Upon first glance these seem like normal insects. But when you pay closer attention, you will notice something which seems like it came straight out of a science fiction film.

How did insect lab begin? One day I found a dead intact beetle. I then located an old wristwatch, thinking of how the beetle also operated and looked like a little mechanical device and so decided to combine the two. After some time dissecting the beetle and outfitting it with watch parts and gears, I had a nice little sculpture.
Where do you get your insects? I get safe non-endangered high quality specimens from all around the world; from Africa, China, New Guinea, Brazil, Texas etc. Though I do salvage insects that I find right at hand, the occasional bumblebee or dragonfly.

I received these images in an e-mail, and had to search a while before I found the artist who creates these amazing miniature sculptures. You may notice the inscription “Dalton” on one of the pencils, which is how I managed to trace Dalton Ghetti.

Meet Dalton Ghetti, the amazing artist behind these mini sculptures. The 49 year old sculptor lives in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA

This man has been carving pencil leads for over a quarter century, and he doesn’t sell these masterpieces! Says Dalton: “I don’t make any money from it but that’s not what it’s all about for me. However, I would love for a gallery owner in England to fly me over to put on a show”

Carving requires patience, as a virtue and also as a character trait of the artist. This extraordinary man is a prime example of super talent, combined with mind numbing patience. One of his pieces took 2.5 painstaking years to complete. His tools: razor blade, sewing needle & sculpting knife – no magnifying glass!

While at school he used to carve the wood of this friends’ pencils and give it to them as gifts. Later in life he started making sculptures from wood. After experimenting with several objects, he set his mind on the challenge “One day I had an eureka moment and decided to carve into the graphite of a pencil” says Dalton.

Needless to say these sculptures don’t always come our perfect, when he ends up breaking the sculptures while working on them. Keeping in mind the fragility of his canvas, ruining a piece, specially when it is almost completed can be very devastating and depressing.

He has however learnt to believe in himself, which gains him confidence with each pencil that he carves.

He also has a box with more than 100 sculptures that he has broken over the period of time and calls it “the cemetery collection”.

“People might think it’s weird I keep them but they’re interesting. I worked on them for months so they might be dead now but at one point I gave them life” explains Dalton.

Whoever said that patience is a virtue, neglected to note that, most of all, its an ART!

I discovered Etsy.com a long time ago, I think it must have been 2004 or somewhere around there? Since then I’ve visited regularly, as I find the items sold there fascinating & inspiring.

For those of you who enjoy crafts and would like to sell your artwork – Etsy is definitely a good place to start. Their hosting of an add is cheap (I think US$0.20 for 3 months, but may vary by a few cents). If you do decide to put something on there, let me know so I can have a look!

For those who’d be interesting in buying, there are great gifts on here, though you will have to plan a bit in advance to ensure that you receive your purchase in time.

I’ve bought a couple of small things from there, and I’ve never been disappointed. Hope that you will like this site as much as I do!

And by the way, this isn’t a sponsored post

The first “clayed” sheep…

Made with Bostik CrazyClay

Every two years people can admire the carpet of flowers on the Grand Place in Brussels . This year, 700,000 begonias form the largest tapestry of a Savonnerie carpet in the world: a tribute to the French presidency of the European Union.

Since 1971, it is the 16th carpet of flowers on the Grand Place in Brussels . In recent years, the flower carpet has become one of the biggest attractions of Brussels . This year, the flower carpet designed by floral architect Mark Schautteet is inspired by the tapestry of the French Savonnerie, which dates from the 17th century. 700,000 begonias form a colourfum motif on which appears the patron saint Saint-Michel and the iris of the Brussels Region. One hundred volunteers have brought flowers on the Grand Place. For the floral carpet of flowers to be perfect, the design is fully represented in size on a transparent plastic perforated to create a micro-humid climate which must keep flowers fresh and colorful. The official opening will be accompanied by music created specially for the occasion by the composer Gregory Dune.

I would even consider taking a holiday in Brussels just to see this amazing floral expo – if only the flights were cheaper!

I got this collection of amazing staircases on an e-mail, and couldn’t resist sharing them.
I would LOVE to have some of these in my home!! (Specially the ones with storage space!)
Though I must admit that the psychedelic would probably give me a migraine.

Sometimes I come accross some really interesting artwork, and though they’re usually quite useless, its still amusing to look at…

Today, however, I managed to find a more useful piece of art…

Source:  CWG Design

I’m always intrigued by art, and would love to buy some nice paintings for the new house. I’ve often looked at the paintings in local galleries, and I’ve imagined a hundred different themes for our house.

If you have that same passion for good quality art, have a look at Park West Art Gallery. They have truely unique paintings that will brighten up any room, or house for that matter.

I had some art classes when I was in high school, and I would actually love to paint things myself – for our home. I just lack the guts to start. One day when I’m a ’stay at home mom’ I might do just that!