Creative Feather Cutwork

American artist Chris Maynard uses delicate eye surgery tools, miniscule scissors, forceps and sharp scalpels to slice intricate bird-shaped patterns into feathers. Chris Maynard, a resident of Olympia in Washington, USA, made his first feather artwork two years ago in 2011. Since then the 58 year old artist has created 80 pieces which can take up to several days at a time, before mounting them onto frames known as shadowboxes. These stunning works sell between $800 to $2000 a piece.

”The best way to see feathers is on birds,” says Chris Maynard. “But an image of a single feather gives a different perspective of the bird's form, beauty, and function. Nature creates here. I just provide design and the right lighting.”

“Because most birds lose (molt) and renew their feathers about once a year, single feathers are easy to use and photograph without harming the bird. Most pictures here are of molted feathers. Many of these photographed feathers were borrowed from museums, zoos, and private aviaries.” 09 More images after the break...

flower show Bloemencorso WOW STUNNING!!!!!

Made from flowers in Holland , since 1936! What began in 1936 as a flower parade has become the oldest and most celebrated ode to blooms in Europe .Ever since its inception, Zundert in the Netherlands has hosted an annual flower show Bloemencorso , with an average 50,000 visitors descending on the town to look at the brilliant displays. Creators use dahlias for their breathtaking displays and build gravity defying sculptures.   Let's hope the wind doesn't blow too hard! The flowers have been meticulously placed to create the giraffes, even down to their eyelids and hair that lines their neck A roaring good show: The intricate blooms have been manipulated to create this gravity-defying impressive model of a tiger and her cubs Every float is made from dahlias. This twisting house, which is as high as other apartments, weaves its ways through the narrow streets Just by using dahlias, volunteers created this show-stopping piece, where a startled antelope flees the clutches of a leopard that gives chase Udderly brilliant - thee competitors left no detail out - they even included the numbers on the tags on the ears, and what appears to be the inner workings of a milk-processing plant within the cow's body Something fishy about this: Bloemencorso saw this elaborate fish display, which saw a shoal of fish whirl around each other - even using light-coloured dahlias to shade in the light bouncing off the eyeballs Each of the competing districts of Zundert - which was the home of Vincent Van Gogh - construct their own entry and compete in the parade, which occurs every first Sunday in September. According to those behind Bloemencorso, the parade is all the work of dedicated volunteers, who do not profit from the colourful display. A staggering six to eight million dahlia flowers are used to produce the floats. Visit  http://www.bloemencorsozundert.nl/ for more information. Bloemencorso began in 1936, and since then has spiralled in popularity, as the small population makes huge efforts to outdo one another so they can create sculptures like his huge organ Even the meerkats get a mention! The curious animals are brought to life, as creators perfected every inch of the models, even down to their nails and shading on their tails Out of this world! Every float here is made from petals and, despite being made from such a delicate, tiny structure, take on gigantic proportions which people clamour to see It's really taken off! Bloemencorso has grown in term of popularity and in the sheer size of the creations, with thousands flocking to the home of Vincent Van Gogh to gasp at the displays Held on the first Sunday of every September, the quaint town becomes packed with visitors and, on this occasion, a huge rhinoceros made of delicate flowers Make it snappy! Thousands turn out to Bloemencorso, as hamlets compete with each other to create the most beautiful display - including this sinister-looking fishy creature

 Flower Parade : Bloemencorso 2011
Bloemencorso (a Dutch word) means "flower parade", "flower pageant" or "flower procession"watch this beautiful procession

 

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A Collection of Unique and Imaginative Mugs

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Making Cups with Unique Handles Pottery Wheel
making cups is a lovly hobby ...making with unique handle and doing experiments is also fun!

 

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