Category Archives: creativity

Sep29

coffee art.

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on international coffee day

Meet the Italian Artist who creates Incredible Works of Art From Spilled Coffee

Italians are known for their love of coffee, but while most enjoy espresso for its taste, artist  Giulia Bernardell appreciates it for its creative potential. She turns spilled coffee into works of art that look like detailed watercolor paintings.

Many of us start our day with a cup of joe, but Bernardelli indulges in a dose of inspiration, too. Her bio reads, “My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life.” Bernardelli’s journey to creating coffee art began by chance. One day, the artist accidentally spilled coffee over her canvas as she was working. But rather than clean it up, Bernardelli grabbed a spoon and used it to guide the brown liquid around the white space.

Today, Bernardelli continues to use spoons in lieu of a paint brush, but she also uses matchsticks to achieve intricate details. From architectural sketches to studies of the human face, Bernardelli takes inspiration from everywhere. She even recreates Italian Renaissance masterpieces in her coffee art style. She’s “painted” the  Mona Lisa and The Creation of Adam,  using spilled coffee as pigment.

Since making a name for herself as a respected “coffee artist,” Bernardelli has branched out into new, edible mediums. She also creates art from melted ice cream, fruit, vegetables, and much more.

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“coffee is the best thing to douse the sunrise with.”

-terri guillemets

 

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art credit: spilled coffee art, guilia bernadelli

source credit: mymet, emma taggart

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Giulia Bernardelli

 

 

 

 

 

Aug13

brie.

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my very creative and talented niece

just on the cusp of teenager-hood

presented me

with this lovely fairy

 made on her way to come for a visit

with plaited hair

a hand-painted face

and fashion-forward attire

 she was such a joyful surprise

due to her acorn cap beret and sense of style

i’ve decided to give my new fairy the french name of ‘brie.’

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“the world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.”

-neil gaiman

Aug11

canvas.

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a front door, a message, and a yard, in support of ukraine and the pollinators

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one of the reasons i love walking so much

is for the surprises waiting to be discovered along the way

when walking through the neighborhood

i travel with eyes wide open

people are so creatively expressive

flower pot art

a snake in the grass

smiling and made of latex, upon closer inspection

a front yard mini vineyard

a tiny village

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“this world is but a canvas to our imagination.”

-henry david thoreau

Jul28

one of my favorite people in costa rica.

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bonsai for sale

from a creative salesman who clearly always finds a way

in la fortuna, costa rica

i so admire his dedication and out of the box thinking.

 

—

“how you sell is more important than what you sell.”

-andy paul

Jul13

kinder-kat.

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What better place to learn your ABC’s and 123’s than inside of a giant building shaped like a cat?

The kids who attend Kindergarten in Karlsruhe, Germany, do so in a giant feline.

Constructed in 2011 and designed by artist, Tomi Ungerer and architect, Ayla Suzan Yöndel, the whimsical kindergarten is in a big white cat building that includes a door for a mouth below a whisker-lined nose, windows for eyes, and a classroom in its belly. For added fun, kids can even ride down its tail that doubles as a slide.

In terms of architecture that inspires a playful imagination, the Kindergarten Wolfartsweier is remarkable for its embrace of an alternative, animalistic design for what a school can be.

“design is where science and art break even.”

-robin mathew(s)

 

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source credits: Atlas Obscura, My Modern Met, Milk magazine, inthralled.com,

 

 

May13

fantastical.

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one of the best parts of spending my days teaching

is hearing all the fantastical tales

that spring from the kinder

with their open eyes and open hearts. 

 

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image credit: nicolette sowder, wilderchild

Apr24

24 hour theater.

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what an unforgettable time

 my grandson spent

with his schoolmates

helping to create

an original play in 24 hours

writers, actors, stage crew, director, light crew, props, costumes, staging, sound

it was a such a joy to see it all come to life on the stage.

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“the theatre is so endlessly fascinating because it’s so accidental. it’s so much like life.”

-arthur miller

Apr21

sailing off.

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mac does its part with loose parts: an earth day art show

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the children have been learning for weeks

about recycling, reusing, and repurposing

many kinds of materials

in honor of tomorrow’s holiday (earth day)

 using the voice of art as expression

each child created an original sculpture

repurposing used items

finding new beauty in these discarded things 

putting them together in new ways

 inviting their families 

to their ‘gallery opening’

each child filled with pride in their work

and a realization that they are artists. 

“art is a form of exploration, of sailing off into the unknown alone, heading for those unmarked places on the map. if children are not permitted-not taught-to be adventurers and explorers as children, what will become of the world of adventure, of stories, of literature itself?

– michael chabon 

Mar23

nests.

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robin’s nests created by the kinder using natural materials 

clay, twigs, pinecones, clippings

any robin would be happy to raise her babies in one of these beautiful homes

 

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“wildness we might consider as the root of the authentic spontaneities of any being. it is that wellspring of creativity whence comes the instinctive activities that enable all living beings to obtain their food, to find shelter, to bring forth their young; to sing and dance and fly through the air and swim through the depths of the sea. this is the same inner tendency that evokes the insight of the poet, the skill of the artist, and the power of the shaman.”-  thomas berry

 

Jan6

construction delay.

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tools and toys and trucks wait in winter

for the children to return

to see what new ideas

they can create together come spring.

—

 

“never worry for the delay in success compared to the others.

because the construction of wonders takes more time than other buildings.”

-author anonymous