Art
May 30, 2017

Artist Uses Fire and Smoke to Create Incredible Paintings of Birds

For the past 16 years, artist Steven Spazuk has been honing the craft of painting with fire. The “fire artist” uses the resulting soot from flames to produce haunting, delicate work. By trailing his tools over the remnants of a flame, he almost sculpts his subjects on the canvas in a technique called fumage. Spazuk is quick to point out that he didn't invent the technique—it's most likely how pre-historic man created cave paintings.

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Tattoos
May 29, 2017

Amazing Photos Reveal the Work of Britain’s First Tattoo Artist in Victorian Times

In Victorian England, Sutherland Macdonald stands out as the country's first professional tattoo artist. After James Cook‘s trip to the South Pacific, where the crew was exposed to Polynesian inking culture, tattoos began to trickle into society, growing in popularity through the years. For his part, Macdonald was said to have been exposed to tattooing in the 1880s while with the British Army.

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Photography
May 29, 2017

Unknown Photographer’s Color Photos Offer Glimpse of Daily Life in 1970s London

These mysterious photos of London in the early 1970s are a trippy flashback to life in the UK over 40 years ago. Appearing on Flickr in the collection of Glen F, they were apparently taken by an American tourist. “I’ve found that Americans tend to take pics of ‘mundane' things that us Brits would take for granted and never photograph, like the sandwiches!

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Art
May 27, 2017

Artist Handcrafts Colorful Ceramic Pots That Can Fit in the Palm of Your Hand

London-based artist Yuta Segawa has a penchant for hand-thrown pots and gourds. What sets this ceramicist's clay creations apart from others, however, is that Segawa's vessels can comfortably fit in the palm of your hand! Each of the Japanese artist's small clay pots showcases an amazing attention to detail and a skillful understanding of the pottery practice. Like traditional vessels, the petite pieces are individually created on a potter's wheel.

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My Modern Met

Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.