Fumi Mini Nakamura

It's hard to make art that describes the intricate connection the human soul has to the natural. Sure, you can say you relate to the power and majesty of the gray wolf, but try to depict that, most of the time, you're going to end up with some horrible piece of detritus like the three wolf moon shirt, of meme fame. Though, in tri-wolf's defense, the rules for wolf art have been clear cut since at least the early 70's: While one wolf is good, more wolves are better, and none should be depicted without accompanying tye dye, moon, monster truck, or dream catcher. The work of Mini Miku Nakamura, however, decides to break most of these rules in favor of a softness that captures the drama of this subject without the quaint crap. Each of her pieces, cleverly arranged in a whirlwind of color and line, contains a quiet contradiction in human life-- whether it is acceptance of death, the frustration of sex, the  realization of our role as a species among species, or the madness that emotions like love create in our classicly animalistic nature. The fact that these are all done in colored pencil only makes these more amazing. Enjoy.

These and more works by Fumi Mini Nakamura can be found at her site: 

http://www.miniminiaturemouse.com/

Laurie Lipton

Surrealist art is probably one of the easiest types of art for anyone to make. None of the content really has to make sense (maybe not even to the artist) and any lack of artistic talent can be explained by "stylistic experimentation". However, if you take a stroll through the pages of DeviantArt, and after sifting through all the paintings of furries, you'll find that surrealist art also probably one of the hardest genres to actually do well. As much as art teachers want to say surrealist work is all about juxtaposition-- you know,like putting a train in a fireplace , or this thing, the truth is, the surrealist works that really capture the human imagination are not those about objects, but about atmosphere. Works of artists like Salvador Dali or HR Geiger transport you to an unseen world that exists in each of our subconscious, places we only witness in our dreams, and only return to in unsettling moments of deja vu. While good surrealist art can unsettle you from your moors, the best can force you to question the nature of your own perceptions of reality. I find the works of Laurie Lipton to fall into the latter category. Her works, mostly in pencil, are driven by an intense sense of unease, and each has a morbid atmosphere that is delightful in its unrest. While most of her works surround two themes, the eternally trite and ever important events of birth and death, the melding of these ideas lends for an interesting and morbid appraisal of the human condition.

All of these works and more by Laurie Lipton can be found at her website:

http://www.laurielipton.com

David O'Brien

There are a lot of artists out there whose work is a dry one note; a single image repeated to the point of creating a nauseating corporate logo passed off as art (I'm talking to you, George Rodrigue). Then there are some artists that diversify in their medium so much that none of their pieces are cohesive, and their voice is lost in the variety. Then there are guys like David O'Brien, whose work has both visual variety and the unifying themes of what I see as the intricate complexity of the biological world (but I'm in medicine, I see biology everywhere). His fabulous mazes are reminiscent of bacteria under a microscope, and his series of "swarm" photo-collages are phenomenal. I'll admit, some of his work borders on artistic indulgence: While I haven't included any of them here, his series of "Scribbles" and tetrahedrons on his website are disappointingly boring and overdone this far out of the expressionist movement, but the rest of his work makes up for it. Enjoy.

 Each tiny figure in each of the "swarm" pieces is a photograph of an individual person, with some repeats, but who can tell one locust from another in a swarm anyway?

 "Braid"

 While I'm not the biggest fan of this cutesy flocculent colored pencil stuff, I've included one of the better ones for completeness (there are a LOT of these)

This is the piece that to me resembles bacteria under magnification. The way they congregate, the mass in the center, even the arching loops and strings are fabulous. Oh, and this crazy mess is a solvable maze. Really.

A swarm of colored pencil "potato people" with close up.



 Another swarm of people, this time with a close-up below.


If you like what you see, check out David O'Brien's Website:
http://www.davidobrienartwork.com/

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/