Thursday, 22 January 2015

Secret Fore-Edge Paintings Revealed in Early 19th Century Books at the University of Iowa

Special Collections & University Archives at the University of Iowa

A few days ago Colleen Theisen who helps with outreach and instruction at the Special Collections & University Archives at the University of Iowa shared an amazing gif she made that demonstrates something called fore-edge painting on the edge of a 1837 book called Autumn by Robert Mudie. Fore-edge painting, which is believed to date back as early as the 1650s, is a way of hiding a painting on the edge of a book so that it can only be seen when the pages are fanned out. There are even books that have double fore-edge paintings, where a different image can be seen by flipping the book over and fanning the pages in the opposite direction.

Tuesday, 20 January 2015

These psychedelic animal specimens are unlike anything you've ever seen

Say hello to the technicolor dream cadavers of Iori Tomita. By combining classical specimen preservation techniques with meticulous staining methods, the Japanese artists transforms fish, squid, turtles and even chameleons into a menagerie of multi-colored hell beasts. Go ahead and take a peek — you've never seen taxidermy like this.

The examples featured here all come from a series entitled "shinsekai [toumei hyouhon]," or "New World Transparent Specimens."

Wired's Liz Stinson describes Tomita's process:

To produce the specimens... Tomita first removes the scales and skin of fish that have been preserved in formaldehyde. Next he soaks the creatures in a stain that dyes the cartilage blue. Tomita uses a digestive enzyme called trypsin, along with a host of other chemicals, to break down the proteins and muscles, halting the process just at the moment they become transparent but before they lose their form. The bones are then stained with red dye, and the brilliant beast is preserved in a jar of glycerin.

Tomita says it takes him five months to a year of meticulous chemical manipulation to prepare just one specimen — but the results, as you can plainly see, are utterly incredible.

Check out many more examples of Tomita's work over on his website.

These psychedelic animal specimens are unlike anything you've ever seen

Monday, 19 January 2015

An Artist Knits Glass into Surreal Sculptures

How in the world can you knit with glass? You thought it was impossible, right? No one could possibly bear the extreme heat needed to keep the glass pliable. How does Seattle based artist Carol Milne achieve such a feat?

The answer lies in the a trick she invented back in 2006. Starting with a wax model of the sculpture she intends to make, she then makes a mold around it using material that can withstand extreme heat. She melts the wax on the inside leaving a hollow middle, leaving room for the glass to be placed inside and heated to the correct temperature.

Sorry, there's really not a whole lot of knitting actually involved in the process. But the finished pieces are still amazing!

Saturday, 17 January 2015

Liquid Art with Ferrofluid

Image credit: uoc.edu

A ferrofluid is, quite simply, a fluid with magnetic particles in it. This means that, if the fluid is exposed to a magnetic field, all the magnetic particles will align with the field lines. Specifically, ferrofluid is a colloidal liquid made of particles less than 10 nanometers in diameter, and when it’s subjected to a magnetic field, it’s these nanoparticles that form regular patterns of peaks and valleys.

The substance invented in 1963 by NASA’s Steve Papell in order to transport liquid when there is a lack of (less) gravity. It was designed as liquid rocket fuel that could be drawn toward a pump in a weightless environment by applying a magnetic field

Best of all, you can make it yourself. Learn how to make something like it here. Note: You will have to have a pretty strong magnet and some printer ink. What you will actually have is magnetorheological fluid, which is rather similar. The difference is that ferrofluid has dispersed nanoparticles. Although some ink toners have nanoparticles present, they come in aggregated clusters that are micrometer scale in size (it’s a fine distinction).

Friday, 16 January 2015

3D-Printed Fibonacci Zoetrope Sculptures Fascinates You

These 3d-printed zoetrope sculptures were designed by John Edmark, and they only animate when filmed under a strobe light or with the help of a camera with an extremely short shutter speed. He shares about the project:

These are 3-D printed sculptures designed to animate when spun under a strobe light. The placement of the appendages is determined by the same method nature uses in pinecones and sunflowers. The rotation speed is synchronized to the strobe so that one flash occurs every time the sculpture turns 137.5º—the golden angle. If you count the number of spirals on any of these sculptures you will find that they are always Fibonacci numbers.

For this video, rather than using a strobe, the camera was set to a very short shutter speed (1/4000 sec) in order to freeze the spinning sculpture.