Egg-Bot :: Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories

Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories is the family-owned business that created the Egg Bot, a printer that can print on round objects. Check out the machine or photos of some printed eggs over at their site. LINK

Eas+ern Eggs :: TBWA London

Utilizing the Egg Bot, creative agency TBWA London has created the Eas+ern Eggs project. Artists were asked to create designs to be printed on eggs with proceeds donated to the Red Cross to help the recovery in Japan. See more eggs and learn more about the project. LINK

The Nogg

The Nogg is a beautifully-designed chicken coop. Portable, ecological, and stylish, it even has a skylight! LINK

Sunny Side Up :: Rocket Science Animation

Sunny Side Up is a cute stop-action animation about an egg who is yellow when it comes to flying. LINK

Peep Show :: Washington Post Readers

I first heard of the Washington Post's diorama contest known as the Peep Show last year when getting together with friends for an Easter dinner (at a Mexican restaurant). They had been selected in the group of 30+ contestants to be voted on by the general public and had brought some of their peep characters along for show and tell.

This year, they won!!!

Their multilevel diorama depicted the Chilean mine rescue, complete with underground chamber and fossils in the rock strata. I can't wait to ask them questions about it at tonight's dinner! Congratulations Mary Jo Ondejka, Bryn Metzdorf, and Margaret Hartka.

See photos of this and other Peep Show dioramas of widely varying themes and style at the Washington Post site. LINK

Metal Sculptures :: Harriet Mead

UK artist Harriet Mead creates some pretty amazing metal sculptures, both large and small. See more of her work at her website. LINK

The Turtle and the Hare :: Natsumi Honda

Artist Natsumi Honda has created a two-part sculptures from old watches. Very fitting. Read about it and see more pictures. LINK

Origami :: Sipho Mabona

Origami artist Sipho Mabona creates some forms that are new to me and also works with multiple pieces in varying colors to create larger formations. Visit his official site. LINK

Or visit his flickr set for an easy-to-view gallery. LINK

Paper Sculpture :: Ivar Theorin

Though Ivar Theorin's large paper sculptures are a bit rough in places, his methods are new to me, sewing brown craft paper into position. Check out more of his animals and masks including close ups at his site. LINK

Paper Sculpture :: Jeff Nishinaka

Jeff Nishinaka is an amazing paper sculptor. Capturing light and shadow to turn simple white paper into complex illustrations, his work is captivating. And the sheer number of pieces in his online portfolio are testament to his versatility and achievement. Name a subject and he appears to have done a sculpture for it! LINK

Tiger :: Ducobi Toy

This series of five tiger artisan toys (two shown here) are handmade and have mother-of-pearl inlays! Ranging from 10 to 100 pieces, these limited editions also incorporate meaning, such as the cherry blossom for the transience of life or the carp for success and prosperity. Find more information and detailed photos at the Ducobi site. LINK

Body Painting :: Craig Tracy

I often find myself turned off by body painting because of blatant sexism but I'll admit that in this piece, Craig Tracy managed to cross the line into creative. Look again and you'll see that the canvas is actually three women. See the process images at his site. Possibly NSFW. LINK

Between Bears :: Eran Hilleli

This animation was the winner of the Best Animation Award at vimeo's first film festival this past year and was Eran's graduation film. Surreal and beautiful, this animation is a must see for style alone. LINK

Lego Zoo :: Sean Kenney

Sean Kenney is a professional LEGO modeler. Though he's been around for years, he did get a lot of press back in 2010 for his LEGO animal models that were on display at the Philadelphia Zoo. See these and all of his work (and lots of it) at his website. LINK

Don't Go

This animation is both cute and clever, combining 3-D animation with live action, and a bit of 80s music as well. LINK

Sculptures :: James Corbett

Though James Corbett has been featured before, I stumbled upon a gallery link that showcases some beautiful work that is not on his website. LINK

Catwalk - Black Cat Crossing

The style of this animation is wonderful! Hand-drawn elements were scanned and then manipulated digitally. Beautifully done and a quirky storyline as well. LINK

