Gorgeously Surreal Sculptures Intricately Fuse Animals with Nature

Surreal Sculptures Intricately Fuse Animals with Nature by Ellen Jewett

Artist Ellen Jewett fuses plants, animals, and man-made devices to create fantastical portraits of animals. These hand-crafted hybrids, which she refers to as “natural history surrealist sculpture,” mimic the bodies of the creatures, but they deviate from the norm in usual ways. A rabbit’s fur is replaced by twisted branches and vines, and accentuated by tiny butterflies. And while three crows have some semblance of feathers, Jewett attached small trees that rise above their forms. You can even see sets of gears tucked into their branches.

Jewett’s extensive background helps her form these stunning sculptures. She is knowledgeable in anthropology, medical illustration, exotic animal care, and stop motion animation. These seemingly disparate fields all come together to support her artwork. They’ve not only taught her about anatomy and creating life-like animals, but allow her to go beyond realism and explore abstraction.

Jewett also chooses to abstain from materials that are known to have toxic properties, such as clay, paints, and glazes. She explains, “This, unavoidably, excludes most of what is commonly commercially available, and has sent me on a journey of unique material combination and invention.” The result is a complex, unusual beauty that makes her work incredibly unique.

Spectacular Floor Installations Made of Candy and Other Colorful Objects by Pip & Pop

Operating under the name Pip & Pop, Australian artist Tanya Schultz uses a combination of colorful candy, glitter, sand, toys, beads, and other bright objects to create gloriously dreamy, intricately patterned floor installations.

Viewers experience the thrill of a sugar rush as they feast their eyes on Schultz’s spectacularly fluorescent works of art. Sweetly girlish and visually dynamic at the same time, each piece is a whirlwind trip to neon-colored dreamscapes and candylands filled with saturated rainbows and sensory overload.

Pip & Pop began in 2007 as a collaboration between Schultz and fellow artist Nicole Andrijevic. In 2011, Andrijevic left the duo to pursue a different path, while Schultz has continued to create elaborate installations both individually and collaboratively with other artists and friends.

Seattle Artist Creates Beautiful Collages with Flowers and Plants

Using a vivid imagination and a sharp eye for gathering plants, Bridget Beth Collins turns relics of nature into beautifully lush collages that form delightfully whimsical scenes.

The Pacific Northwest artist forages materials for her pictures from the area surrounding her Seattle home and arranges the pieces into intricate shapes that create a distinctive sense of depth. With her touch, flower petals can transform into regally feathered birds, berries can become sea creatures, and leaves can turn into human faces.

Collins’ love of nature was fostered at a young age, when she traipsed through magnificent mountain meadows during backpacking trips and let her imagination run free in her backyard every afternoon. She pretended she was a fairy and gathered plants to press in books at home. Now, as an adult, Collins continues to be inspired by nature. She says ideas for new pictures constantly jump out at her as she goes about her day. “I go for a walk in my neighborhood or bring a bouquet home from the market and I see a whale’s tail in a shamrock leaf, or a snake’s scales in the sedum,” she says.

Pools of Recycled Motor Oil Reflect Spectacularly in Switzerland’s Bellelay Abbey

Pools of Recycled Motor Oil Reflect Spectacularly in Switzerland’s Bellelay Abbey

Inside Switzerland’s Bellelay Abbey, two intriguing pools of recycled motor oil create serene, unbroken reflections of soaring architecture. The chapel’s ornately decorated arches and vaulted ceilings are mirrored in vivid detail on the oil’s rich, glassy surface. Unlike reflections in water, the oil pool minimizes glare and lets viewers gaze deeply into the images.

The addition of the oil pools to the chapel is interesting because it contrasts light and dark in a striking juxtaposition. The oil’s shimmering black surface boldly complements the chapel’s pristine, white-washed walls. The pools were added to the church as part of an art installation by Swiss artist Romain Crelier in 2013. Along with creating a feeling of augmented spaciousness, the reflection pool offers another serene element that inspires introspection.

For more details visit: Pools of Recycled Motor Oil

True Giver – A tale of Krishna and Arjuna

Once Krishna and Arjuna were walking towards a village. Arjuna was pestering Krishna, asking him why Karna should be considered an unparallelled Donor & not him ?

Krishna, turned two mountains into gold.

Then said, “Arjuna, distribute these two gold mountains among villagers, but you must donate every bit of it “.

