Art & Photography

Ever since I was a young child, I loved getting lost in photographs of outer space. Even now, as an adult, I could stare at them for hours on end. It’s really exciting to think about the “what if there is life over there” as I look at these pictures. I was not aware but there is a photography content that is in its fourth year called “Astronomy Photographer of The Year Competition”. The competition is sponsored each year by the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

The astronomy photographer competition is open to everybody and split in two categories, those who are 16 years of age or older and those who are under the age of 16. The competition continues to grow each year and 800 entrants submitted their space photography this year. The winners were announced in four different categories – deep Space, Earth and Space, Our Solar System, and Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Three special wards were also awarded under People and Space, Best Newcomer, and Robotic Scope Image of the Year.

I don’t have a ton of patience when it comes to small fiddly things that aren’t gaming miniatures or models; perhaps that’s why I’ve always been fascinated with other people’s paper craft and miniature art of all kinds. Since I have a super nice set of manly X-actos that I no longer use due a number of horrific injuries, I always keep my eye out for people doing incredible things by cutting and creating negative space. If you think paper craft just isn’t hard core enough, check out Chris Maynard’s cut feather art. He painstakingly uses ophthalmologist tools to cut tiny flocks of birds, right into the barbs of feathers. The results are shadow boxes worthy of a place in any gallery, or in your nightmares if you’re the victim in a b movie horror flick.

I’m a big, big fan of classic marble sculptures. The artists of years gone by were talented in a way that most people can only dream about today. The sculptures were often eerily realistic, which is further testament to their skill as sculptors. After all, they had only simplistic tools like hammers and chisels to create their masterpieces.

Yes, I’m forever impressed by the many works that fill the Louvre and many other art hubs, and every time I see these beautiful pieces of art, I think to myself…

I always thought Rap Artists were chromed out and had way too much bling but as it turns out, I have been wrong all these years. Our good friends in the far east (Japan) have been pimping out their trucks since the 70’s when a series of ten movies called Truck Guys came out. The films featured a costumed trucker who drove all over Japan in his decorated truck. The movie became very popular and the art of Dekotora Trucks began soon after. Dekotora Trucks is an abbreviation for

As a man, I’m sure you feel as though holiday decorations are not something that necessarily are representative of your overall interests. I’ve seen beer trees, exploding ornaments, pretzel and bottle top garlands; though all excellent examples of things you may like, they leave something to be desired in terms of traditional winter festivity. This year, try Star Wars Snowflakes! If you’re anything like me, your attempts at paper snowflakes in the past were horrifically butchered monstrosities that had more negative space than paper and were apt to explode the second you tried to unfold them to show off your brilliance. Since it’s damn hard to know when to stop snipping before you absolutely destroy anything snowflake like you may make,  Matters of Grey has expanded on the phenomenal idea of an industrious nerdy couple, and created easy to follow pdf diagrams. Even if you’re so bad at crafts that peeling the labels off your bottles is difficult, you can handle this.