BEAUTY: Sculpture AND Furniture Design

Sculptor Casey McCafferty works in many mediums but, seeing as I am interior designer, I am drawn to his wood sculpted chairs and benches that are truly works of art. The sense of them is at once tribal, futuristic, organic, and prehistoric. His larger sculptures would look great in the corner of a large living room too...

https://www.casey-mccafferty.com/

BEAUTY: Painting--Ans Debije

Dutch artist Ans Debije manages to catch the glint of light off glass and metal in marvelous impasto images.

Top to Bottom: Café matinal; Cheers; Forbidden Drink; More Or Less; Nikka Whiskey From The Bottle; Northward; Puur Dutch Ornacello; Reflection; Sunny Scene; Two's Company

https://www.ansdebije.nl/

BEAUTY: Sculpture for Halloween--Alain Bellino

French metal artist Alain Bellino repurposes vintage and antique pieces of bronze ornamentation from pieces of furniture or clocks to create his skull and skeleton assemblages.

And look at these lovely panels he made to depict the four seasons...

http://alain-bellino.net/

"Black (Lead) and White (Silver)" by The Beauty of Science

A fascinating film about the growth of white silver and black lead during metal displacement reactions. All footages were captured with a microscope.

Video by Yan Liang, Wenting Zhu

http://www.beautyofscience.com/metal-displacement
http://www.beautyofscience.com/

BEAUTY: Sculpture--Eyal Gever

Sculptor Eyal Gever explains his chilling art succinctly.

From the Artist Statement on his website:

"I create sculptures based on sublime moments. These are moments that fill a person with amazement, awe, terror, astonishment, and silence.
They are also moments of pure beauty.

To see something we normally cannot see. To examine states where rest and motion exist together. To explore the boundaries of time.

My sculptures are created from software I have developed. I am influenced by the destructive impact within our environment. Uncontrollable power, unpredictability and cataclysmic extremes are the sources for my work. They inspire, fascinate and remind me of the constant fragility and beauty of human-life. Beauty can come from the strangest of places, in the most horrific events. My art addresses these notions of destruction and beauty, the collisions of opposites, fear and attraction, seduction and betrayal, from the most tender brutalities to the most devastating sensitivities. I oscillate between these opposites."

The contrast is also helped by the fact that the pieces are executed in highly polished glossy metallics in pretty pastel shades...

http://www.eyalgever.com/

Schwibbogen, Christmas Pyramid, and Angel Chimes

A Schwibbogen is a decorative candle-holder from Germany. Associated exclusively with winter and the holiday season, the first Schwibbogen appeared in the 1700s. They were made from black iron ore since they originated in Erzgebirge, or the Ore Mountains in Saxony. They are now often carved in wood and show scenes from pastoral Europe, musicians, angels, or Father Christmas. Modern Schwibbogen come with small electric bulbs eliminating the need for actual candles, and eliminating a fire hazard!

Related to the Schwibbogen and hailing from the same region of Germany is the tradition of the Christmas Pyramid whose origins date back to the Middle Ages. Usually carved or assembled from wood, the Christmas Pyramid is a carousel with several levels and a central driveshaft with a fan at the top. Candles anchored around the periphery of the lower levels provide a heated draft to turn the levels like a carousel.

Above: A carved wooden Christmas Pyramid and Schwibbogen from Germany.

Many cities in Germany now display impressive life-size Christmas Pyramids at Christmas Markets or in town squares. In the photos below, a Christmas Pyramid in Augsburg in the Christmas Market looks festive while a very tall Christmas Pyramid rises above the lighted tree in the Market in Erfurt.

Dating from the late 19th century, Angel Chimes too are associated exclusively with winter and the holiday season. Much like the Christmas Pyramid, the rising heated air from the candles at the base of the structure spin the blades at the top. As the carousel turns, tiny clappers strike the chimes creating a tinkling sound. The first recorded appearance of an Angel Chime was in 1905 when Walter Stock of the German toy firm Adrian & Stock filed for a patent. The pre-World War II German-made chimes were usually made of tin and featured lithography. After the war, simpler, Swedish-made chimes in brass became popular in both Europe and North America.

Walter Stock's patent drawing from 1905