Archive for December, 2011
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

Hive Sculptures by Pamela Sunday

For those who thought their days in geometry classes would never lead to anything, take note of these magnificent spheres, whose inspiration lay in science, nature, and spatial mathematics. Handmade of mottled stoneware by Brooklyn-based sculptor Pamela Sunday, each Hive is essentially a hollow sphere covered with smaller hemispheres that are attached and covered with small balls of soft clay. Sunday uses a wooden tool to make indents in these small balls, in essence morphing them into cells that push against one another. After drying for several weeks, the sculpture is fired in an electric kiln, with each indent filled with a reflective gold-luster glaze. The result? A private universe that glows like a jewel.

The completed Hive, pre-glaze, which took four weeks to dry.

Sunday and Pratt student Emma Choi glazing indents of the fired Hive.

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Parchment Table by Kenneth Cobonpue

The gently undulating pages of an old manuscript inspired the top of this dining room table, which was created by Kenneth Cobonpue, a Filipino designer known for his use of natural fibers and materials. Fine layers of walnut are naturally warped and then stacked to create the surface; rather than being compressed, the layers are allowed to breathe, which creates an airy, sculptural profile from the sides. Brushed stainless-steel u-shaped legs complete the look. Yet despite its durability—and the thought that, What’s the worse that could happen if we put it outside? The wood warps some more?—the Parchment table is strictly meant for indoor use.

A detail of the Parchment table’s warped walnut layers

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

Paolo Crepax’s KUK Light for Leucos

In Finnish, “kuk” refers to the unique ice forms that crystallize into flowers, a common winter site on snow-clad Scandinavian fields. Crepax—an old-school Italian glass artist who learned his trade in Murano—took these bloom-like shape as inspiration for the line of wall, ceiling, and pendant lights he created for Leucos. Each fixture is created by hand from transparent crystal glass, so like snowflakes, no two are exactly alike. The chrome-plated metal structure of each also can be decentered for further customization. The wall and ceiling versions come with an anti-glare, silk-screened platinum diffuser, too, to ensure you won’t be blinded by the light.

Kuk pendants hovering like snowflakes.