Dog Sculptures :: Will Waggenar

Artist Will Waggenar creates all sorts of reclaimed workss but I personally think he excels at giving personality to his dog sculptures. See a whole gallery of them at his flicker site. LINK

Or see what is available for purchase now at his Etsy site. LINK

Sculpture :: Chase Studio

Andrew Chase is a photographer and sculptor featured here for his animal sculptures. His work is simply beautiful. And this pieces are articulated so they can be repositioned as well! See this and other sculptures at the artist's site. LINK

Spirit Animals :: Julian Callos

Artist Julian Carlos wanted to give his friends something special last Christmas so he carved their spirit animals. All of the animals have a wonderful style and character. See them at the artist's site. LINK

Exit Through the Pet Shop :: Keyboard Cat

Sometimes I just feel bad for Charlie Schmidt's cat. But for anyone who saw Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop, this feline parody will bring a smile to your face. LINK

The Deep :: PES

Every time I turn around, I'm posting another stop-action animation from PES, this time found-object sea creatures. I'd like to say my favorite detail was ___ but there are too many little touches that are worth seeing in this animation. LINK

Hooked

This is a sweet little animation of a fish who thinks he has found a way to outsmart the fisherman. LINK

Thrill of the Catch

Thrill of the Catch is a well-done Flash game that allows you to go fishing, or create and feed your own fish. If you are at work, turn down your speaker volume first because it does have some background music that will catch your neighbor's attention. LINK

A Curious Bestiary :: Kaitnlin Beckett

After not visiting Kaitlin Beckett's website for a few years, I was happy to see that her recent work is even more enchanting than I remembered. The Lantern Fish shown here incorporates patterned origami paper as a background and is highlighted in the lanterns. Her Curious Bestiary contains fish and animals both real and imaginary and adds mechanical and fantasy aspects to each. Her work is a must see with over 70 original pieces, some on ceramics! LINK

Wood Sculptures :: Milo Dean

I post plenty of metal, found-object sculptures so I figured I should include something a bit softer. The wood carvings of Milo Dean are beautiful and timeless. You can tell that he works hard to select the right pieces of wood for their grain and color, working bands and burls in the wood into his final pieces. See more of his work at the Milo Creek Carvings site. A speaker volume warning as the site does have background music for those of you at work. LINK

Kinetic Sculptures :: Chris Cole

Chris Cole creates some mind-blowing kinetic sculptures. See more of his work and videos of them in action at his site. LINK

Metal Sculpture :: Omar Ali

I'll have to repost at another time to make note of Omar Ali's other creations but today I'm focusing on his fish sculptures. Though plenty of artists are making found-object sculptures, Mr. Ali does does an excellent job of incorporating them into his pieces. See close ups of his fish and the incredible variety in his work at his website. LINK

Metal Sculptures :: Robert Jefferson Travis Pond

Artist Travis Pond creates all sorts of metal contraptions under the name of Steel Pond Studios. Featured here for his birds and fish, he also creates animal sculptures, benches, railings and wall hangings.

Check out the birds. LINK

Check out the fish. LINK

Extreme Birdhouse :: John Looser

John Looser of Belgrave, Ontario builds extreme birdhouses. These are the palaces of the bird world with plenty of room for overnight guests. Ranging in style from simple log cabins to full-on castles, you can tell he has a great time building. See more photos at his site, or purchase plans to build one of your own. LINK

Spontaneous City :: Londo Fieldworks

London Fieldworks was created by artists Bruce Gilchrist and Jo Joelson to explore art and science. In the case of Spontaneous City, birdhouses in a myriad of sizes were installed on trees in a public park. See more photos of the project at their site. LINK

Wind-Up Birds :: HC Gilje

At first glance, these may look like birdhouses but they are actually mechanical woodpeckers. Networked to transmit wirelessly, every five minutes one woodpecker starts and the others answer. See the video of the pieces installed in a forest. LINK

Story Birds :: Robin and John Gumaelius

Robin and John Gumaelius create some unique bird sculptures. Though the bird forms are often fairly simple shapes, the use of glaze imparts unique personalities and character to each piece and steel wrappings add an extra layer of appeal. See more at the White Bird Gallery website. LINK

