Olympic collages by Jens Ullrich

Berlin based Jens Ullrich combines modern sport images with classical sculpture to create these beautiful and elegant Olympic-style collage where Greek classical ideals meet motion and strength. Check more out here.

Art or Vandalism?

'A giant monument built in 1944 in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Soviet ‘liberation’, received an unusual and colorful makeover by an anonymous artist who calls himself ‘Banksy of Bulgaria’.

The Red Army soldiers were all painted into American superheroes and popular culture characters like Superman, the Joker, Captain America, Santa Claus and even Ronald McDonald.

Below the monument was also sprayed “Moving with the times” in Bulgarian.

Considering the original monument doesn’t represent the values and ideology of the Bulgarian society anymore, I wonder: art or vandalism?'

Post via Matador Pulse. 

80s Fashion Illustration

American artist, Patrick Nagel, is best known for his “Nagel Woman” illustrations. He is best known for his illustrations for Playboy magazine, and the pop group Duran Duran, for whom he designed the cover of the best selling album Rio. Nagel died of a heart attack in 1984 at the age of 38, but his art lives on. In 1986, a retrospective book on his art was published by van der Marck Editions, and sold nearly 240,000 copies in hardcover in just one year.

(via Vectorave)

Working with Wood

Modern Artist : Ben Butler

Every once in awhile you find an artist who is unlike anything you’ve ever seen- which, certainly isn’t an easy thing to find these days with people thinking outside the box and then some. Sculptor Ben Butler uses various types of woods; cedar, poplar, plywood, etc. to create large scale sculptures….all of which have incredibly intricate detail, like that seen in his sculpture “Invention.” With his M.F.A in sculpture from the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, Ben explores the use of wood and indoor, outdoor sculptures….there’s nothing he isn’t afraid to try.


Furrow, a piece done with layers of cedar is a sculpture of wall art, while pieces like “Aurora” and “Untilted” could work as sculptural public art, or pieces that a true art lover could incorporate into their own backyard. To check out some of Ben’s incredibly creative and innovative work you can see his work showing at Plane Space in NYC, John Davis Gallery in Hudson, NY and ZG Gallery in Chicago!

Developing inexpensive inventory

I've come to realize that one of the best ways to get higher sales at markets is to have a massive amount of inexpensive inventory. Items less than $20.00 are sure to sell faster since they can be bought on a whim while my $80.00 bags are still moving but appeal to more financially stable buyers who can fork out that kind of money unexpectadly. On my etsy shop, customers can see my products, add them as a favorite, and wait until their next paycheck to make their investment. When you go to market, you never know what your gunna see and what your gunna get.

Sooooo in my quest to create $1,000 in inventory under $25.00 by July 4th for my next big market, I've introduced some new designs to both my etsy shop and to my market booth.

The first is my Cassette Tape Wallets. I'm thinking about having an instructional page on how to make these cute wallets in the future or to add them to my book I'm working on.

The next is my bicycle tube belt complete with a silver reflector buckle. I have such a huge variety of these in the works. I'm cutrrently in the process of making about 20 that should be finished tomorrow.

Developing inexpensive inventory

I've come to realize that one of the best ways to get higher sales at markets is to have a massive amount of inexpensive inventory. Items less than $20.00 are sure to sell faster since they can be bought on a whim while my $80.00 bags are still moving but appeal to more financially stable buyers who can fork out that kind of money unexpectadly. On my etsy shop, customers can see my products, add them as a favorite, and wait until their next paycheck to make their investment. When you go to market, you never know what your gunna see and what your gunna get.

Sooooo in my quest to create $1,000 in inventory under $25.00 by July 4th for my next big market, I've introduced some new designs to both my etsy shop and to my market booth.

The first is my Cassette Tape Wallets. I'm thinking about having an instructional page on how to make these cute wallets in the future or to add them to my book I'm working on.

The next is my bicycle tube belt complete with a silver reflector buckle. I have such a huge variety of these in the works. I'm cutrrently in the process of making about 20 that should be finished tomorrow.

Amazing Recycled Bikes

 

I've been collecting some of the most amazing inspirational pictures of recycled bike parts. Whenever I feel like I've hit a slump these images just inspire me to create and hopefully will do the same for you:

Amazing Recycled Bikes

 

I've been collecting some of the most amazing inspirational pictures of recycled bike parts. Whenever I feel like I've hit a slump these images just inspire me to create and hopefully will do the same for you:

Developing a creative mission statement

Your creative mission statement can be one sentence, a paragraph, or several key phrases that speak to you. But they should encompass your business as a whole and your goals, motivation, and exactly what you produce. Often they'll be something so simple as: "To make the nonfunctional, functional" like Alchemy Goods or as broad as, "Save money, live better" and we all know who says that. However, they should always give your customers a good idea of what they'll see in your store and what you offer.



