Awesome Art & Design

This fascinating video from the Institute of Nomadic Architecture takes us to a Kenyan village, where the women come together to build a shelter for the community. These domed structures are made by twisting and knotting found materials like tree trunks, palm fronds, dry grasses, vines, and other organic fibers.

Scott from Wonder World was fascinated by a video that showed how large metal spheres are made using explosive hydroforming. Here, he dives deeper into the process, along with other methods used for making spheres from steel, such as the shiny art pieces made by Shenzhen Maoping Sculpture Arts.

Dr. Willard Wigan MBE has an attention to detail most of us only dream of. He’s known for his infinitesimally small sculptures, which he carves using tiny tools under the lens of a microscope. WIRED’s Obsessed sat down with Willard to learn about his technique and the challenges of working at such a small scale.

Adam from North of the Border was trying to come up with a way to sculpt Sonic the Hedgehog that was different from what’s already out there on the internet. So he created a clay sculpture of SEGA’s mascot in his iconic “Naruto run” pose, then covered the figure with flocking to give him a delightfully fuzzy blue finish.

Ghost in the Shell fans will recognize this spider-like mech as Tachikoma. The walker-roller tank turned up in the Stand Alone Complex universe, offering personnel transport and a mobile weapons platform. DanCreator built a giant cardboard version of the mech. Like his Scopedog, it’s big enough for him to ride inside of.

After seeing the Mercedes Vision AVTR concept car in 2020, ND Woodworking was wowed by its curvaceous body and futuristic design. He then got to work, spending more than 100 days sculpting a scale replica of the car out of wood. The kid-sized version sits atop a metal frame with a working electric drivetrain.

Made in Japan by Tsubota Pearl, this dreamy lighter features a hand-lacquered polycarbonate case that looks like wispy white clouds set against a beautiful blue sky. The steel lighter has a cotton wick and takes Zippo-style lighter fluid. We also dig their transparent color series.

LittleBall Creations makes beautiful marble mazes from bent and soldered copper wire. Here, they show off one of their self-contained mazes that sits inside of a cube. The marble rolls from one end of the track to the other when the cube is flipped over. If you’re interested in buying their work, contact them on Facebook.

JLaserVideo has been trying for years to build a version of Iron Man’s armor that could actually fly. After a major failure, he’s finally achieved that dream. He started out with a pair of custom electric jets but settled on a ridiculous number of smaller electric motors. And when the suit isn’t being worn, its parts fly to him.

Inspired by the official LEGO Mario kits, builder Brandon Jones wanted to build a display that looked like a full level from the Nintendo game. At BrickCon 2022, Beyond the Brick’s Joshua Hanlon got an up-close look at the impressive 12,000-piece mechanical diorama, which uses 14 motors to bring the Mushroom Kingdom to life.

If you’re a fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and have $8.8 million burning a hole in your pocket, today’s your lucky day. Flea is selling his unique mansion in the hills outside of LA. The 5.7-acre compound has three structures, each in different but harmonious styles. Architectural Digest takes us inside this dramatic home.

This unique keyboard has LEGO-compatible studs all over it so that you can attach building blocks and Minifigures. Even its mechanical keys are studded, so you can mix and match its 8-bit style keycaps or LEGO parts. It’s got RGB backlighting and both wired and wireless modes. Early bird pre-orders can save $70 off the MSRP.

Yancey Designs makes beautiful decor from copper. This copper box and tray set is a great alternative to wood valets and jewelry boxes. Its main tray, dividers, and insert are great for organizing accessories can be used independently or combined. Price shown is for the tray and lid only, with inserts sold as options.

Basketball shoes are meant for playing basketball. But Marko took the concept literally and crafted custom sneakers out of a Wilson basketball. The leather and rubber from the ball look like they were difficult to work with, but the finished shoes look like they were worth the effort. That flame paint job is sweet!

We’ve seen some unique clocks and timers, but this is the first time we’ve seen one that displays time using the kind of metal filings you’d find in a Wooly Willy toy. B.B. Korry created this electromechanical clock which uses a grid of electromagnets to attract and release iron filings to count down seconds. It’s really loud, though.

More than 70,000 bohemians, hippies, punks, and outsiders descended on Nevada’s Black Rock Desert for Burning Man 2022. Filmmaker Jesse Chandler forgot he had applied for a permit to fly a drone at the festival, but we’re glad he got a reminder, or we wouldn’t get to enjoy his amazing aerial time-lapse footage.