View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine paper design (@christinepaperdesign)

But for some, maintaining a small garden or even remembering to change the dirty water collected in the flower vase is too great of a hassle. For these people especially the next interior trend comes in handy. We’re talking, of course, of decorative paper flowers – made to last a lifetime.

For fashion designer/painter turned crafter, Christine Ciovarta, paper flowers are much more than a passing interior trend—they’re an artful homage to nature itself. “With every flower I make I try to capture the realistic look as good as I can,” writes Ciovarta on her website, “I feel so grateful that I can make something beautiful with my own two hands.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine paper design (@christinepaperdesign)

A self-taught paper artist, her flowers are made of crepe paper which is painted and laminated. The process itself includes a healthy amount of research, taking note of the flowers’ shape, texture, and color before recreating them. “I study many images with them, I make sketches, mood boards and think of ways to reproduce and practice them,” explains Ciovarta. “After these steps are ready I make all the flowers, greenery, buds, and other elements necessary for my bouquet.”

The end result might at times be mistaken for a realistic flower bouquet. “My customers are always telling me stories how people always mistake my flowers with real ones, which gives me so much pride and joy,” admits the artist. Not only do they look realistic, but paper flowers also live forever, making them a sustainable way to keep your place decorated and on fleek.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine paper design (@christinepaperdesign)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine paper design (@christinepaperdesign)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine paper design (@christinepaperdesign)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine paper design (@christinepaperdesign)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine paper design (@christinepaperdesign)

The post Spruce Up Your Home with Christine Ciovarta’s Paper Flowers appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

Born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, Landström studied fine art by invitation at Carnegie-Mellon University and continued his fine art education at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts.

His creative background laid the foundation to his later work, but understanding the principles of volcanic rock required much trial and error.

“I just started trying it,” Landström shared in an interview with Whitehot Magazine. “For a long time, I was taking rock in different degrees of granularity and just mixing it with paint, using oil paint as the binder for it. It would go on the canvas as wet, sticky gravel.”

Over the years Landström developed and refined numerous techniques for coloring the rock and using it as a painting medium. Nowadays, he admits, it’s hard for him to imagine painting with a liquid. As the main medium of his paintings is derived from the core of our planet, Landström’s body of work is also an attempt to tap into the core of the human experience.

“I’m optimistic because, for quite a long time, I had just occasional or minimal interest in my work,” Landström notes. “But over the past few years, that’s completely turned around. I want to step on the gas pedal. What I’m really hoping is that my audience grows and I can have conversations like we’re having today and make the most honest work I can create.”

The post Bob Landström’s Paints with Volcanic Rock and it’s Incredible appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

“I love the ephemeral nature of maps, the range of paper types, weights, textures—even the smell,” gushed Fairburn in an interview with My Modern Met. Fairburn adds that with maps, no two surfaces are ever the same.

“Sometimes that’s too bad because occasionally I’ll find a paper type I really like, only to never find it in any other map ever again,” he notes. But it also makes for a more exciting process.

According to Fairburn, instead of working against the map, he lets the material guide him, aiming to preserve the functionality of each map. “I love the way in which maps age and show their use over time,” he says.

“In that respect, old maps are a very forgiving medium, unlike a crisp white canvas. It’s somehow welcoming, like a pair of shoes that have been worn in. You can’t really go wrong with the marks you make—at least not at the very start of a drawing, which is often the most daunting part for any artist.”

But understanding his source material takes time and patience, and Fairburn explains that part of his process includes studying the maps for hours on end, understanding the terrain before he begins manipulating it to his liking.

“I’ll always start by studying the map against the figure, mentally sketching any possible outcomes,” he further explained. “Ultimately, my process is about harmonizing two structures in one physical space.”

Take a look at some of the finished results in the gallery below and follow his social media pages for more.

