s part of the fun: the mystery of the final result.

(images via: boliston)

It’s the simplicity of this camera that allows for so much creative freedom. An extremely basic film advancing knob gives the user total control over each frame, easily allowing multiple exposures, and the optional bulb mode permits long exposures. Many people modify their Holgas to increase or decrease light leaks, add to the number of apertures available and even take different kinds of film including 35mm and Polaroid. As with practically any other camera, filters and the type of film used also alter the results.

(images via: jelleS)

Holga photographers encourage literally ‘shooting from the hip’ to add to the spontaneity of the results, and why not – the viewfinder doesn’t give you an accurate idea of what the photo is going to look like, anyway.

(images via: lomo-cam)

Polaroid Photography

(images via: lepiaf.geo)

The Polaroid camera changed photography forever, but its particular quirky brand of instant photos was a relatively short-lived precursor to quick-and-easy digital photos. Some say digital photography killed Polaroid, and indeed, the company stopped production of both its cameras and its film – the last of which expired in October of last year.

(images via: brainware3000)

One form of instant gratification may have been exchanged for another, but many lament the loss. Jason Bitner, author of the book Found Polaroids, calls the medium “instant nostalgia–framed and faded, a picture that already looked decades old.”

(images via: sicoactiva)

But all isn’t lost for Polaroid aficionados – “a new chapter of analog Instant Photography” is coming in the form of The Impossible Project, which leased a former Polaroid factory in Holland and is set to debut their version of the beloved classic this month.

(images via: chaps1)

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Watching an artist turn a piece of paper and some graphite into a realistic, imaginative work of art is amazing enough – but somehow, seeing such illustrations come to life from pixels on a computer screen can seem even more magical. Whether producing imagery for video games or for their own pleasure, these 15 digital illustrators combine modern technology with raw talent to create jaw-dropping works of art.

Mark Verhaagen

The lush candy-colored landscapes and strange but adorable creatures in Mark Verhaagen’s imagination spring to vivid life through his colorful vector-based illustrations, which have been featured in publications like Computer Arts Magazine. Verhaagen, a freelance illustrator, counts MTV, Nickelodeon and Vodafone UK among his clients.

Paul Davey

Packed with color, symbolism and an eye-catching depth of detail, Paul Davey’s illustrations still have one quality that stands out above the others: a luminosity that gives each scene the sense of taking place in a dream world. The Jamaican artist currently resides in Miami and is in the process of creating a graphic novel.

He says of his drawings, “They usually revolve around me and people in my life. What they’re feeling and how they make me feel are things I consider when I’m planning and I’m not satisfied with my work unless it gives me some kind of visceral reaction when I look at it.”

Tiago Hoisel

You may not know Tiago Hoisel’s name, but chances are, you’ve seen his work. Hoisel has an incredible ability to find the inner cartoon character in just about anyone – and even bring out the real person in cartoon characters. But these are far from sidewalk caricatures… the attention to detail is incredible. The Brazilian artist works primarily in Photoshop CS3.

Michael Oswald

Photomanipulation artist Michael Oswald transforms ordinary photographs into fantastical illustrations that are infinitely more interesting than reality. He says on his website, “My style is best described as ‘photo-manipulation on steroids’ combining unique Photoshop techniques and digital painting. With the exception of the original digital photograph, my work is created entirely on a computer utilizing my knowledge of digital techniques and the traditional art skills I learned in my younger days.”

Alberto Cerriteno

Lighthearted and fun, Mexican illustrator Alberto Cerriteno’s work is created using a unique combination of both traditional and digital media. In an interview with Computer Arts Magazine, Cerriteno says, “Painting and fine art provide richness and a feeling that I like – and results that are impossible to create from scratch on the computer. But working with Photoshop and Illustrator daily gives me tools and resources to explore. I think you should use any media if the results are worth it. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with adding texture to my paintings digitally.”

Yuko Shimizu

Freelance illustrator Yuko Shimizu (not to be confused with another artist of the same name who designed Hello Kitty) creates illustrations that are utterly modern, yet undeniably colored by her experiences growing up in an old-fashioned Japanese family. Somehow simultaneously delicate and bold, the New York-based artist’s work has appeared in magazines like Mother Jones and ad campaigns for Microsoft, Pepsi and The Gap.

