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Here's an idea from designer John Scarratt on how to turn an empty storefront into a work of art that doubles as a clever ad! Link
Brazilian artist Gabriel Marques loves AMC's The Walking Dead, and created these fan posters to show his undying love for the zombie TV series. Check out the sketch that lead to the artwork above: Link - via Inspirationfeed
Now, we love zombies ourselves here at Neatorama - that's why we have a big (and growing!) Zombie Shop over at the NeatoShop.
After World War II, collecting whimsical ceramic dishes, accessories, and figurines became very popular in the U.S. -and for a while they were all made in America. Some designers became more popular than others, and their works were in high demand. Collectors Weekly talks to Donald-Brian Johnson, author of the book Postwar Pop: Memorabilia of the Mid-20th Century about some of those designers, who were mostly named Betty.
“Betty Cleminson’s pieces were whimsical, but also useful,” says Johnson. “A lot of them had cute sayings on them that Betty wrote. She made string holders, pie birds, wall pockets, and other things you’d use around the house. Her razor-blade bank was a popular one, as was the girl with freckles that looked like a head vase. When I first saw it, I thought it was a mug, except it didn’t have a handle. Turns out you were supposed to put a dish scrubber in it.”
With ceramic figurines, the biggest sellers were usually the pairs. “People put them on end tables on either side of a couch, or on night tables at either side of a bed,” says Johnson. “There was just more of a market for pairs.”
Ceramic Arts Studio made the most of this trend by making its pairs as both regular figurines and salt-and-pepper shakers. That way, they could appeal to multiple audiences. “The unlikeliest figurines were sometimes made into salt-and-pepper shakers,” says Johnson. “One Betty Harrington design paired a ‘Fire Man’ and ‘Fire Woman’, each around 11 inches tall, that were artistic representations of what fire would look like if it assumed a human form. They had human faces, but their clothing and such were all rendered as flames. They’re wonderful figurines, but it’s difficult to imagine using them as salt-and-pepper shakers.”
These ceramic works from the 1940s and ’50s are regaining popularity, but the original American-made designs are not so easy to find. Link -Thanks, Ben!
(Image credit: John Petzold)
Jeffrey Sgroi uses a computer-controlled router to drill halftones into painted Corian countertop material. The computer probably makes it faster. But I suspect that you could make one with careful planning, a drill and a set of countersink drill bits.
Fake Science is a great blog filled with all kinds of fun facts like the one above. Who knew that cats actually have built in danger sensors?
It might be a little late now, but these great Valentines cards by Ben Kling are simply fantastic, not to mention punny as all heck.
Link Via Geekosystem
Artists Jody Barton and Luke Pommersheim teamed up and hit the Danish city streets with a different kind of street art-surreal mystery flyers. Each flyer contains a different version of strange, from the discovery of a tiny door to an invitation to a sugar party just to name a few, and if a passerby happens to take the mysterious author Jens up on his offer, the address is real, and KL. 14 means the meeting time is 2 p.m.
According to various comments, the listed address often has people gathered around outside, hanging about and drinking water of all things! Will these mini street mysteries ever be solved? Not until the next batch of flyers are ready to go up…
–via Booooooom! — Jody Barton LINK
M.K. Holloway is a master leatherworker who lives outside of Dallas, Texas. Her guitar pickguards are wonders of detailed craftsmanship.
Holloway’s Website -via Dude Craft
Today’s Google Doodle is a video Valentine story of how a guy learns the way to a girl’s heart. Music by Tony Bennett.
Japanese artist Takanori Aiba makes tiny, enchanting worlds, such as this fanciful castle wrapped around an imitation bonsai tree. His whole site is a browsing delight. The only pity is that his creations aren’t real places that we can visit.
Link -via Geekosystem | Artist’s Website
Open wide, Sebastian! The crafting studio Molas & Co. is devoted to one thing: finding art and amusement in the hinge of a clothespin. This chameleon is one of many hungry clothespin animals.
Link -via Chantal van der Velden-Mullens | Crafter’s Website
Happy Valentine's Day, Neatoramanauts! (Or to those who are married, Happy Tuesday!)
I thought that this clever "match art" by Russian IT Specialist Stanislav Aristov, which went viral last year (but as often the case, not attributed to him), is appropriate for today. See more beautiful examples of what you can do with fire, smoke, and matches at Stanislav's website: Link
See also: Fascinating Matchbook Art over at Dark Roasted Blend - Thanks Avi!
Sometimes it’s better to just not open a can of worms, especially if you’re not going to believe his answer anyway. This image is from a collection of Relationship Public Service Announcements from College Humor. Link -via Buzzfeed
If she could just stop getting kidnapped, Link would finally be able to give her his heart, but I doubt that’s ever going to happen. Oh well, we can still appreciate the card, created by Adam Bing, even if Zelda herself will never get it.
