Tempered Yet Delicate

Behind one of the oldest surviving illuminated manuscripts of the New Testament lies a mixture of urine and weeds, according to analysis carried out during a lengthy restoration project of the sacred text.

For centuries scholars wondered how the precious purple parchments of the 1,500-year-old Byzantine book known as the Codex Purpureus Rossanensis were obtained.

It was generally assumed that Tyrian purple, extracted from Murex (sea snails) was used to dye the parchment sheets.

Button Pin Art by Ran Hwang

Ran Hwang is a Korean-born (1960), sculptural artist primarily known for her mixed-media work with buttons, beads, pins, and thread. She describes her approach:

I create large icons such as a Buddha or a traditional vase, using materials from the fashion industry. The process of building large installations is time consuming and repetitive and it requires manual effort which provides a form of self-meditation. I hammer thousands of pins into a wall like a monk who, facing the wall, practices Zen.

Ran combines her creative vision with a meticulous process to transform ordinary objects into whimsical jewel-like creations. via & via

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Drawings by Vanna Bowles

Visual artist Vanna Bowles (born 1974), operates within a figurative and surreal aesthetic in which optical effects and reliefs destabilise the boundaries between an image’s surface and the space that surrounds the viewer.

My work consists of drawing, sculpture, photography and installation. I operate a figurative and surreal idiom, often using optical effects and reliefs that destabilises the dividing line between the surface of the image and the spectator’s surrounding space. 

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Non-linear sculptures by Julian Wild

Julian Wild’s sculptures are supposedly abstract but strongly figure a paranoia emanating directly from the artist’s own apprehension toward the virtues of linearity. We can witness this uneasiness in a complex web, deriving from a singular orientation, parallel limbs threaten to converge but resist, each obeying its own singularity. A spectrum of phosphorescent colour flows along the object’s outgrowth, an amorphous rash indicative of its restless mutations.

Amazing papercut art by Mr. Riu

Japanese artist Mr. Riu creates detailed papercuts of extraordinary complexity that are all cut entirely by hand using a craft knife. His works are mostly concentrated around intricate mandalas and delicate patterns created using a zentangle technique. 

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Hook No.171 #366hooks

All caught up now. Forged welded mass on the end of the ½" rod. And the the shape on the end was inspired by the newel posts at Lower Fort Garry National historic site. An almost #Cuboctahedron

Installation Art by Loris Cecchini

Italian artist Loris Cecchini creates large scale installation art. Her works are usually black and white, or occasionally silver (metal). She plays hard shapes against soft round curves. Whether she is recreating ripples on a wall surface or allowing giant metal bearing to move together into an asyncrhonis blob - her works have a sense of movement no matter material they are made of. Thanks to eggheads!

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WHAT’S ON: Jessi Reaves, Solo Exhibition. April 10–June 5 2016. Bridget Donahue Gallery, 99 Bowery, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10002 USA Installation view, Jessi Reaves : Bridget Donahue Gallery, 2016. Courtesy the artist and Bridget Donahue, NYC

Harvard has a pigment library that stores old pigment sources, like the ground shells of now-extinct insects, poisonous metals, and wrappings from Egyptian mummies, to preserve the origins of the world’s rarest colors.

A few centuries ago, finding a specific color might have meant trekking across the globe to a mineral deposit in the middle of Afghanistan. “Every pigment has its own story,” Narayan Khandekar, the caretaker of the pigment collection, told Fastcodesign. He also shared the stories of some of the most interesting pigments in the collection.

Mummy Brown

“People would harvest mummies from Egypt and then extract the brown resin material that was on the wrappings around the bodies and turn that into a pigment. It’s a very bizarre kind of pigment, I’ve got to say, but it was very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.”

Cadmium Yellow

“Cadmium yellow was introduced in the mid 19th century. It’s a bright yellow that many impressionists used. Cadmium is a heavy metal, very toxic. In the early 20th century, cadmium red was introduced. You find these pigments used in industrial processes. Up until the 1970s, Lego bricks had cadmium pigment in them.”

Annatto “The lipstick plant—a small tree, Bixa orellana, native to Central and South America—produces annatto, a natural orange dye. Seeds from the plant are contained in a pod surrounded with a bright red pulp. Currently, annatto is used to color butter, cheese, and cosmetics.”

Lapis Lazuli “People would mine it in Afghanistan, ship it across Europe, and it was more expensive than gold so it would have its own budget line on a commission.”

Dragon’s Blood “It has a great name, but it’s not from dragons. [The bright red pigment] is from the rattan palm.”

Cochineal “This red dye comes from squashed beetles, and it’s used in cosmetics and food.”

Emerald Green “This is made from copper acetoarsenite. We had a Van Gogh with a bright green background that was identified as emerald green. Pigments used for artists’ purposes can find their way into use in other areas as well. Emerald green was used as an insecticide, and you often see it on older wood that would be put into the ground, like railroad ties.”

桑の木の入れ物
 Vessel of mulberry tree