Mathieu Leyssenne

French artist Mathieu Leyssenne got a much earlier start than most artists at digital illustration: he began working in Deluxe Paint 2 on his Amiga 500 at the age of 14, long before the advent of Photoshop and 3D modeling programs. Of his work, Leyssenne told It’s Art Mag, “Each of my characters has a story that I imagine while I draw them. I like to give life to my drawings, to give them a “look”, an identity, a personality of their own. I also imagine them in a situation, which I think makes them much more interesting and yes, funny.”

David Newton

Acclaimed digital artist David Newton creates modern illustrations for clients like Coca-Cola, Microsoft, The BBC and The Wall Street Journal. According to Newton’s agents, “He prefers to work with clients looking for strong creative inputs from him. He tries to avoid the clichéd in all he does.”

Kazuhiko Nakamura

Kazuhiko Nakamura was a big fan of surrealist and cyberpunk art when he was young, and it shows in the stunning 3-D digital illustrations he produces today. An environmental graphic designer in Tokyo by day, Nakamura spends most of his free time on his passion.

He said in an interview with Templates.com, “Now a lot of 3D artists pursue photorealism in 3D modeling. Of course this trend is pretty interesting to me too. However, I like that special creativity and subjective expressions that the painter puts into the real object. I put my own vision of the image into the object and I think this is what makes my works so special. I search for my image tenaciously trying to create the best combination of the shapes, textures and lighting.”

Mark Behm

Mark Behm is primarily an animator, having worked for Dreamworks and Blue Sky Studios in the past – but his digital illustration stands alone as a testament to his incredible talent. Behm released a portfolio book called “Nightwork”, packed with many of his best pieces.

Of his influences, Behm told Strut Your Reel, “I grew up surrounded by art from giants like Frazetta and Berkey and Vallejo. That whole scifi/fantasy scene was huge in the 70s and my Dad, who was an artist himself, freely fed my appetite for it with art books and posters and comics. Later I was heavily influenced by a handful of golden age illustrators and orientalist painters.”

Craig Mullins

A painterly quality not often found in digital art sets Craig Mullins’ illustrations well apart from most. The digital painter started out in product design, working for Ford, before realizing that his design sense was “a little too weird to be of value to the car design industry”. Mullins uses a combination of programs including Photoshop, Painter and occasionally 3-D software to produce works that look like they were painted centuries ago by a master artist.

Denis Tolkishevsky

Digital illustrator Denis Tolkishevsky uses 3D modeling programs to create stunningly realistic works of art like “DragONtFLY”, above. Tolkishevsky has won an incredible array of awards for his work, and it’s easy to see why after viewing his online portfolio.

Tolkishevsky told Templates.com, “I remember I saw 3D Max for the first time in the university. A friend of mine showed it to me. It seemed to be really complicated thing at that time, so many buttons, menus, and commands and I haven’t risked to start studying it back then. About four years ago 3D max drew my attention again. Surfing through Internet I’d run across one of 3D galleries, and I was shocked with what I saw, so I decided to try creating something similar. I’ve bought a book with a trial version of 3D max and started studying.”

Shane Prigmore

Anyone who has seen Henry Selick’s recent animated feature Coraline, based on the book by Neil Gaiman, has seen Shane Prigmore’s art. The digital artist was a Principal Character Designer on the film along with Shannon Tindle and Dan Krall, also working on some of the animation.

Emil Degrey

Lead artist at a Disney game studio called Avalanche, Emil Degrey uses digital software to turn his sketches into dark yet colorful, nuanced illustrations – as seen in the images above and on his blog, Mad Genius Art.

Ryohei Hase

With a background in the video game industry, Tokyo artist Ryohei Hase has now turned to what he describes as “realistic fantasy art”.

In a December 2009 interview Hase told Swide, “Internet stimulates people’s emotion. The environment which people can easily see the art of another country can be a trigger to create new artists.This is the easiest and closest place to showcase my works. My work has the chances to be seen by many people around the world because of internet. I have no idea what I would become without it…”

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Outdoor advertising is all around us – on billboards, benches and even stairs. So it was only a matter of time before the ads took to the streets themselves in the form of stunning 3D chalk drawings, paint, stickers and even “reverse graffiti” which cleans messages onto dirty pavement. These 14 urban street ads sometimes blur the line between guerilla art and guerilla marketing, drawing in crowds and using their respective environments in clever and creative ways.

