The Amazing Stuff

Art is often thought about from the perspective of the viewer. It makes sense, because viewership is the practice of many, and creation is the practice of relatively few. But let’s take a step back and consider the fact that creative work lives a long, unseen life before it ends up in front of us. In many ways, what goes into the creation of a piece is far more profound than anything we could possibly take away from it.

Artist Stephanie Calvert is more than a little bit familiar with that experience. Her latest series, which is an ongoing endeavor called the Shame to Pride Project, has evolved into something that is both restorative and revelatory.

Calvert’s mission started after an unexpected and painful homecoming.

Growing up in an abandoned schoolhouse in rural Colorado proved to be an isolating experience for the artist. “I lived there for six years without plumbing, central heat, or full electricity. Disconnected from the community, my mother’s hoarding took over a lot of the space. It was a strange and challenging place to grow up.”

Once her parents left the space, it was abandoned once again. Calvert only returned when tragedy struck.

Her mother sustained brain injuries in a horrible bike accident, so the artist began spending more time in her hometown to lend a helping hand. Shame to Pride was born when she stepped back in time to the schoolhouse that held so many convoluted memories.

Because the old schoolhouse sat exactly as they’d left it so many years ago, the fruits of her mother’s hoarding remained. Instead of discarding it in shame, Calvert vowed to repurpose it all into a testament to family and the nature of memory.

“I used the experience of transforming physical materials as a way to transform my relationship to my story,” she writes. The more time she spent surrounded by her family history, the more comfortable she became with the idea of embracing her past with honesty.

“Revisiting my past,” she continues, “brought a lot up to the surface for me, and in sharing things about my mom’s accident, I started sharing more about my past as well.”

What started as an introspective project soon became something of an outreach mission.

“At first, I started Shame to Pride very much for my own mental and emotional wellbeing,” she writes. “When I started sharing my art with friends, I started to see the potential for connection to others through this work.”

According to the artist, “Through sharing with others and having them bear witness to our stories, we start to heal and accept ourselves just as we are, no matter where we come from.”

The effect that Shame to Pride has had on Calvert is nothing short of transformative.

“Once I started looking at things creatively,” she writes, “I was able to see the value not just in these physical things, but in my past, my family, and my experiences. It’s not what happens to us that defines us. It’s how we respond to it, and the intentions we have in moving forward.”

She now wants to invite others to share in this experience in a way that helps them confront their own pasts and begin the healing process.

She’s even started an Indiegogo campaign so that she can raise enough money to bring this project to New York and extend the reach of her process far beyond the borders of her hometown.

In her words, “I have gained so much freedom from how I used to think and feel. I feel so much lighter. I see how special and beautiful my upbringing was, and how it helped shape me into the creative and unique person I am today. I feel gratitude where I used to feel shame.”

(via Indiegogo)

And now we return to the viewer’s experience. What Calvert wants us to take away from the Shame to Pride Project is simple: “I want people to take away the importance of sharing — especially when it comes to the things we feel shame, guilt, and sadness over.”

If you want to lend Stephanie Calvert a helping hand, be sure to check out her Indiegogo page. For more of her incredible work, pay a visit to her website.

Much of what makes photography such an incredible craft is the fact that skilled photographers can bring a sense of permanence to what would otherwise be a fleeting moment. Photography is one skill that revels in the idea of stasis. It is one of few methods through which we can challenge the relentless march of time.

But what if we could capture the essence of that onward march without the use of motion pictures? What if we could illustrate the passage of a day in one still image? Acclaimed photographer Stephen Wilkes set out to answer those questions a few years ago, and the resulting series is a permanent interpretation of life’s transience.

To achieve this effect, Wilkes photographs the same location from a fixed angle 1,500 times over the course of 24 hours.

The Americas Cup, San Francisco

He then chooses the best photos from each session and blends them together seamlessly into one image.

Central Park View from Essex House, New York City, 2014

The transition from day to night and back again dictates much of the human experience. Because this is a shared phenomenon, Wilkes decided to choose subjects that people around the world could relate to in a similar way.

Flatiron, New York City, 2010

“I photograph from locations and views that are part of our collective memory,” he writes.

Coney Island, New York City, 2011

According to the artist, these images help us visualize “our conscious journey with time.”

Millennium Park, Chicago, 2013

The photographs illustrate concepts of shared time and space with the refreshing concision of still images.

Trafalgar Square, London, 2014

It’s easy to get lost in abstract ideas when considering the ways in which we’re affected by time. These images cut down on all of that abstraction with a visual representation of the idea.

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, 2015

While many try and fail to wrap their minds and their words around what it means to watch time pass us by, Stephen Wilkes articulates the idea with poignant images that need no explanation.

Shanghai, China, 2012

(via BoredPanda)

If you live in the New York area and want to see these incredible images up close, be sure to stop by the Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery sometime between now and January 9, 2016. You can check out more of Wilkes’ work on his website, and keep up with his latest projects on Instagram.

We often downplay just how drastically the weather can affect our state of mind, but some studies suggest that our moods change with the seasons. This could explain why it’s just as hard to imagine being lethargic and irritable on a warm, sunny day as it is to imagine being upbeat and productive when the sky opens up with heavy rain and thunder.

