Sculpture: Rice Straw Giants

For the past ten years, local artists in the Niigata prefecture in Northern Japan build incredible animal sculptures out of rice straw for the annual Wara Art Festival. “Wara” is the Japanese term for rice straw. It’s what remains after the rice harvest.  Some regions use it to feed livestock or improve the soil. But students from Musashino Art University it to make these enormous sculptures. The sculptures are currently on display through October 31, 2017 at Uwasekigata Park.

The Wara Art Festival all started in 2006 when the local district reached out to Musashino Art University to seek guidance on transforming their abundant amount of rice straw into art. And in 2008, the very first Wara Art Festival was held. Since then, every year the school sends art students up to Niigata to assist in creating sculptures made out of rice straw. The festivities have ended but the sculptures are on display through October 31, 2017.

To mark the 10th anniversary of the Wara Art Festival participants made this year’s sculptures twice as large as usual.  Visit the Wara Art Festival Facebook page for more photos of these magnificent sculptures.

Concept Art: Panther

"Panther" by Kiev, Ukraine-based Vladislav Ociacia

Fresh Take: Dogs of the Marvel Universe

"Dogs of the Marvel Universe" by Saint Paul, MN-based Josh Lynch

Josh Lynch re-envisions Marvel's best known characters as different breeds of dog.  I'd like to see a version of Namor as a Portuguese Water Dog added to the collection next.

Sculpture: Mechanical Articulated Cheetah

"Mechanical Articulated Cheetah Sculpture"  by Salt Lake City-based Andrew Chase

Artist Andrew Chase works with painstaking detail to create his remarkable sculptures. Each one takes him between 80 and 120 hours to complete, and they can be adjusted into different positions, thanks to a set of articulated joints.  This cheetah sculpture was sculpted from electrical insulation fittings, parts of a car transmission, and another 20 pieces of steel. Surprisingly, it only weights about 40 pounds!

Sculpture: Mechanical Articulated Wolf

"Mechanical Articulated Wolf Sculpture" by Salt Lake City-based Andrew Chase

This mechanical metal wolf was created from used transmission parts, twenty gauge sheet steel, ¼ inch rod, recycled pipe and tube, and two cats eye marbles.  Plus, it would look great sitting next to my front door.  FYI

Illustration: Animal Mechs

"Animal Mechs" by Evan Palmer

Sculpture: Iron Panda

"Iron Panda" by China-based Bi Sheng

Photo via Popular Mechanics!

I'd just like to take a moment to point out that we live in a world with a twenty-foot-tall panda in an Iron Man suit.  If that doesn't put a smile on your comic-loving face, I don't know what will. So if things go wrong today, and your life seems a bit dull, repeat to yourself, there is a twenty-foot-tall panda, in China, in an Iron Man suit.

The statue is currently on exhibit at the K11 art mall in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong as part of the"Art Nova 100" exhibition showcasing the works of one hundred of the hottest emerging Asian artists. (See photos below.)  The panda and other exhibits will be on display until July 6 if you're lucky enough to live in Hong Kong.  The photo above shows the panda in front of Uni Park in Shenyang, Liaoning province of China.

I wonder how much it would cost to ship something like that to the states?

Sculpture: Steampunk Wasp

Steampunk Wasp by GEORGE Leontiev BALABANOV
Photographed at the House of Humor and Satire in Gabrovo, Bulgaria.

Winner of Grand Prize “GOLDEN AESOP,” 2011.

Me thinks someone was a Gulliver's Travels fan.

Sculpture: Hubcap Animal

Hubcap Animal Sculptures by Brighton, U.K.-based Ptolemy Elrington

[ Previously: Hubcap Creatures ]

For over twelve years now, Ptolemy Elrington has been morphing discarded hubcaps into amazing animal sculptures. Within his work he concentrates on creating sculpture of natural forms from found and re-cycled materials. At the moment he is working with a variety of materials including shopping trolleys, scrap metal and car wheel trims which he re-shapes into a variety of life forms.  Read an interview with Elrington at Empty Kingdom.

"Hubcap car are made entirely from re-cycled materials. All the hubcaps are found, usually on the side of the road, and therefore bear the scars of their previous lives in the form of scratches and abrasions. I believe these marks add texture and history to the creatures they decorate."