The post Ed Fairburn Explores the Topography of the Human Face appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

“If an idea comes before material, I search for the right materials to achieve what I’m envisioning,” she reflected in an interview with Tappan. “If the idea comes from specific materials, I start experimenting and making test pieces, which evolves the idea through the process.”

The end result—be it a sculpture, an installation, or a mixed media two-dimensional artwork—highlights the transformative quality of materials. Case in point: her crystallized book series. Using found books as her source material, she manipulates them with water and borax, turning them into geologic specimens of sorts.

The process itself requires scientific precision. To grow the crystals directly on the books, Arnold creates a supersaturated solution of borax (sodium tetraborate) in boiling water. “When the water boils, its molecules expand, allowing more Borax in,” she explains.

Arnold then submerges the books in the hot, saturated solution and carefully manipulates them to her liking. As the saturated water cools, the molecules shrink and any excess Borax crystallizes.

“Once the solution has completely cooled and the crystals have grown on the submerged book, I drain the solution and dry the fragile, waterlogged work without disturbing its shape,” she adds. “When completely dry, the books hold their new, rigid shapes.”

According to Arnold, the Crystallized Book Series addresses the materiality versus the content of a book. The crystals remove the text and solidify the books into aesthetic, non-functional (and yet, mesmerizing) objects.

“The crystals and book shapes spark a sense of wonder akin to a great piece of literature, like some of the titles I use, but certainly not all, such as an obsolete software manual or old phone book,” she reflects. “It’s been nice to watch an apparent return to the cultural value of printed media while working on the series over the last 6 years.”

You can see the entire series here or follow Arnold on Instagram.

The post The Mesmerizing Crystallized Books of Alexis Arnold appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

“I think bringing digital technology together with art, whether it is painting or photography, is a great development in the field of the arts,” observed Chevalier in an interview with Iconsiam. “I believe digital art can really touch people and allow them to access deep emotions and feelings as well. I think it’s a very interesting art form.”

Chevalier knows what he’s talking about. Born in 1959 in Mexico City, he has focused exclusively on computers as an artistic means of expression since 1978 and is considered a pioneer of virtual and digital art.

“When I was growing up in the early 80s, my friends and I were very interested in Avant-Garde works of the West,” he recalled. “Digital Arts was a new form and I saw that there was so much potential in using the computer as a tool to create art. It was an experiment to create new possibilities in the arts.”

These days, Chevalier’s projects often incorporate generative and interactive virtual reality installations projected on large scale or shown on LED or LCD screens. He also creates sculptures using 3D printers, laser-cut, and holographic imagery. In other words: he isn’t afraid of change and technology, but rather actively seeks it.

“I must say creating digital art is unlike other forms of art, like videos or photography, which are only looked at by viewers but do not elicit tactile interactions,” he notes.

The post Miguel Chevalier’s Digital Artwork Invites Tactile Interactions appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

“I love the material because everyone can wear it, and most do,” Berry observed once in an interview. “I’m edging closer to being a “denim head” and appreciating the material and jeans like they do, but that is not connected to my art that much. It is an art, and certainly a craft on its own and one that I have totally grown to respect. But in general, the beauty about jeans is that you don’t need to be an expert to feel comfortable wearing it and enjoy the experience.”

It’s this sense of immediacy that makes Berry’s work all the more approachable. With a number of sell-out solo shows, Berry has also shown his work across Europe and the States. Currently showing at the Levi Strauss Museum in Germany, he has also unveiled a permanent installation in San Francisco.

“My work isn’t all about it being denim,” insists Berry, “and while it often looks at community, I also set myself the challenge of using denim in a way that it no longer looks like denim, it becomes photorealistic.”

In terms of subject matter, his art often features melancholic urban scenes, depicting a lonely or less glamorous side of city living that’s washed out in different shades of blue. “I do what painters usually do, play with the light and the dark,” explains Berry. “I have piles of denim in my studio: my friends’ jeans, jeans from charity shops, donations from denim brands and mills. My warehouse is organized by colors and it is growing bigger and bigger, so I can use a lot of shades.”