Arjuna went into the village, and proclaimed he was going to donate gold to every villager, and asked them to gather near the mountain. The villagers sang his praises and Arjuna walked towards the mountains with a huffed up chest.

For two days and two nights Arjuna shovelled gold from the mountain and donated to each villager. The mountains did not diminish in the slightest.

Most villagers came back and stood in queue within minutes. Now Arjuna was exhausted, but not ready to let go of his Ego, told Krishna he couldn’t go on any longer without rest.

Then Krishna called Karna and told him to donate every bit of the two gold mountains.

Karna called the villagers, and said “Those two Gold mountains are yours. ” and walked away.

Arjuna sat dumbfounded. Why hadn’t this thought occurred to him?

Krishna smiled mischievously and told him “Arjuna, subconsciously, you were attracted to the gold, you regretfully gave it away to each villager, giving them what you thought was a generous amount. Thus the size of your donation to each villager depended only on your imagination.

Karna holds no such reservations. Look at him walking away after giving away a fortune, he doesn’t expect people to sing his praises, he doesn’t even care if people talk good or bad about him behind his back. That is the sign of a man already on the path of enlightenment”.

Giving with an Expectation of a Return in the form of a Compliment or Thanks is not a Gift, then it becomes a Trade.

“Give without expecting anything in Return.”

Mind blowing places to visit across the world before you die

Here are 27 mind blowing places to visit across the world, which one should not skip to visit before one dies.

To visit these wonderful places Click here

Few are as follows:

Sea of Stars on Vaadhoo Island in the Maldives

Sea of Stars on Vaadhoo Island in the Maldives

Mendenhall Ice Caves of Juneau in Alaska, United States

Mendenhall Ice Caves of Juneau in Alaska, United States

The Great Blue Hole in Belize

The Great Blue Hole in Belize

Tunnel of Love in Klevan, Ukraine

Tunnel of Love in Klevan, Ukraine

Salar De Uyuni in the Potosí and Oruro departments of southwest Bolivia

Salar De Uyuni in the Potosí and Oruro departments of southwest Bolivia

Marble Caves at General Carrera Lake in Patagonia, Argentina and Chile

Marble Caves at General Carrera Lake in Patagonia, Argentina and Chile

Fingal’s Cave on the island of Staffa in Scotland

Fingal's Cave on the island of Staffa in Scotland

To Sua Ocean Trench in the Lotofaga village on the south coast of Upolu, Samoa

To Sua Ocean Trench in the Lotofaga village on the south coast of Upolu, Samoa

Bamboo groves of Arashiyama in Kyoto, Japan

Bamboo groves of Arashiyama in Kyoto, Japan

Glowworm Caves in Waitomo, New Zealand

Glowworm Caves in Waitomo, New Zealand

Cenotes of Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico

Cenotes of Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico

Zhangye Danxia landform in Gansu, China

Zhangye Danxia landform in Gansu, China

The swing at the “End of the World” in Baños, Ecuador

The swing at the "End of the World" in Baños, Ecuador

Tulip fields in the Netherlands

Tulip fields in the Netherlands

The Hang Son Doong cave in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam

The Hang Son Doong cave in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam

This Contortionist’s Jaw-Dropping Moves Will Give You A Whole New Appreciation Of The Human Body

Julia Günthel, better known as Zlata, just might be the world’s most flexible woman.

Zlata and her jaw-dropping abilities were featured on a Discovery Channel show in 2010, where she said she’s one of only a handful of women in the whole world who can bend equally forward and backward, rare even among contortionists.

She earned herself a Guinness Word Record with the force behind her backbend, by bursting three balloons with her back in just 12 seconds.

For more details visit : Article on Huffington Post dtd. 11/03/2015

Reminder to everyone – why one should collect 1Rs. change from the supermarket?.. though it’s common yet needs to be reminded

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Wishing you all a happy women’s day

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7 Stages in a woman’s life :-

infant,
baby,
miss,
young woman,
again young woman,
always young woman,
forever young woman…
😜😜😜.

14 short stories worth reading about life and living

14 short stories worth reading:

1. Fall and Rise

Today, when I slipped on the wet tile floor a boy in a wheelchair caught me before I slammed my head on the ground.  He said, “Believe it or not, that’s almost exactly how I injured my back 3 years ago .

