ImagineNations :: Wendy Gold

Wendy Gold creates fun variations on the standard globe. Using decoupage, each work is custom designed ... and can be made to order. See more at her site. LINK

Map Art :: Shannon Rankin

Every time I visit her site, Shannon Rankin has found a new way to reinterpret maps. Whether she's cutting, folding, pinning, or obscuring our view, she often incorporates geometric patterns or creates fascinating textures as she works in both large and small scale. See more of her work at her site. LINK

Map Birds and Animals :: Jason LaFerrera

Though I would be more impressed if he were creating these pieces manually rather than on a computer, Jason LaFerrera does a good job of using the textures of old maps to emulate the fur or feathers in his recreations. See more of the work at his site. LINK

Conductor :: Alexander Chen

Based on the NYC subway system, this online map uses the movements of trains and their crossings to create music. Watch it in action. LINK

Ohio Is a Piano ::

Realizing that Ohio has 88 counties and a piano has 88 keys, Andy Woodruff felt compelled to create this little interactive that assigns notes to each county on the map. LINK

Scratch-Off Maps

This is a rather clever idea to track your world travels. And they are available for purchase. LINK

Surnames of the U.S.

National Geographic is currently hosting an interactive map that displays the most common surnames throughout the U.S. Zoom in to see if your name appears. LINK

Porcelain Skateboard :: Charles Kraft

When you go to artist Charles Krafft's website, unfortunately, the first items you'll notice are guns, grenades, and more guns. But if you scroll down a bit, you'll find some more interesting pieces such as skateboards and other household items, made out of porcelain and decorated in traditional styles, but sinister in their subject matter. See them for yourself at his site. LINK

Porcelain Turntable :: Fabian Clerc

Not just a porcelain turntable, but a porcelain DJ setup, two turntables and a mixer. From what I can tell in a poor translation, Swiss artist Fabian Clerc created these while contemplating luxury in an industrialized society. See more images at the artists' site. LINK

Portamento

The synthesizer synced to this visual calls perfect attention to the pressures applied when throwing pots. LINK

Porcelain Dragon

A tradition in many Asian countries, this type of porcelain plate (and bowl and cup) creation can often be found at Chinese New Year celebrations. The dragon shown here and an equally impressive phoenix were part of a 2010 celebration in Singapore. LINK

The 2011 new year was celebrated in Jingdezhen City with a rabbit. LINK

And here is another dragon assembled at the Songjiacheng scenic spot in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province. LINK

It is very similar to a dragon created for the Chinese Lantern Festival in Toronto, Canada, back in 2006. LINK

Thinnest Bowls :: Huang Cheng-nan

Taiwanese ceramist Huang Cheng-nan has spent years perfecting his secret technique for creating porcelain bowls that are only 2mm thick! Watch a video interview with the artist to learn more. LINK

Hoodies in Porcelain :: Barnaby Barford

British artist Barnaby Barford uses both mass-manufactured and antique porcelain figurines to create more modern scenes. Sometimes humorous, sometimes sinister, the juxtapositions can be insidious. See more photos in a slideshow at The Telegraph. LINK

Gory Porcelain :: Jessica Harrison

Jessica Harrison certainly takes art to that place that makes the viewer uncomfortable. Though some of her earlier works are equally disturbing, she's being featured here for her 2010 porcelain reworks. The contrast of the style of the original figurine and the artist's modifications do make these pieces memorable. LINK

Potamus :: k.olin tribu

Maker k.olin tribu often collaborates with artists to create unique art toys. This time they teamed up with Frank Kozik (known for his rock posters) resulting in the anarchist hippo they call "Potamus". See more pics at their site. LINK

Zeitgeist Toys

Zeitgeist toys has taken the art toy to the next level with hand-painted porcelain and pewter toys, and chrome-plated dunnys. See more about their manufacturing process and the toys at their site. LINK

Hair Conditioner

The clever title gives a hint of what you can expect from this ad. Great visuals and a bit of humor make this short commercial for a Buenos Aires bank worth the watch. LINK

Tiffany Wigs :: Kate Cusack

These wigs are made from ... drum roll please ... plastic wrap!!!

Kate Cusack designed these five custom Marie-Antoinette-style wigs originally created for Tiffany & Company's 2002 Mothers Day window displays in NYC. Check them all out at her site. LINK

Hair Insects :: Adrienne Antonson

Some of these insects made from human hair and glue are simply amazing. Others? But they are worth checking out to see a fabulous moth and some cool cocoons. At her site, choose sculpture then insects to see them all. LINK

Hairdo Hats for Baby :: Cheryl

Cheryl is a full-time mom with a penchant for sewing. She put that to use in creating a few "hair hats" for her baby girl. From the original posting on her blog, you can click links to some of her other hair-hat creations. LINK

Mourning Portrait :: Loren Schwerd

Artist Loren Schwerd created a series of hair-decorated houses to memorialize the communities flooded by Hurricane Katrina. They draw on the Victorian-era tradition of fashioning hair into intricate objects to commemorate life events. See them all at the artist's site. LINK

Paper Wigs :: Flurry & Salk

Nikki Salk and Amy Flurry founded the Paper-Cut-Project, creating paper creations for window installations, runway, catalog, and advertising campaigns. Paper wigs are the focus of this posts but if you check out all of them at their site, you can also see their animal mask series. LINK

Hair Masks :: Crystl Rijkeboer

These masks do make me wonder if there is some sort of innate sense of discomfort that arises when seeing someone with their face completely covered. The fact that these masks are also made of hair doesn't help. But any art that makes you feel something is serving it's purpose. See them all and some other work at the artist's site. LINK

Type City :: Veer

This promotional piece for the Veer type foundry was created back in 2008.  Click on the name of each building in the top right to see a selection of type faces or just move about to see the next sight. LINK

Hand-Cut Type :: Annie Vought

Annie Vought's hand-cut typographic pieces are just insane. And she's created quite a few of them! See more of her work at her site. LINK

Typographic Maps :: Axis Maps

Having created maps myself, I can't even begin to imagine the number of hours needed to create a typographic map like this, where every line is actually the name of the road! And Axis Maps has now created them for Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco! See more pictures at their site. LINK

So You Need a Typeface :: Julian Hansen

A clever idea for an infographic, and potentially a time saver for graphic designers, this poster helps with the type selections process. See it close up here. LINK

And it is for sale at the Scribble site. LINK

Modern Mantra :: Thomas Broomé

Thomas Broomé has made an appearance before, for his can locusts. This time he is being featured for his Modern Mantra series. These illustrations are created entirely from hand-drawn lettering.

At his site, scroll through his work to find "Modern Mantra" and "New Drawings from the Modern Mantra series" LINK

Bembo's Zoo

If you have any young children in your family (or adults who are young at heart), checking out Bembo's Zoo will be fun. I remember when I first saw this years ago and was blown away, animations on the web being a new phenomena at the time. But it still holds up today for fun and creativity. LINK

What Type Are You? :: Pentagram

This promo piece from Pentagram analyzes you based on your answers to some questions. The diagnosis is telling you what "type" you are ... meaning "typeface". LINK