The end result is both dramatic and awe-inspiring. Take a look!

The post The Outstanding And Unique Denim Art of Ian Berry appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

“It’s very intuitive, meaning that it happens in the moment, in the process,” Hinrichsen shared with My Modern Met, describing her creative process. “It’s not something that’s preconceived, there’s no pre-designed scene that I’m laying out on the snow. I don’t make a drawing on a sheet of paper or on the computer and transfer it onto the snow.”

According to Hinrichsen, she isn’t interested in creating lasting artworks, as she believes our planet is over-saturated with man-made products. Her drawings are ephemeral by design and comprised of forms that are reminiscent of glyphs created by aboriginal peoples. “From the ground it’s not possible to see it all, because the area is flat, especially if we are working on a lake,” she reflects. “There is no way to get a perspective of the piece.”

As her snow drawings are large-scaled, they require much more than a pair of shoes. In fact, her drawings are most often made with the help of local volunteers which Hinrichsen guides through the snow. As such, her art is very community-oriented, providing a teaching tool in a world that tends to neglect or deny its adverse impacts on the natural world.

“Part of this project really focuses on experience, on giving people this opportunity not only to participate in a big, collaborative art piece, but also to be out in nature and to experience the deep nature, the winter experience,” says the artist.

“I feel like this is important for us—humanity—as we’ve become so disconnected from the natural environment we live in. I feel like we need to reconnect with nature,” she stresses.

Her work might just inspire you to try your hands (and feet) at snow drawing!

The post Sonja Inspires Us To Try Snow Drawing This Winter appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

“I look for objects that are interesting to me personally,” he shared in a recent interview with CLOT Magazine. “I’m drawn to mechanical complexity and elegant design.”

Another criterion when choosing his material is a personal connection. “I also look for pieces with which the average person might have a personal connection; think of your father’s pocket watch or your grandmother’s Singer sewing machine,” he explains. As such, his work often stirs up long-forgotten memories—adding a layer of nostalgia to his sculptures.

According to Peralta, his practice was learned through trial and error, dating back to when he was a child. In fact, some of his earliest memories are of him and his brother pulling their red wagon around the neighborhood, knocking on doors, collecting broken radios, televisions, tape players, and then opening them up.

“My fascination with mechanical objects has only intensified as the variety of pieces with which I’ve worked has expanded,” he relayed. “My interest in them has also evolved. Working so closely with these old machines—seeing the wear patterns, grime, and dust that have accumulated over the decades and even centuries—feels like I’ve been given a private window into the lives of the people who once owned them.”

His deconstructed pieces include a typewriter, a guitar, and a camera. Scroll down to see some of his work, and follow his Instagram for more.

The post John A. Peralta Unlocks Magical Memories Contained In Machines appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

“I draw in order to make sense of landscape but also to construct and re-model it,” writes Kemp on her personal website. “I build worlds and imaginary places that grow out of a need to interpret the sites that I have known, expanding and developing them across a page. This encompasses everything, from the visions of a grand landscape right down to the details of the land, the plants and creatures that may inhabit it.”

But though her drawings are made as a way for her to make sense of her environment, the finished piece, more often than not, is a far cry from realism. In fact, most of them make up for a surrealist setting that might as well be a fairytale backdrop.

“I suppose they are places devoid of people, sprawling and illogical,” said Kemp in an interview with MJCarty. “The longer you look at them, the less and less sense they make. The detail makes it all hang together, believable only for a moment.”

This non-sensical quality to her work is very much intentional, and is the direct result of her practice, which relies on little to no planning ahead: “I never really know what the work will look like,” says Kemp. “I think they are too big and too detailed to be able to foresee it all before making it. I have a vague idea—’like ‘a forest of treehouses’—then I just run with it taking each day as it comes.”

Seeing her in action might just inspire you to roll your sleeves and get to work.