The Pee Wee’s Playhouse set was pretty cute already, but when handcrafted at home, it’s downright adorable. Better still, you can even have your own version at home and this Jambi even comes with an interchangeable screen.
The perfect geeky Valentine for any Whovians out there. I don’t know about you guys, but I’d love to get a homemade card tailored to my personal interests like this.
Link Via The Daily What
Just because the video games in the Mario Bros. franchise feature Mario and Luigi as good guys doesn’t mean that the other denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom don’t see them as total jerks.From their penchant for destroying brick structures to their cold blooded turtle kicking tactics, the Mario Bros. just might be the enemy after all.
These propaganda posters from the Mushroom Kingdom urge you to take action against the moustachioed plumbers, and they ask the question the Shy Guys are afraid to answer- “The Koopas are fighting, why aren’t you?”
Link –via Super Punch
In the world of fine art there’s always someone trying to radically change the game with their artwork. While this can lead to some innovative and interesting pieces, it can also occasionally turn things into one big mess, and forced innovation sometimes causes artists to lose sight of how important traditionalism can be to maintaining artistic integrity.
Enter Barry X Ball, a sculptor who’s decided to take it back to the old school by sculpting portraits and figures out of marble. He crafts these incredible works of art while paying attention to fine details, such as the natural flow of the veins in the marble and the retention of natural edges and form whenever possible.
You can check out a selection of Barry’s marble works at the link below, works which somehow manage to be traditionally beautiful and utterly surreal at the same time.
Link –via Beautiful Decay
This stack of pancakes is bursting into action, thanks to a plate designed by Eisuke Tachikawa. His series turns eating lunch into a manga action/adventure sequence.
Also neat: at the link, scroll down to the end to see an oven-safe ceramic bone that you can cook into bread to make it look like a slab of meat.
Oh me! Oh my!
Oh me! Oh my!
What a lot
of funny things go by
…during hunting season. Carl Turner created mounted heads of Dr. Seuss’s creatures, including this Baffler Bird.
Link -via Super Punch
Artist Matt Cowan used a bit of math to explain superheroes. Take a look at Matt's deviantART page to see if the equations jibe: Link - via Notcot
Mitch O’Connell posted 34 vintage valentine cards that appear to be the type children would exchange at school, yet many of them contain double entendres, whether intentional or not. Link -via Boing Boing
This Twaggie was illustrated by a Tweet from @DamienFahey, who apparently a frustrated Whole Foods customer. See a new Twaggie every day at GoComics. Link
Now that you can get duct tape in just about any color imaginable, why not make your Valentine some roses that are darn near indestructible? As a commenter at Metafilter said,
Because nothing says “Let’s stick together,” like a “realis-stick” rose made of duct tape.
See how it’s done at Instructables. Link -via Metafilter
Let your geekiness show in the valentines you send! Express your love for your sweetie plus your love for your favorite video game, online community, scientific discipline, movie, or TV show. There are lots to select from, but you won’t find them in your local greeting card store -no, these out-of-the ordinary valentines are found on the internet. Shown here are some valentines based on the TV series Breaking Bad, by Beth at Butt Horn. See the rest of the collection at mental_floss. Link
To show heart felt love, Etsy seller OneAgainSam made an anatomically correct heart. Perhaps to express other sentiments, he also felted a pair of lungs, a brain and an intestinal tract.
Russian street artist Nikita Nomerz discovers facial features in buildings and adds just a few touches to expose them. View a gallery of his recent work at the link.
Link -via Colossal (where there’s a video) | Photo by the artist
Sometimes it’s too hard to actually get your kitty in a costume. Fortunately, with a simple cardboard box and a marker, you can make your little one the coolest geek kitty in town. Click the link to see the picture even bigger.
Link Via I Can Has Cheezburger
These cute, colorful and rather kitschy Valentine’s Day cards were licensed by Paramount Pictures in 1939, and they feature characters from Max Fleischer’s animated version of Gulliver’s Travels.
They’re charming and simply ooze retro cartoon charm, so it’s no wonder these cards are highly prized by collectors of animation memorabilia, and Valentine’s Day card enthusiasts, over 70 years later.
Anyone have a nice color printer and some cardstock, I want to give one of these adorable cards to my Valentine! *wink*
–via Cartoon Brew
Here’s your WTF moment of the day, an animated short featuring a giant hot dog eating the Caped Crusader! The hot dog has no facial features save a giant maw, so it’s hard to tell what it’s thinking about as it chomps down on old Batsy, but I bet it wishes it had a giant beer to help rinse the taste of spandex out of it’s mouth.
And so, the question remains-why would a giant hot dog do such a horrific thing? Because it’s hungry, of course!
BTW this video (LINK) could well be the reason why the giant hot dog went after the Dark Knight in the first place. Apparently payback reeks of mustard and relish…
–via i09