Although I've been selling my work since October, I'm really still learning how to be a real business as my sales increase. Today I finally developed a clear creative mission statement:

-To make waste, functional
-To hand make unique upcycled accessories with professional quality
-To design and produce my own work
-To offer customers a variety of products in different design, price, and material

Developing a creative mission statement

Your creative mission statement can be one sentence, a paragraph, or several key phrases that speak to you. But they should encompass your business as a whole and your goals, motivation, and exactly what you produce. Often they'll be something so simple as: "To make the nonfunctional, functional" like Alchemy Goods or as broad as, "Save money, live better" and we all know who says that. However, they should always give your customers a good idea of what they'll see in your store and what you offer.



Although I've been selling my work since October, I'm really still learning how to be a real business as my sales increase. Today I finally developed a clear creative mission statement:

-To make waste, functional
-To hand make unique upcycled accessories with professional quality
-To design and produce my own work
-To offer customers a variety of products in different design, price, and material

Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was a 20th-century American painter and illustrator. You may be familiar with his works, though not by name, as he's a very prolific American painter and many of his work have been used in war posters, and was the illustrator of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. His "Four Seasons" illustrations for Brown & Bigelow that were published for 17 years beginning in 1947 and reproduced in various styles and sizes since 1964.

Four Freedoms 1947

Many of his works appear overly sweet in modern critics' eyes, which tend toward idealistic or sentimentalized portrayals of American life— this has led to the often-deprecatory adjective "Rockwellesque." One of his more serious work is The Problem We All Live With, which dealt with the issue of school racial integration. The painting depicts a young African American girl, Ruby Bridges, flanked by white federal marshals, walking to school past a wall defaced by racist graffiti. Rockwell worked from photographs, as you can see in the case of the little girl.


Rosie the Riveter 1943

The problem we all live with (1894–1978)

Check out my new Newspaper Messenger Bag!!

Hey I just finished 2 Newspaper Messenger Bags! I've treated the newspaper with a super-flexible laminate so its durable, waterproof, and I've added vinyl white billboard for extra stability. It's fully lined with recycled curtains, has 6 pockets and even has an adjustable shoulder strap. Let me know what you think!

http://reclaimedwreckage.etsy.com

Check out my new Newspaper Messenger Bag!!

Hey I just finished 2 Newspaper Messenger Bags! I've treated the newspaper with a super-flexible laminate so its durable, waterproof, and I've added vinyl white billboard for extra stability. It's fully lined with recycled curtains, has 6 pockets and even has an adjustable shoulder strap. Let me know what you think!

http://reclaimedwreckage.etsy.com

How do you get your products in local stores?

True Story:

I've always been a risk taker of sorts, whether it's picking up my entire family to move out of state to sell security systems door to door, selling "personal products" at in-home parties, or my next venture, creating custom, one-of-a-kind pieces from recycled materials and selling them online, in local markets, and eventually in stores. Needless to say, the alarm system company screwed me over, leaving us with NO money, I don't want to do parties anymore since my baby is a year old and I don't want him remembering anything to risque, and I haven't sold a single item online yet. How do I get there? I feel like for a second time in my life I've hit rock bottom and can only go up from here.

Surprisingly I'm not to terribly worried.... I mean sure I've done a lot of crying but I really think I can make this work. I've decided to name my new company reclaimed wreckage.. since it just describes what I do so perfectly and I'm the only one in the world with that name right now so I'll pull up perfectly on search engines. My stuff is awesome, but I've just got some kinks to work out:

1. my pictures
They just aren't as great as I want them to be... but I've never really played around with being a photographer so I guess I'm starting now
2. online sales
I think the next time someone out here buys something, I'm gunna tell them to buy it on etsy so my ratings go up on there and people can see I'm a reliable seller
3. Stores
Now this is the ultimate thing for me. How do I go about approaching stores and what do I need? What's the process and how do you determine a price? Do they pay you upfront or do you get a percentage of the sale price? HELP please!

How do you get your products in local stores?

True Story:

I've always been a risk taker of sorts, whether it's picking up my entire family to move out of state to sell security systems door to door, selling "personal products" at in-home parties, or my next venture, creating custom, one-of-a-kind pieces from recycled materials and selling them online, in local markets, and eventually in stores. Needless to say, the alarm system company screwed me over, leaving us with NO money, I don't want to do parties anymore since my baby is a year old and I don't want him remembering anything to risque, and I haven't sold a single item online yet. How do I get there? I feel like for a second time in my life I've hit rock bottom and can only go up from here.

Surprisingly I'm not to terribly worried.... I mean sure I've done a lot of crying but I really think I can make this work. I've decided to name my new company reclaimed wreckage.. since it just describes what I do so perfectly and I'm the only one in the world with that name right now so I'll pull up perfectly on search engines. My stuff is awesome, but I've just got some kinks to work out:

1. my pictures
They just aren't as great as I want them to be... but I've never really played around with being a photographer so I guess I'm starting now
2. online sales
I think the next time someone out here buys something, I'm gunna tell them to buy it on etsy so my ratings go up on there and people can see I'm a reliable seller
3. Stores
Now this is the ultimate thing for me. How do I go about approaching stores and what do I need? What's the process and how do you determine a price? Do they pay you upfront or do you get a percentage of the sale price? HELP please!