Nick Georgiou Turns The Printed Word Into Art. Old Books & Newspapers Become Sculpture.

Artist Nick Georgiou of Tuscon, Arizona puts old books and newspapers to good use by crafting them into three dimensional sculptures and ornately framed wall art. His human faces, flowers and animals made of rolled up newspapers and old book pages will have looking at that previously read paperback in a different light.

"My art is inspired by the death of the printed word. Books and newspapers are becoming artifacts of the 21st century. As a society we're shifting away from print consumption and heading straight towards full digital lives. My sculptures are products of their environment —both literally and figuratively. As often as I can, I use local newspapers to add authenticity, and the form the sculpture takes is a reflection of the personal connection I feel to that particular city. From a day-to-day standpoint, I'm heavily influenced by my surroundings. These days, I draw inspiration from America's South West, and in particular Tucson, AZ--where I've lived and worked for almost two years. Going from NY to the desert is a pretty dramatic shift. Your concept of space expands when it's not obstructed by buildings. You pay closer attention to nature because you're always in it—and you do what you can to preserve it." -- Nick Georgiou

above: A self portrait made of old newspapers by Nick Georgiou

See tons more at his site:
Nick Georgiou

a special thanks to the cool blog Gizfactory, for bringing this to my attention

Sculpted Chanel Bags & Bipolaroids: 21st Century Worry Beads By Lindsey de Ovies

above: Chanel's iconic handbag sculpted and cast in bronze by Lindsey de Ovies

Modern sculptor Lindsey de Ovies approaches her artwork from a dual perspective. An American born artist, living in Paris, she uses her diverse cultural experiences and surroundings as a bifocal vantage point for her material.

Her work questions all things conventional, from life stages to cultural icons and stereotypes.



At present, she is working on these wonderful and hilarious 21st Century Worry Beads she calls Bipolaroids. The two-sided handmade stamped bead bracelets feature ecstasy-like pills with imprints of icons and words that we affiliate with contemporary concerns and cultural trends.










Also worth noting are her "Hi Concept" fun bronze and marble cast quilted Chanel bags:




above: sculptor Lindsey de Ovies

These are only a small sampling of her wonderful sculptural work, be sure to see more of it at her website here.

The Brancusi Google Doodle Explained

You might have noticed an unusual looking Google Doodle on their homepage today. Unless you are familiar with the work of Constantin Brancusi, you're probably left wondering what the heck those organic looking shapes are. To honor of what would have been Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi's 135th birthday,the Google Doodle features some of his most well known sculptures.


above image composed by Laura Sweet

The Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi, (1876-1957) was a central figure of the modern movement and a pioneer of abstraction. His sculpture is noted for its visual elegance and sensitive use of materials, combining the directness of peasant carving with the sophistication of the Parisian avant-garde. After attending the Bucharest School of Fine Arts and learning of the sculpture of August Rodin, Brancusi traveled to Paris in 1904, where he continued to reside until his death.


above portrait of Brancusi by legendary photographer Edward Steichen

A look at each of the sculptures in the Brancusi Google Doodle.

The "G" = Prometheus and Leda:



The first "o" = The Newborn:


The second "o" = Sleeping Muse:


The second "g" = Mademoiselle Pogany:


The "l" = Bird In Space:


and lastly, the "e" = The Kiss:


Brancusi created his first major work, The Kiss, in 1908. From this time his sculpture became increasingly abstract, moving from the disembodied head of Sleeping Muse to the virtually featureless Beginning of the World and from the formal figure of the legendary bird Maiastra to numerous versions of the ethereal Bird in Space.

Brancusi's sculpture gained international notoriety at the 1913 Armory Show in New York, a city that he visited four times and where his work frequently would be exhibited. In his Paris studio at 8 Impasse Ronsin Brancusi devoted great attention to the arrangement of his sculptures, documenting individual works and their installation in an important body of photographs.

Isamu Noguchi worked as a studio assistant for Brancusi in 1927, and Brancusi taught him to carve stone and wood. In the 1930s Brancusi worked on two ambitious public sculpture projects, an unrealized temple in India for the Maharajah of Indore and the installation at Tirgu Jiu, Romania, of his Gate of the Kiss, Table of Silence and a 100-foot tall cast iron version of Endless Column. On his death Brancusi left the contents of his studio to the Museum of Art of the City of Paris, on condition that the studio be installed in the museum in its entirety.

Books, Art and more about Constantin Brancusi can be found here