The post Get Lost In Olivia Kemp’s Detailed Pen Drawings appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine paper design (@christinepaperdesign)

But for some, maintaining a small garden or even remembering to change the dirty water collected in the flower vase is too great of a hassle. For these people especially the next interior trend comes in handy. We’re talking, of course, of decorative paper flowers – made to last a lifetime.

For fashion designer/painter turned crafter, Christine Ciovarta, paper flowers are much more than a passing interior trend—they’re an artful homage to nature itself. “With every flower I make I try to capture the realistic look as good as I can,” writes Ciovarta on her website, “I feel so grateful that I can make something beautiful with my own two hands.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine paper design (@christinepaperdesign)

A self-taught paper artist, her flowers are made of crepe paper which is painted and laminated. The process itself includes a healthy amount of research, taking note of the flowers’ shape, texture, and color before recreating them. “I study many images with them, I make sketches, mood boards and think of ways to reproduce and practice them,” explains Ciovarta. “After these steps are ready I make all the flowers, greenery, buds, and other elements necessary for my bouquet.”

The end result might at times be mistaken for a realistic flower bouquet. “My customers are always telling me stories how people always mistake my flowers with real ones, which gives me so much pride and joy,” admits the artist. Not only do they look realistic, but paper flowers also live forever, making them a sustainable way to keep your place decorated and on fleek.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine paper design (@christinepaperdesign)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine paper design (@christinepaperdesign)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine paper design (@christinepaperdesign)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine paper design (@christinepaperdesign)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine paper design (@christinepaperdesign)

The post Spruce Up Your Home with Christine Ciovarta’s Paper Flowers appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

Born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, Landström studied fine art by invitation at Carnegie-Mellon University and continued his fine art education at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts.

His creative background laid the foundation to his later work, but understanding the principles of volcanic rock required much trial and error.

“I just started trying it,” Landström shared in an interview with Whitehot Magazine. “For a long time, I was taking rock in different degrees of granularity and just mixing it with paint, using oil paint as the binder for it. It would go on the canvas as wet, sticky gravel.”

Over the years Landström developed and refined numerous techniques for coloring the rock and using it as a painting medium. Nowadays, he admits, it’s hard for him to imagine painting with a liquid. As the main medium of his paintings is derived from the core of our planet, Landström’s body of work is also an attempt to tap into the core of the human experience.

“I’m optimistic because, for quite a long time, I had just occasional or minimal interest in my work,” Landström notes. “But over the past few years, that’s completely turned around. I want to step on the gas pedal. What I’m really hoping is that my audience grows and I can have conversations like we’re having today and make the most honest work I can create.”

The post Bob Landström’s Paints with Volcanic Rock and it’s Incredible appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

“I love the ephemeral nature of maps, the range of paper types, weights, textures—even the smell,” gushed Fairburn in an interview with My Modern Met. Fairburn adds that with maps, no two surfaces are ever the same.

“Sometimes that’s too bad because occasionally I’ll find a paper type I really like, only to never find it in any other map ever again,” he notes. But it also makes for a more exciting process.

According to Fairburn, instead of working against the map, he lets the material guide him, aiming to preserve the functionality of each map. “I love the way in which maps age and show their use over time,” he says.

“In that respect, old maps are a very forgiving medium, unlike a crisp white canvas. It’s somehow welcoming, like a pair of shoes that have been worn in. You can’t really go wrong with the marks you make—at least not at the very start of a drawing, which is often the most daunting part for any artist.”

But understanding his source material takes time and patience, and Fairburn explains that part of his process includes studying the maps for hours on end, understanding the terrain before he begins manipulating it to his liking.

“I’ll always start by studying the map against the figure, mentally sketching any possible outcomes,” he further explained. “Ultimately, my process is about harmonizing two structures in one physical space.”

Take a look at some of the finished results in the gallery below and follow his social media pages for more.

The post Ed Fairburn Explores the Topography of the Human Face appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

“If an idea comes before material, I search for the right materials to achieve what I’m envisioning,” she reflected in an interview with Tappan. “If the idea comes from specific materials, I start experimenting and making test pieces, which evolves the idea through the process.”