Illustration: Steampunk Lion

"Steampunk Lion" by Romania-based Paula Duță

This amazing steampunk lion was hand drawn stroke by stroke.  The accomplishment is so amazing, that Duță documented the process in the series of photos below.  I know that I'd never have the patience to do anything like this.

Paintings: Mechanical Animals

“Orcinus Orca” by Robert Bowen

Prints available for purchase from the artist's website. US$15

Strange works juxtaposing animals and insects with machinery.

Sculpture: Steampunk Squidipus

Steampunk Squidipus by Alan Williams

Forged and found metal, 100 cm x 45 cm

Sculpture: Scrap Metal Animals

Scrap Metal Animal Sculptures by South Dakota-based John Lopez

Bronze sculptor John Lopez builds large and powerful beasts entirely out of scrap metal. From buffalos to triceratops, Lopez welds layers of iron together to form life-sized creations filled with interesting details and texture.

Artist: Robert Chew

"Big Five" Animal Mech series by Robert Chew

Prints available for purchase from inPRNT & Society6.

[ BlogSpot | DeviantArt | Facebook | Tumblr ]

B5 (Big Five) is a project by Robert Chew that uses science fiction imagery to address the issue of illegal poaching.  His drones take the shape of local African wildlife and utilize characteristics and traits specific to each.  Profits from the sales of prints will be donated to the The International Anti-Poaching Foundation, an organization with a mission to protect Africa Wildlife.

Sculpture: Hubcap Creatures

Hubcap Creatures by Brighton, U.K.-based Ptolemy Elrington

Ptolemy Elrington specializes in sculptures of animals, insects and marine life made from recycled materials, including car trim, hubcaps and shopping carts.  Read an interview with Elrington at Empty Kingdom.

"I come across many things which have been abandoned and find something more in them than their intrinsic worthlessness. Hubcaps, for instance. Aesthetic in purpose but ultimately of very little use. They’re automatically rubbish when on the side of the road, but with a little effort and imagination I transform them into something which gives people a great deal more pleasure."

Video: Steampunk City Tortoise

"Atropos" by MinerArchitect

Atropos is the name of the eldest of the Three Fates in Greek mythology; the sister who used shears to cut the thread of a mortal's life. It is also the name of Minecraft user CARLOOOO's giant clockwork tortoise that sports a steampunk city sprouting out of its back.  Yes, I said steampunk city.

The whole project took five months to complete, and went through several designs - including a whale version - before settling on the one you can now download. If you want to take a tour before committing to such a large investment of real estate, check out the video.

Lego Creation: Salvador Dalí's Elephant

"The Elephant" by Korea-based Jin Kei

Jin Kei has recreated a portion of The Elephants, a 1948 painting by surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, in LEGO.

Sculpture: Creepy Aquatic Ceramics

Creepy Aquatic Ceramics by Mitchell Grafton of Grafton Pottery

Based out of Panama City, Florida, Grafton specializes in "Face Jugs" and other trippy ceramics.  Mitchell Grafton creates whimsical pottery featuring grotesque and fantastical creatures like something out of a Tim Burton cartoon.

Sculpture: Aslan

"Aslan" (Turkish for "Lion") by Turkish sculptor Selçuk Yılmaz

This sculpture was formed from four thousand individual pieces of hand-cut metal hammered together into a single piece weighing about 550 pounds.

Sculpture: Serpent d’océan

"Serpent d’océan" by Huang Yong Ping, 2012.

Photographed by Philippe Cabaret

Serpent d’océan is an enormous aluminum skeleton by artist Huang Yong Ping that has been permanently erected on the shore of the River Loire on the Bay of Biscay, just outside of Nantes, France.  It runs 425 feet long, mirroring the curves of the Saint-Nazaire bridge and was created as an exhibit for the Estuaire.

The figure, inspired by Chinese mythology is intended as a study in cultural identity.  Positioned on the beach as it is, the skeleton is revealed gradually by the tide each morning, and it is hoped that, over time, it will become a home to marine fauna and flora, endowing it with an environmental message in addition to its cultural message.