Water is Life Painted Street Ad

(image via: guerilla promos)

The town of Drachten in the Netherlands got an extreme makeover in 2008 when artist Henk Hofstra painted a kilometer-long strip of the main road a pale blue color. The striking shade is meant to give citizens of the town an idea of what life was like in Drachten back when this road was a canal. They’ll have to get used to the concept, because Drachten is in the process of reverting back to life on a waterway.

Folgers Manhole Ad

(image via: gothamist)

When you see a steaming manhole in the streets of New York City, you’re probably reminded of the hot, smelly sewer that lurks beneath. But Folgers decided to give it a new connotation with street sticker ads that transform manholes into hot, enticing cups of coffee. Though the effect is cool, Gothamist notes that the smell doesn’t exactly match up with the imagery.

Coca-Cola 3D Chalk Street Ad

(image via: julian beever)

One of the world’s best-known street chalk artists, Julian Beever, creates jaw-dropping drawings in the streets that look incredibly three-dimensional when viewed from a certain angle. This one, an ad for Coca-Cola, is among his most effective works.

Vodafone Retro Arcade Games Street Ad

(image via: marketing alternatif)

Vodafone made cult retro arcade games like Pac Man and Space Invaders available to play on their mobile phones, and publicized it with a series of attention-grabbing chalk street ads.

Guerilla Cardboard Street Ad

(image via: brainstorm brand)

Pedestrians in London were provided with a vivid reminder of the harsh realities of homelessness as a series of 30 cardboard ‘beds’ were placed around the city. Each piece of cardboard was inscribed with the message, “Loving the snow? Try sleeping in it. Help get homeless people out of the cold for good. Crisis.org.uk.”

Capitalism: A Love Story – Green Graffiti

(image via: green graffiti)

While the greenest form of graffiti may just be made from moss, there’s another way to send a message on the street without using toxic spray paint: pressure washing. Layers of urban grime can be sprayed away in a pattern using a stencil, for an environmentally friendly ad that fades away with time. This one by Amsterdam ad agency Green Graffiti promotes the Michael Moore documentary ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’.

IKEA 3D Chalk Street Ad

(image via: street advertising services)

An advertising firm called Street Advertising Services painted a series trompe l’oeil 3D street ads depicting IKEA products in a room, designed to draw in passersby as promotions staff passed out IKEA catalogs.

Eminem Ad Campaign – Green Graffiti

(image via: green graffiti)

Rapper Eminem got in on the green graffiti trend with an ad campaign for his album ‘Relapse’. Subtle and impermanent, this form of street marketing is a great example of using ambient space effectively.

Ballantine’s Whisky 3D Chalk Street Ad

(image via: moodie reports)

Chalk artist Julian Beever also created this street drawing of a bottle of Ballantine’s Scotch whisky “leaving an impression”.

Earth Hour – Green Graffiti

(image via: green graffiti)

To promote Earth Hour – a global event in which the power is turned off for an hour to raise awareness about climate change – with wasteful paper and toxic inks would be hypocritical to say the least. This approach, using the “green graffiti” pressure washing method, gets the message across in a way that fits the event perfectly.

Sewer Grate BBQ Street Ad

(image via: sandeep makam)

Like the Folgers manhole cover ad, this guerilla street ad takes advantage of visual associations, using sewer grates to advertise BBQ grills. It’s clever, but the effectiveness is questionable given that most people aren’t likely to look at a sewer grate and think, “Mmmm – barbecue!”

Reserved for Drunk Drivers Street Ad

(image via: advertolog)

The consequences of drinking and driving are vividly illustrated in this unconventional ad, featuring a parking space half on the sidewalk, marked with the words “Reserved for drunk drivers.”

Open Manhole Awareness Street Ad

(image via: adrants)

Manhole cover thefts have risen over the past few years as opportunists sell them for scrap metal, and it’s a big enough problem in China to merit an ad campaign warning of the dangers of missing covers. Serious injury could result from falling into one – perhaps serious enough to cause paralysis.

Canon S1 Guerilla Street Ad

(image via: the raw feed)

That’s quite a zoom. Canon advertised its S1 camera model in 2006 with this sticker street ad. Not only does the column provide the perfect shape for the lens, its base sticks up from street level just far enough to give the camera a slightly three-dimensional look.

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