My Box Arrived...

Let me clarify... My one-of-a-kind-none-other-like-it-in-the-world box arrived. Artist Franck de Las Mercedes painted this masterpiece and sent it to little ol' me. I'm not really all that special... you can get yours too. All you have to do is ask nicely. Hit the jump and click Priority Boxes. A few weeks later... you'll receive your box with none other than World Peace inside.

Santa's Ghetto

I know it's a few weeks old but I couldn't pass this one up. Banksy and friends are at it again this Christmas. In what they are calling "probably the world's most low-concept art event," they are showing in one of the most unlikely places on the planet... a former chicken shop on Manger Square in Bethlehem opposite the Church of the Nativity. This puts them one mile behind the security wall in a part of the world ravaged by conflict, poverty and dust.

Of course, Santa's Ghetto is making a statement but according to the artists "it’s obviously not the job of a loose collection of idiot doodlers to tell you what’s right or wrong about this situation, so you’re advised to do further reading yourself (this month’s National Geographic has an excellent article all about Bethlehem)."

In addition to the "show," many urban art pieces can be seen around Bethlehem and especially on the Wall. Perhaps the most powerful aspect of this is the fact that these incredibly well-known/identity-unknown artists are selling their art with all proceeds going to the children affected most by this conflict. "Every shekel made in the store will be used on local projects for children and young people. Not one cent will go to any political groups, governmental institutions or, in fact, any grown-ups at all."

Banksy in NYC

Never heard of Banksy? "Whilst others spray their names, Banksy paints pictures, pictures that have made Banksy a household name. He is the most controversial and downright interesting graffiti artist at large in the UK today. He has never let the world know his real name - and he has never even posed for a photograph. And yet everybody is talking about him...he is unknown but his work is unmistakable. He’s the maniac who got on the news for managing to smuggle one of his pieces of art into Tate Britain and embarrassed everyone because nobody seemed to notice..." (Check out the YouTube video below of Banksy sneaking one of his pieces into a museum...)

His pieces have sold on eBay and through Sotheby's for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Well, opening this Sunday at the Vanina Holasek Gallery in New York is Banksy Does New York. The show runs through December 29th.

A Flock of Planes?

I wonder if the Wright Brothers even envisioned this back in 1903. This piece was rendered by Japanese artist Homato in 2005.  Click the image for a larger view and see if you can find your favorite airline.

Interactive Forest

I love creativity. I love creativity even more when it inspires, influences, shapes, or engages a child. That's why I'm so enthralled with this video of an installation called Funky Forest. Funky Forest is...

...an interactive ecosystem where children create trees with their body and then divert the water flowing from the waterfall to the trees to keep them alive. The health of the trees contributes to the overall health of the forest and the types of creatures that inhabit it.

I'm more captivated by the children and their own amazement and creativity than I am the actual piece. I'm constantly challenged by my sons to, as U2 puts it so brilliantly in Original of the Species, "please stay a child somewhere in your heart." And to quote an earlier work of theirs... "Into the heart of boy... I could go there. I could stay a while." Jesus talked about that someplace in the Gospels... I'm sure of it.

Digital Conversation with Chuck Anderson

One of my favorite designers/artists, Chuck Anderson | No Pattern took time out of his busy schedule to talk to us over at Danis Linus presents Digital Conversations. You've probably seen Chuck's work before but just didn't know it. Read the interview here...

Creative Interiors

At the risk of people thinking that this has become a design blog, (it's not, I just love creative design) I had to post these pics up. The are some of the most creative interiors I've seen.

Like most things in life, perspective changes everything. Sometimes the context around you doesn't need to change... you need to move and get new perspective. Anyway... to the pics.

Jesus on the Streets

Came across this through Wooster Collection, a site showcasing urban art. Not exactly sure how I feel about it. I think it is quite interesting that someone saw a crown of thorns and decided to finish it off as a portrait of Christ. Wonder what people think when they look up and see it? Are they stirred? Offended? Drawn? It is pretty compelling...

What are your thoughts?

Brilliant if not Creepy Stop Motion Work

Check out this stop motion video that was created in an abandoned warehouse over a timespan of 13 hours. Be warned... it's creepy at best but I love the form and execution.

Sketchblogging

I'm not really an artist... at least not the pen and paper kind. I really need an undo function to be semi-successful. But, I love and am fascinated by those that can create with just the basic tools. Taking this idea to it's most basic and primitive form is sketchblogging. It's the doodlings and work of people "out there" just like you and me posted up online for all to enjoy. My favorite is Elizabeth Perry's woolgathering... a daily sketchblog. You can also find many more by heading over to the Moleskine Project, an online community of sketchbloggers. BTW... If you're out there and happen to have a sketchblog, share it with us.

Creature by Andrew Zuckerman

I love photography. It is definetely one of my favorite mediums of art. You have to hit the jump and check out the hi-res photos of the animal kingdom for the book Creature by Andrew Zuckerman.

Wired writes...