The end result—be it a sculpture, an installation, or a mixed media two-dimensional artwork—highlights the transformative quality of materials. Case in point: her crystallized book series. Using found books as her source material, she manipulates them with water and borax, turning them into geologic specimens of sorts.

The process itself requires scientific precision. To grow the crystals directly on the books, Arnold creates a supersaturated solution of borax (sodium tetraborate) in boiling water. “When the water boils, its molecules expand, allowing more Borax in,” she explains.

Arnold then submerges the books in the hot, saturated solution and carefully manipulates them to her liking. As the saturated water cools, the molecules shrink and any excess Borax crystallizes.

“Once the solution has completely cooled and the crystals have grown on the submerged book, I drain the solution and dry the fragile, waterlogged work without disturbing its shape,” she adds. “When completely dry, the books hold their new, rigid shapes.”

According to Arnold, the Crystallized Book Series addresses the materiality versus the content of a book. The crystals remove the text and solidify the books into aesthetic, non-functional (and yet, mesmerizing) objects.

“The crystals and book shapes spark a sense of wonder akin to a great piece of literature, like some of the titles I use, but certainly not all, such as an obsolete software manual or old phone book,” she reflects. “It’s been nice to watch an apparent return to the cultural value of printed media while working on the series over the last 6 years.”

You can see the entire series here or follow Arnold on Instagram.

The post The Mesmerizing Crystallized Books of Alexis Arnold appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

“I think bringing digital technology together with art, whether it is painting or photography, is a great development in the field of the arts,” observed Chevalier in an interview with Iconsiam. “I believe digital art can really touch people and allow them to access deep emotions and feelings as well. I think it’s a very interesting art form.”

Chevalier knows what he’s talking about. Born in 1959 in Mexico City, he has focused exclusively on computers as an artistic means of expression since 1978 and is considered a pioneer of virtual and digital art.

“When I was growing up in the early 80s, my friends and I were very interested in Avant-Garde works of the West,” he recalled. “Digital Arts was a new form and I saw that there was so much potential in using the computer as a tool to create art. It was an experiment to create new possibilities in the arts.”

These days, Chevalier’s projects often incorporate generative and interactive virtual reality installations projected on large scale or shown on LED or LCD screens. He also creates sculptures using 3D printers, laser-cut, and holographic imagery. In other words: he isn’t afraid of change and technology, but rather actively seeks it.

“I must say creating digital art is unlike other forms of art, like videos or photography, which are only looked at by viewers but do not elicit tactile interactions,” he notes.

The post Miguel Chevalier’s Digital Artwork Invites Tactile Interactions appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

“I love the material because everyone can wear it, and most do,” Berry observed once in an interview. “I’m edging closer to being a “denim head” and appreciating the material and jeans like they do, but that is not connected to my art that much. It is an art, and certainly a craft on its own and one that I have totally grown to respect. But in general, the beauty about jeans is that you don’t need to be an expert to feel comfortable wearing it and enjoy the experience.”

It’s this sense of immediacy that makes Berry’s work all the more approachable. With a number of sell-out solo shows, Berry has also shown his work across Europe and the States. Currently showing at the Levi Strauss Museum in Germany, he has also unveiled a permanent installation in San Francisco.

“My work isn’t all about it being denim,” insists Berry, “and while it often looks at community, I also set myself the challenge of using denim in a way that it no longer looks like denim, it becomes photorealistic.”

In terms of subject matter, his art often features melancholic urban scenes, depicting a lonely or less glamorous side of city living that’s washed out in different shades of blue. “I do what painters usually do, play with the light and the dark,” explains Berry. “I have piles of denim in my studio: my friends’ jeans, jeans from charity shops, donations from denim brands and mills. My warehouse is organized by colors and it is growing bigger and bigger, so I can use a lot of shades.”

