conneted

"Connected" is a lovely music video for your Monday morning, by singer-songwriter Luke Dick. It's a great song with a universal message that's brought to life through the cut paper illustrations of Benjamin Wright Coleman.


(Via Brain Pickings)

Yusuke Oono - 360° books

360°Book Sweet Home (detail)

360°Book

360°Book In a Cheese (detail)

360°Book In a Cheese (detail)

360°Book Christmas Version

360°Book Jungle Book (detail)

360°Book Jungle Book

These magical scenes, part of a series of 360° books, were created by Japanese graphic designer and architect Yusuke Oono. Designed as a way to illustrate books in three dimensions, each can be viewed by both flipping through the individual pages, or the whole thing can be opened up to view as a sort of panoramic scene in-the round. See many more details on Oono's website. 


(Via Colossal)

Myriam Dion

Canadian artist Myriam Dion creates absolutely stunning, intricate cut paper works by meticulously hand cutting newspapers into lacy patterns that are at once delicate and beautiful. See more of her gorgeous portfolio on her website.


(Via The Jealous Curator)

2014 calendars

Oh man, calendar season is upon us again! How excited are you? We're going to kick off the festivities this week with a theme very near and dear to my heart: food.

And what better way to begin then with a designer who I've featured here many, many times before, but who continues to kill it year after year. Rifle Paper Co. has quite a few calendars for 2014, but this Herbs and Spices calendar looks like a particularly tasty option.

But there's no point in showing off your herbs and spices without some seasonal produce to use it on. This year, I found two particularly nice options, the first of which features Maria Schoettler's colorful illustrations.

While the second shows off Bison Bookbinding's gold-accented letterpress skills.

But as you know, these are just the beginning. Stay tuned from now until the New Year for all of my favorite 2014 calendar options!

the human body

The first release from Tinybop, a new studio that's setting out to build a suite of creative educational apps for kids, The Human Body is beautifully animated by the supremely talented Kelli Anderson. Now, my little guy may be way to young for the likes of something like this (it's for kids ages 4+), but that certainly hasn't stopped me from exploring the wonderful workings the body for myself. You can watch the a little teaser stop motion animation for the app below, read a great blog post from Kelli about the illustration process and download the game for yourself through iTunes.


(Via swissmiss)

Eiko Ojala

It's no wonder that Estonian illustrator Eiko Ojala's Vertical Landscape has been popping up all over the place lately - it's a beautiful work that deserves all of the praise it's been receiving. Of course, this led to me check out the rest of Ojala's portfolio, which is equally as impressive.

While Ojala's work may look like cut paper, it's actually all just a combination of hand-drawn and digital illustration, with the occasional inclusion of photographed shadows, that give these works their dimension. See more on behance and Ojala's portfolio site.

(Via Colossal)

Vincent Tomczyk

Vincent Tomczyk, Bergère | 2012 | Various papers | 26 x 26 x 36 in. 

Vincent Tomczyk, Wallet | 2011 | Paper, nylon thread | 4 x 3 x 0.5 in. (folded) Collection of Don Wilson, Los Angeles, California.

Vincent Tomczyk, Americana, paper jeans | 2011 | Paper, canvas, silk and nylon thread | 15 x 9 x 11 in.

Vincent Tomczyk, Paper Eames Chair LCW | 2012 | Various papers, hand painted | 22 x 23 x 28 in.

Vincent Tomczyk, Shirt & Tie | 2010 | Mulberry and various other papers | 23 x 30 x 4 in.

Would you believe me if I told you that all of the above images are works made of paper? Go on, take another look. I had a difficult time wrapping my head around it myself, but they're the creations of Vincent Tomczyk, an LA-based artist who turns ordinary objects into extraordinary sculptures in their new paper forms.

My art centers on objects to stimulate visceral connections. These compositions represent biographies of people, experiences and interpretations of intangible ideas. Although my work can be categorized as realism, my intention is to distill the emotion of an object, then through expression, reconstruct it into my view of its essential self - free of function.

As an artist working primarily with paper, my art requires me to be part craftsman and part engineer. I learned a lot about how to construct things by working at my father’s side, in his workshop. I’m compelled to produce work that is visually poetic by using a medium that defies perceived limitations.

(All images © Vincent Tomczyk. All rights reserved. Via Colossal)

Donna Ruff

2.12.11, handcut newspaper, 16 x 11.5 in, collection New Mexico Museum of Art 

Frieze VI, burn and gold leaf on paper, 28 x 21 in

3.21.11, hand-cut newspaper, 13 x 11.5 in, collection New Mexico Museum of Art 

CodexV, burn and gold leaf on paper, 9 x 9 in

12.14.12, hand-cut newspaper, 16.5 x 11.5 in

I love these hand cut newspapers and burned paper works, by artist Donna Ruff. Their focus on pattern, repetition and architectural forms make for wonderfully complex, densely layered and beautiful works.

(All images ©Donna Ruff 2000-2012. Via BOOOOOOOM)

Pat Shannon

Equator (detail), 2008. Cut newspaper, acrylic gel, hardboard, 46"h x 24"w x 7"d.

Equator, 2008. Cut newspaper, acrylic gel, hardboard, 46"h x 24"w x 7"d. Funny pages, dialogue removed, characters popped. Photo: John Colan.

 Open house (detail), 2008. Cut newspaper, acrylic gel, binder's board, 17"h x 24"w x 22"d. Real estate listings, houses popped.

Summer Sale, 2008. Cut newspaper and acrylic gel, 11"h x 9"w. Home store insert.

Lot, 2008, Cut newspaper, acrylic gel, plexi shelves, 14"h x 23"w x 14"d. Auto pages, text removed, cars popped.

Artist Pat Shannon's clever manipulation of newspapers  - ads, comics, broadsheets, and inserts, among others - reveal the hidden beauty behind these often overlooked sections. I particularly love the houses from the real estate listings, and there's just something so appealing about the bright colors of a home store insert when it's devoid of content. See more on Shannon's website.

(Via The Jealous Curator)

if I had a million dollars

I would buy...{the ladies edition}

A Girl With The Golden Swan Bike print, from Sophie Blackall.

The Black Apple's Flower Girls Postcards.

An Emily Dickinson Journal, by Yardia.

Helen Beard's Cobalt Bather cup, available at Ashes & Milk.

And this Waiting for the Tide print, from Catherine Campbell.