Jennifer Maestre

I'll admit it, I'm a biology nerd. All kinds of living things delight and fascinate me, which may be why I find the work of Sculptor Jennifer Meastre particularly amusing. Her undulating forms are reminiscent of overlooked deep sea creatures, like the lowly sponge or the understated sea urchin. Each piece has a unique personality and and creates a visual interest that sets each one apart from the next. Oh, and they're all made of colored pencils. Really. It's really hard to tie your entire body of work to a single medium in sculpture without coming off as kitchy or one-note, but I never get tired of the variety of shapes and color that Maestre can extract from pencil tips. As her work has been picked up by several notable galleries across the US, Meastre has recently moved away from her sculptural work to focus on jewelry-making out of...you guessed it...colored pencils. While completely different from her previous work, I would wear any one of her pieces, which she sells at her store on the online craft mall, www.Etsy.com/jenmeastre. Unfortunately, she is on hiatus, but may be taking personal orders if you're interested.

This final piece, entitled, "Persephone," is particularly neat because it is completley reversable due to several strategically-placed zippers that can change the entire feel of the piece. It's awesome.

For more beautiful creations from Jennifer Maestre, check out her website, http://www.jennifermaestre.com/