The end result is both dramatic and awe-inspiring. Take a look!

The post The Outstanding And Unique Denim Art of Ian Berry appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

“It’s very intuitive, meaning that it happens in the moment, in the process,” Hinrichsen shared with My Modern Met, describing her creative process. “It’s not something that’s preconceived, there’s no pre-designed scene that I’m laying out on the snow. I don’t make a drawing on a sheet of paper or on the computer and transfer it onto the snow.”

According to Hinrichsen, she isn’t interested in creating lasting artworks, as she believes our planet is over-saturated with man-made products. Her drawings are ephemeral by design and comprised of forms that are reminiscent of glyphs created by aboriginal peoples. “From the ground it’s not possible to see it all, because the area is flat, especially if we are working on a lake,” she reflects. “There is no way to get a perspective of the piece.”

As her snow drawings are large-scaled, they require much more than a pair of shoes. In fact, her drawings are most often made with the help of local volunteers which Hinrichsen guides through the snow. As such, her art is very community-oriented, providing a teaching tool in a world that tends to neglect or deny its adverse impacts on the natural world.

“Part of this project really focuses on experience, on giving people this opportunity not only to participate in a big, collaborative art piece, but also to be out in nature and to experience the deep nature, the winter experience,” says the artist.

“I feel like this is important for us—humanity—as we’ve become so disconnected from the natural environment we live in. I feel like we need to reconnect with nature,” she stresses.

Her work might just inspire you to try your hands (and feet) at snow drawing!

The post Sonja Inspires Us To Try Snow Drawing This Winter appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

“I look for objects that are interesting to me personally,” he shared in a recent interview with CLOT Magazine. “I’m drawn to mechanical complexity and elegant design.”

Another criterion when choosing his material is a personal connection. “I also look for pieces with which the average person might have a personal connection; think of your father’s pocket watch or your grandmother’s Singer sewing machine,” he explains. As such, his work often stirs up long-forgotten memories—adding a layer of nostalgia to his sculptures.

According to Peralta, his practice was learned through trial and error, dating back to when he was a child. In fact, some of his earliest memories are of him and his brother pulling their red wagon around the neighborhood, knocking on doors, collecting broken radios, televisions, tape players, and then opening them up.

“My fascination with mechanical objects has only intensified as the variety of pieces with which I’ve worked has expanded,” he relayed. “My interest in them has also evolved. Working so closely with these old machines—seeing the wear patterns, grime, and dust that have accumulated over the decades and even centuries—feels like I’ve been given a private window into the lives of the people who once owned them.”

His deconstructed pieces include a typewriter, a guitar, and a camera. Scroll down to see some of his work, and follow his Instagram for more.

The post John A. Peralta Unlocks Magical Memories Contained In Machines appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.

“I draw in order to make sense of landscape but also to construct and re-model it,” writes Kemp on her personal website. “I build worlds and imaginary places that grow out of a need to interpret the sites that I have known, expanding and developing them across a page. This encompasses everything, from the visions of a grand landscape right down to the details of the land, the plants and creatures that may inhabit it.”

But though her drawings are made as a way for her to make sense of her environment, the finished piece, more often than not, is a far cry from realism. In fact, most of them make up for a surrealist setting that might as well be a fairytale backdrop.

“I suppose they are places devoid of people, sprawling and illogical,” said Kemp in an interview with MJCarty. “The longer you look at them, the less and less sense they make. The detail makes it all hang together, believable only for a moment.”

This non-sensical quality to her work is very much intentional, and is the direct result of her practice, which relies on little to no planning ahead: “I never really know what the work will look like,” says Kemp. “I think they are too big and too detailed to be able to foresee it all before making it. I have a vague idea—’like ‘a forest of treehouses’—then I just run with it taking each day as it comes.”

Seeing her in action might just inspire you to roll your sleeves and get to work.

The post Get Lost In Olivia Kemp’s Detailed Pen Drawings appeared first on https://everydaymonkey.com.