2. A father’s advice

Today, father told me, “Just go for it and give it a try!  You don’t have to be a professional to build a successful product.  Amateurs started Google and Apple.  Professionals built the Titanic

3. The power of uniqueness.

Today, I asked my mentor – a very successful business man in his 70’s – what his top 3 tips are for success.  He smiled and said, “Read something no one else is reading, think something no one else is thinking, and do something no one else is doing.

4. Looking Back

Today, I interviewed my grandmother for part of a research paper I’m working on for my Psychology class.  When I asked her to define success in her own words, she said, “Success is when you look back at your life and the memories make you smile.

5. Try and U shall know

I am blind by birth. When I was 8 years old, I wanted to play baseball. I asked my father- “Dad, can I play baseball?” He said “You’ll never know until you try.” When I was a teenager, I asked him, – “Dad Can I become a surgeon?”. He replied “Son, you’ll never know until you try.” Today I am a Surgeon, just because I tried!

6. GOODNESS & GRATITUDE

Today, after a 72 hour shift at the fire station, a woman ran up to me at the grocery store and gave me a hug.  When I tensed up, she realized I didn’t recognize her.  She let go with tears of joy in her eyes and the most sincere smile and said, “On 9-11-2001, you carried me out of the World Trade Center.”

7. LOVE CONQUERS PAIN

Today, after I watched my dog get run over by a car, I sat on the side of the road holding him and crying.  And just before he died, he licked the tears off my face.

8. A DOOR CLOSES TO OPEN ANOTHER

Today at 7AM, I woke up feeling ill, but decided I needed the money, so I went into work. At 3PM I got laid off. On my drive home I got a flat tire. When I went into the trunk for the spare, it was flat too. A man in a BMW pulled over, gave me a ride, we chatted, and then he offered me a job.  I start tomorrow.

9. LOOKING BACK

Today, as my father, three brothers, and two sisters stood around my mother’s hospital bed, my mother uttered her last coherent words before she died. She simply said, “I feel so loved right now. We should have gotten together like this more often.”

10. AFFECTION

Today, I kissed my dad on the forehead as he passed away in a small hospital bed.  About 5 seconds after he passed, I realized it was the first time I had given him a kiss since I was a little boy.

11. INNOCENCE

Today, in the cutest voice, my 8-year-old daughter asked me to start recycling. I chuckled and asked, “Why?” She replied, “So you can help me save the planet.”  I chuckled again and asked, “And why do you want to save the planet?” “Because that’s where I keep all my stuff,” she said.

12. JOY

Today, when I witnessed a 27-year-old breast cancer patient laughing hysterically at her 2-year-old daughter’s antics, I suddenly realized that I need to  stop complaining about my life and start celebrating it again.

13. KINDNESS

Today, a boy in a wheelchair saw me desperately struggling on crutches with my broken leg and offered to carry my backpack and books for me.  He helped me all the way across campus to my class and as he was leaving he said, “I hope you feel better soon.”.

14. SHARING

Today, I was traveling in Kenya and I met a refugee from Zimbabwe.  He said he hadn’t eaten anything in over 3 days and looked extremely skinny and unhealthy.  Then my friend offered him the rest of the sandwich he was eating.  The first thing the man said was, “We can share it.”

Cheers to life.:D:):)

Wishing you all a very happy and colourful holi

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Why YOU Are Amazing…

The Positive Project

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No two people in this world are the same.  There are things about you that make you different from everyone else.  You are unique.  You are special.  You are you, and you are amazing.  Here’s why…

There are 6.916 billion people in the world, and no one is exactly the same as you.  Unless you have an identical twin, your DNA is unique only to you.

Another thing that makes you extremely unique and amazing are your life experiences.  The things you have experienced in your life have made you who you are, and no one can take that away from you.  These experiences have helped form your attitudes, opinions, and your life story, which make you even more unique.  Sure, we all have a life story, but no two stories are the same.  Your story is different from everyone else’s.  It’s unique only to you, and that’s awesome.

What’s even more…

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Knowledge can be googled on the Internet but wisdom comes from googling your soul

Shared from WordPress

http://twistedsifter.com/2015/01/wire-tree-sculptures-by-clive-maddison/

Shared from WordPress

http://twistedsifter.com/2015/01/extreme-close-ups-of-everyday-things-by-pyanek/