Sure, you think that colored pencils are needed only for drawing and ear picking, but Jennifer Maestre doesn’t think so. The artist always uses things other than for their intended purpose.
Meet Jennifer Maestre, a South African-born, Massachusetts-based artist, who makes beautiful sculptures using wooden pencils.
Inspiration
My sculpture art was originally inspired by the form and function of the sea urchin. The spines of the urchin, so dangerous yet beautiful, serve as an explicit warning against contact. The alluring texture of the spines draws the touch in spite of the possible consequences. The tension unveiled, we feel the push and pull, desire and repulsion. The sections of pencils present aspects of sharpness and smoothness for two very different textural and aesthetic experiences.
Technique
To make the pencil sculptures, I take hundreds of pencils, cut them into 1-inch sections, drill a hole in each section (to turn them into wooden beads), sharpen them all, and sew them together to form a unique artwork. The beading technique I rely on most is peyote stitch.
Besides her cool sculptures, Jennifer also makes pencil jewelry. You can find it here. Oh, and her website is jennifermaestre.com.
Aurora: Coloring Pencil Sculpture
Springtime Tall Tale: Sea Anemone
Terpsichore: Spiky Pencil Sculpture
3 to 1 Twist
Asteridae: Starfish Inspired Sculpture
Seethe: Coral Influenced Sculpture
Luna: Coloring Pencil Sculpture
Materialize
Minx: Weird Sculpture
Owl: Sea Anemone Model
Heat Wave
Flex
Ozma: Sea Slug Pencil Sculpture
Silkie
Spine
Tiamat: Weird Pencil Sculpture
Hive
Imp: Biological Sculpture Using Pencils
Chimera
Ibentina: Pencil Art Sculpture
Kraken: Sea Creature Model
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