Just ask the people of Seoul, South Korea. Right now, they’re facing the worst part of the year: monsoon season. Needless to say, they know a thing or two about letting the weather get them down. That’s why Pantone — a leading color technology and design firm — decided to team up with creators from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to turn the bustling city’s damp, dreary streets into exuberant works of art.

These creative minds teamed up to bring Seoul and its many residents back to life during monsoon season.

After all, it’d be hard not to smile while swimming with beautiful sea creatures on the way to work and school.

Instead of washing these creations away, however, heavy rainfall activates them!

So how exactly does that work?

Each piece is created with hydrochromatic pigments. They’re applied like regular paints, but they become invisible once they dry. The only thing that can bring them back to life is water.

As is the case in many major cities, life in Seoul revolves around the nearby river.

That’s why artists decided to incorporate marine life into these whimsical images in a way that captures the importance of the Han River to life in Seoul, while still shining a spotlight on the city’s famously vibrant culture.

(via My Modern Met)

It’s tempting to let rain put a literal damper on your day, but it’s important to find beauty at every turn. That being said, it’s probably much easier to do that when talented creators cover your city’s streets with stunning images of whales, fish, and sea turtles. We wish the people of Seoul luck as they endure the final stages of monsoon season, and we hope that this awesome art is helping them get by!

Pearls are a timeless classic, because they look good with just about anything. Their subtle luster and variety of soft colors make them versatile, and they always lend a polished touch to any outfit.

And then there’s Shinji Nakaba‘s take on these dainty jewels. The Japanese artist creates what he calls “wearble sculptures” from a variety of materials, often drawing on anatomical figures for inspiration. So what about pearls? Well, they’re round, white, and organic…just like skulls. So that’s exactly what he turns them into.

The pearls are tiny, but they’re insanely detailed.

He creates these skulls in different sizes, shapes, and colors.

While a pearl is certainly pretty on its own, Nakaba’s carvings bring out another aspect of its beauty by allowing us to look deeply inside. The macabre subject also adds a layer of meaning to the pearl.

These jewels are created by mollusks to serve as defense mechanisms against irritation from sand or debris. The skull shape nods to the pearl’s organic (and somewhat frightening) origins.

He mounts the carvings on rings and bracelets.

Carving the skulls takes an extremely steady hand, and a really tiny drill.

Nakaba also likes to play with other organic forms, like this metal and enamel lavender stalk topped with a skull.

He even carves craniums of the animal variety.

And this cute little guy isn’t a skull at all!

(via Colossal)

You can see more of Nakaba’s tiny, detailed, and delicate work on his website, and if these pieces tickle your fancy, you can even buy some at his online shop. Aside from being functional pieces of jewelry, Nakaba’s work is also considered fine art, and has been showcased in several exhibits around the world.

Street art is the perfect way for passionate artists to put their work right in front of everyone’s face. Banksy infamously brought his guerrilla style graffiti art to the public’s attention. Unlike him, however, Gigi Rodgers of Puck’n Khaos doesn’t want to hide her face from the public eye.

In fact, she uses it and the rest of her body as her living canvas. The incredible result, photographed by Paul Chin Jr., will blow your mind.

This beautiful painting looks like something you can stick in a frame — but that’s Rodgers standing in front of a wall.

She takes two hours to fully make herself up with various body and acrylic paints.

There were some difficulties, such as putting on the stiff-painted t-shirt.

Rodgers compared it to “putting on knights armor,” adding she had to have friends help her and almost got a little too claustrophobic.

But it was worth it when she saw how perfectly the photos captured the shadows and texture of the paint, seamlessly blending her into her surroundings.

She dubbed the project “Worlds” and plans to continue with more photos in the future.

Even after staring at these amazing photos, it’s still so hard to believe. Her life-filled eyes looking through the beautifully detailed paint is definitely an image that sticks with you.

To see more of Gigi’s work, visit her online portfolio or Facebook page.

You never know what you’re going to see when you walk through the city streets. Sure, there will be amazing stores and restaurants, but every so often, you might also find amazing performances right on the corner.

So when a crowd gathered around this street drummer and his buckets, they were hoping to see a good show. What they ended up seeing, however, totally blew their minds.

Source: Street performer displays amazing drumming skills by RCCR1987 on Rumble

The sheer talent of this performer makes you think he did this performance for the love of the music. It was incredible how he poured his heart and soul into it, all while making it look so easy!

Rafael Mantesso, from São Paulo, Brazil, had a really rough 30th birthday. Instead of having a super-fun party celebrating the end of the most confusing decade of one’s life, his wife left him. She took everything from the apartment: the furniture, the cookware, the art that hung on the walls…but she did leave one thing behind…

(via Bored Panda)

It’s amazing to see something so fruitful come out of one really, really terrible day. It just goes to show what a good attitude and drive can bring you, as long as you’re optimistic about life. Remember to follow Mantesso and Jimmy on Instagram, and to check out their amazing photo book! You can also see what they’re up to on their website, which has links to adopt a rescued bull terrier…just in case you were wondering.

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