Nerds Republic

Artist Fraser Smith makes beautiful, vibrantly colored quilts in all kinds of designs, and they’re absolutely gorgeous. There’s just one catch, though: don’t try to sleep under one of them.

Unless sleeping under a slab of wood sounds comfortable to you, that is.

Smith carefully carves each stitch and fold. The hard material really does look like soft fabric.

The vibrant hues are added by using watercolors and oils.

The intricate patterns are fascinating, especially when you consider that they had to be carved instead of sewn.

It’s hard to believe that these quilts are made from something so rigid.

He usually juxtaposes traditional quilting patterns with abstract compositions.

Smith is aware that his art form is rather unusual, and he makes no pretenses about it. In fact, his Facebook page lists this quote by way of explanation:

“If you find that you’re the only person in the world who does what you do, there’s probably a really good reason for that.”

While we can’t really argue, we’re glad that someone out there is carving wooden quilts.

(via Twisted Sifter)

You can see more of Smith’s creations on his website and Facebook. Aside from quilts, he also carves clothing, coats, and Judaica items.

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You already know that pencils aren’t just for drawing. With artists doing wacky things with them like carving minuscule sculptures into their tips or using them to construct fantastical beasts, the idea of what a pencil can do has really opened up recently.

But artist Anna Curlejová of Carbickova is taking things to the next level by turning colored pencils into pieces of colorful jewelry.

Using slices of the pencils, she arranges them into careful patterns before sealing them into place with clear lacquer.

By using different kinds of pencils, and by slicing them at different angles, she’s able to create a number of different effects.

Slicing the pencils lengthwise makes for a striped pattern, while cutting them widthwise achieves a honeycomb effect.

Many of her pieces incorporate multiple patterns.

Different brands of pencils also yield different results.

She can make anything, including pendants, earrings, and bracelets.

(via My Modern Met)

You can see more of Curlejová’s pencil jewelry in her Etsy shop, and because each piece is handmade, no two are ever alike.

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When you think of art, you probably imagine something hanging on a wall, but that’s not how Dutch artist Suzan Drummen creates. Her glittering installations, featuring thousands of shiny glass pieces, beads, and jewels, are laid out right on the floor in carefully arranged mandala and textile-like patterns. The bright colors and shining elements make them look magical, while their placement causes viewers to stop and rethink how they plan on navigating the space.

Drummen uses pins to attach items to walls, but the pieces on the floor are simply laid down. There’s nothing holding them in place.

This means that for all the work that goes into them, these installations are rather fragile.

Though they’re meticulously arranged, Drummen says that she never creates a plan for her pieces beforehand. She says everything is spontaneous: “I check the light, the route of the visitors, the colors, the height, etc., on [the] spot. The whole atmosphere actually guides me. Every space requires something else and the installation grows slowly.”

Needless to say, the process of creating these pieces is a time-consuming one.

And the art is not at all permanent, although Drummen has created some permanent installations.

The artist says that when people realize the pieces are loose, they tend to get very excited. She wants her work to draw people in and compel them to examine it from a closer perspective, inspecting all the tiny components.

Sometimes, Drummen uses other surfaces besides just floors and walls.

She occasionally uses participants who sit or lie on the floor and allow themselves to be adorned with glittering jewels.

If these bright, dizzying designs seem a bit overwhelming to you, that’s exactly what Drummen wants.

“From a distance they appear clear and orderly, yet upon closer inspection, the eyes become disoriented by the many details and visual stimuli,” she explains.

“That moment, of being able to take it all in or not, is explored, time and time again. The visual perception is challenged, requisitioned, and intensified.”

(via Bored Panda, Colossal, Irenebrination)

You can see much more of Drummen’s work on her website, including other types of installations and art forms. You can also see what she’s up to on Facebook.

We’ve all been there. You’re shopping for some new paint for your living room, and you’re bombarded with hundreds of paint samples that come complete with confusing names. “Sweet whispers”? “Jazzberry”? “Springtime laughter”? None of those are colors! Can’t there just be a number system or something?

All of that is a bit easier when it comes to the paints that artists use, but even those names can be a bit hard to understand sometimes. What’s even harder to figure out is how these bizarrely named paints will react to each other if you mix them. That’s why Japanese design studio Imai Moteki developed a system called Nameless Paints, which identifies colors by how they’re made.

These paint tubes are marked with the primary colors used to make them. This takes all of those annoying names out of the equation. Can you figure out what color each tube holds?

It also makes people more aware of how to mix their own colors by using a few primaries. In pigments (inks and paints), the primary colors are magenta, yellow, and cyan.

Aside from the three primaries, black, and white, the kit comes with a variety of hues, which are all combinations of the main five.

Without labels, the paints rely on color to communicate, meaning anyone, no matter what language they speak, can use and understand the paints.

Here’s the whole kit. See how many colors you can figure out!

The creators behind Nameless Paint, Yusuke Imai and Ayami Moteki, believe that labeling colors with distinct names can be confusing for children, which can discourage them from experimenting with paint.

“By not assigning names to the colors, we want to expand the definition of what a color can be, and the various shades they can create by mixing them,” explains Imai.

Here are some of the paints. It’s a pretty great selection, and it’s also an educational one!

(via BoredPanda, My Modern Met)

The Nameless Paint kit is available for purchase on Kokuyo, and it’s perfect for beginners of all ages. The kit of 10 paints sells for about $15.

Canvas has been used in painting and art-making for years. Typically, artists paint onto it, and the canvas usually just serves as the backdrop. But this creative duo has found a new way to use canvas where it becomes the art itself — and it’s pretty amazing.

The artist team refers to themselves as Stallman. Steven Stum and Jason Hallman, partners in both life and artwork, create the swirling, abstract pieces you see here. They use canvas and paint…but not at all in a way you’d expect.

Stallman takes strips of painted canvas and balances it on its edge, creating looping, swirling scrollwork that becomes an abstract image.

By using different colors, the canvas surfaces can reflect off one another, creating a shimmering effect that changes depending on the angle it’s viewed.

The duo works together on each piece, melding their individual creativities into single images.

“Each length of painted canvas is bonded to itself and to the background creating a rigid structure within the frame,” the pair explains.

Each piece is created using considerable care and patience, with careful attention paid to the flow of the canvas and the gradient of the colors.

“The hue of the painted canvas reflects on the background creating a spectrum of color. By using reflecting light, pigment, and structure, they can multiply the hues and tones within each sculpture.”

And the results are stunning:

These pieces are part of a growing collection called Canvas on Edge, and Hallman and Stum take their inspiration from the world around them…

…from organic forms to oceanscapes. Their artwork falls somewhere between painting and sculpture.

When creating their work, Hallman and Stum consider themselves to be two halves of the same brain, working together and pooling their individual abilities to make something that showcases the best of both of them.

“Our union of dynamic minds dissolves the boundaries of what is possible turning the ordinary into extraordinary,” they explain.

(via Colossal)

The pair doesn’t show any signs of slowing their creative output, and we’re glad about that. You can see much more of Stallman’s work, including other styles that merge painting and sculpture, on their website, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.