Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Roy Lichtenstein



Roy Lichtenstein is one of my all time favorite artists. Hands down, he's one of the most talented artists to come out of the pop art movement. His keen eye for perspective and his ability to create a comic book scene out of anything, even a paint brush stroke, made him one of the most famous artists within the pop art scene. Though critics were highly dismissive of Lichtenstein and his replications of comic book scenes, when he moved on to his own subjects his artistic ability and sense of humor brought him great notoriety.

Though he is often known for his paintings, Lichtenstein also did many sculptures, all in the pop art style. Some are still on display worldwide, permanent installations that are often satirical in nature. The above sculpture was originally titled "Us Looking at a Girl Looking at a Yellow Cup" which is a great example of Lichtenstein's sense of humor. Eventually it was retitled "Woman Contemplating a Yellow Cup". Either way, I love the perspective of the sculpture because it's fairly out of character- both for the artist and the comic book world. Notice the Picasso-esque pop art painting in the frame on the wall?

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Polymer Food Sculptures

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As you can probably tell, I love to cook. And I also have another love, sculpture. Put those two things together and you can go one of two ways-giant towering cakes, or the other end of the spectrum: miniature food sculptures- not quite edible but still delicious. After having made some myself, I can very safely say I'd rather work 12 hour shifts in a bakery than deal with just one miniature pastry. And yet I keep making more, wonder why that is? Anyways, the above examples were so cute I felt I had to share them with someone.

The clay I use when I make these is called Cernit polymer clay- slightly toxic and definitely something you need to follow all the instructions with. But it does really come out wonderfully once you bake it properly- and with a quick dusting of gloss spray you can have a professional looking item of your choice. They make really great gifts!