Illustrations :: Iain Macarthur

Iain Macarthur incorporates geometric shapes and natural forms to create complex illustrations of birds and other animals, some available as prints or as t-shirts. Visit his behance page to see these in more detail and his other works (that include some more typical male-artist stereotypes such as skulls and pretty women.) LINK

Sculpture :: Anna Built

I can imagine that Anna Built has a completely different grocery-shopping experience than the rest of us and wonder how many times she buys food simply for the container. Using discarded, used, and new tin cans, she refashions them into bird sculptures. See more at her site. LINK

Button Creations :: Ran Hwang

Korean-born artist Ran Hwang currently works in New York, creating sculptures and installations out of buttons, pins, and string. If you visit her website to see more photos, including close ups, note that the button icon works as a back button. LINK

Birds and Butterflies :: Paul Villinski

Artist Paul Villinski often uses found materials such as discarded cans or record albums to create his butterflies and birds. In addition to these record-album birds flying out of a record player, don't miss his equally, if not more, compelling groupings of butterflies. See them all at his site. LINK

Giant Web :: For Use

This large-scale installation was created by the For Use collaborative using multiple layers of clear adhesive tape. The original concept was born out of a dance performance and opening nights often include a theatric display where people actually climb inside. However, one can't help but see the parallels with spider's webs.

Though they have created installations in many European cities, I think my favorite is the Vienna installation in a disused stock exchange building which took three people five days to create and used 270 rolls of tape.

See all of the installations by viewing the Projects at the For Use website. LINK

FRAMEicariums :: Hugh Hayden and Katie Vitale

Inserting ants into picture frames culminates in some wondrous creations. Check out more of their ANTique framing results at Hugh's site. LINK

Ants in My Scanner :: François Vautier

When his old scanner was no longer needed, François Vautier set up an ant colony inside of it and scanned it each week ... for five years! The resulting time-lapse video is pretty amazing as parts corrode and rust and plants grow! LINK

Fly Humor :: Magnus Muhr

Swedish photographer Magnus Muhr must have had some down time between assignments when he created this simple series of photographs. Though they have already made the rounds in the blogosphere, I can't help but appreciate how simple pencil drawings combined with dead insects can bring a smile to one's day. See them all at his website. LINK

Cameraman's Revenge :: Ladislaw Starewicz

Just when we think we've stumbled upon or created some unique or original art form, a relic from the past reappears and reminds us that other's have come before us.

This Russian stop-action animation using insects as the main characters was created in 1912!

Even the subject matter reminds us that we're not so modern ... a couple and their extramarital dalliances. When you consider how delicate insects can be, the amount of attention paid to the gestures of the "actors" is truly amazing. LINK

Sculpture :: Christopher Conte

Christopher Conte's sculptures are worth checking out. Though he has created a good number of insects, he also creates human forms, with a twist, of course. And he doesn't limit himself to one artistic style, his works falling into genres from steampunk to cyberpunk. See more at his site. LINK

Anthrobots :: Tom Hardwidge

Tom Harwidge has created a series of small, metal sculptures he calls anthrobots. Flying, crawling, and jumping insects all make an appearance with a variety of photos for each available on his website. LINK

Micromachina :: Scott Bain

Artist Scott Bain transforms real insects using found objects and miniature figures to create surreal scenes. See more of his mechanical reimaginings at his Behance page. LINK

Insect Lab :: Mike Libby

Artist Mike Libby customizes real insects to create his mechanical specimens, focusing on the contradictions of nature and technology. Though he seems to prefer beetles and butterflies, spiders, bees, and grasshoppers have all been transformed. In addition to the recent release of his book, actual pieces  can be seen close up and purchased (prints also available) at his site. LINK

Inhabitants Of A Certain Planet :: Shojiro Yamauchi

Japanese artist Shojito Yamauchi created a series of metal sculptures of mechanical insects. Not only does their construction indicate their mechanical nature, but they also have open sections that show through to their working parts - gears and pipes. Read more and see more photos (including some close ups) at the Tokyobling site. LINK