Flawlessly lit and captured in hyperfrozen moments against a pure white backdrop, even the lowly goldfish is like you've never seen it before. The minimalist aesthetic makes for an immediate, emotional connection with the creatures.

Click the pics below for close-ups of some of the animal handlers at the photo shoots.

Chuck Anderson @ Threadless Gallery

If you're not familiar with Threadless, I have one question... where are you hiding? For those actually in hiding, Threadless is an online teeshirt company that prints consumer generated designs. It was started in 2000 and in recent years has really taken off... to the tune of moving from web only retail to an ubersweet store and gallery in downtown Chicago and a distribution warehouse just North of London to handle all their European customers.

That's not really what I wanted to write about. Chuck Anderson aka No Pattern will be featured at the Threadless Gallery’s first show, opening this Friday, November 9th, from 7-9 pm. He's showing off some new work and this will be his very first solo show.

Why am I mentioning this? Well... if you happen to be in the Chicago area, stop by the show and take some pics for me. Also, be looking for the interview with Chuck Anderson over at Danis Linus presents Digital Conversations due out in the next couple weeks.

Urban Street Art Images: The Little People of London

Slinkachu of London, United Kingdom puts a whole new twist on the urban artform. These photographs, taken around town in London are just a small portion of his “little people” collection. Hit the jump for more photos and closeups. Some of his work is displayed at art shows (like the bottom photo) but much of it is quietly placed in urban landscapes and then photographed.

Lightpainting Photos and Video

Steven shot me this earlier today from Behance.net. It's a new photoset and video from LICHTFAKTOR - a three-man lightpainting graffiti team. I've seen this sort of thing before but had no idea how it was accomplished. So of course, I relied on the trusty ol' Wikipedia. It's really some amazingly creative work. Hit the jump for more photos and the video. You can also hit up their Flickr or take a look at another video and interview over at Creative Review.

Joshua Davis

Wanted to make you aware of an artist out there named Joshua Davis. He's not a new artist/designer but he was just featured on Apple's Pro Profiles. He's done work for BMW, Motorola, Nokia but in my opinion his personal stuff is his greatest. I especially like his 2007 Tropism Exhibition.

Textorizer

The above image was generated by Textorizor. I came across this little web app on The Brilliance and what's amazing is that it actually takes an image and then generates a text version of it using HTML code only. The image above was "snapped" using my screen capture on my Mac. Textorizer actually "traces" the photo and generates it back out with the source code looking something like this...

...only a lot longer. It's amazing to me how people come up with the code for things this complex. Try it out... it's pretty cool. All you need is an image URL and you're good to go. If you can't tell, the above "image" is my profile pic made up of the words Danis Linus.

How Flickr Got It Right...

I usually prefer any Google app over Yahoo. I use iGoogle, Gmail, Google Calendar, of course Blogger, and many of their search features. But, I much prefer Flickr over Picasa any day.

First off, I can email my pics straight from my iPhone and they publish automatically. Below is a list of features that I love...

• The aforementioned email feature
• Batch uploading of photos
• The Organizr - a powerful tool for managing your photos in batches or using sets
• Auto-generated sizes including thumbnails
• The ability to add notes to multiple areas of a pic
• Tags - keywords or labels that you add to a photo
• Groups - If you're a member of a group, add your photo to the group pool
• Sets - a group of photos similar to an album
  
• The map feature to see geographically where pics have been taken
• The amazing amount of great pics from people around the world

The map feature is really cool since you can click on a spot and see all the pics there were taken at that location such as a particular restaurant or landmark. If you don't Flickr, it's easy to sign up. So, share your photos with the world. If you already have a Flickr, hit up the comments and let us know. Or let us know why you use another photo sharing tool like Picasa, Photobucket or Slide.

Also... visit the ClearwaterMC Flickr page for shots of the team in action or life.

And we have a winner...

And the winner for the Danis Linus "short, short story." contest is.... Liz with...

How? We only did "it" once.

Liz... Shoot me and email with your info and I'll make sure you get what's coming to you... Thanks and enjoy.

In second place was my personal fav...

They sat in silence that afternoon.

So the question is... what are the backdrops to these stories and how do they play out?

Thanks to everyone for participating... much love.

Jen Stark - Paper Sculptures

Jen Stark has some pretty incredible and beautiful hand-cut paper cardstock sculptures. Hit the jump for more of her work.

The World of Urban Exploration

I remember when I was a kid, there was this house in our neighborhood that was empty and waiting to be sold. Like "The Hatch" on Lost, we had to see what was inside. I don't know what we were thinking, because it was just a regular house in the neighborhood but it still held a kind of mystique to it (we were 10-years-old). When we got inside, we found nothing but it was still exciting. Below are 4 sites that take Urban Exploration to another level. The photography is amazing if not creepy at times. The abandoned hospitals, warehouses, schools, and other buildings all have a story to be told. Opacity is by far the best, but the other sites have some pretty amazing shots as well.

1. Opacity
2. Urban Exploration Resource
3. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
4. Web Urbanist

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