Human Crayons, Plaster Heads & Lip Jewelry By Designer Heli Hietala

I have already shared with you the fabulous carved crayola crayons by Diem Chau. Now, here's another artist/designer who has crafted human-shaped colored crayons.



COLOURS by designer Heli Kristina Hietala are crayons shaped as the human figure. The intent was to show the results of involvement between characters and how communication can range from soft, stimulating, balancing or dirtying (the designers words), depending upon the character which is chosen.

For the 2005 project, she created about 100 crayons, packed in 10 boxes which contain 10 pieces each.





Heli uses the human form, head and facial characteristics in several of her other unusual works as well. Her 2009 "Spirits of Medicine" consist of 30 plaster cast heads, each placed in medical prescription bottles.




And some of her jewelry designs incorporate castings of full feminine lips like the bracelet and tin rings shown below:



See more of her work here.

Nike World Cup Players Carved In Crayons By Diem Chau

Our favorite crayon carver and artist, Diem Chau, about whose unusual art I have blogged before here and here, just had a super cool assignment from ad agency Wieden + Kennedy.

She was commissioned by them to carve 66 crayons for this year's Nike World Cup press kits. "This project was a welcomed challenge" says Chau, "I definitely pushed my physical limits. I had 18 days to make around 70 crayons! There was a week I slept 3 hours a night."

Using metallic crayons and white for the first time, Chau immortalized six footballers in Crayola for 11 Nike press kits. Here are the results.

The design team at Wieden Kennedy made the box, base and contents, while Diem Chau made the crayons for the press kits from Nike for World Cup 2010. W+K also chose the colors, a metallic/stone theme. Diem had never worked with metallics or white before and now is a big fan of the silver and white crayons.

The Nike Press Kit

The press kit contains each of the six carved figures, a wooden box that also serves as a display stand, a colored brochure and all are in a clamshell presentation box.





The 6 figures that are in each kit.


In the final version Robinho (far left in Silver) sticks his tongue out slightly and Rooney (Grey) has his arm folded instead of raised above his head. Diem says she wishes she could have captured Rooney's signature pose, but it was impossible considering the form of a crayon.

Fabio Cannavaro in Antique Brass from Crayola. This color was introduced in 1998 in the 120 box set:



Didier Drogba in Copper from Crayola. This color was introduced in 1957 and is Charles Schulz's favorite color from Crayola:



Franck Ribery in Gold from Crayola. The color was introduced in 1949 in the 48 box set:



Robinho in Silver from Crayola. This color was introduced with Gold in 1949 in the 48 box set:



Cristiano Ronaldo in White from Crayola. Introduced in the Studio & School 12 box in 1903:



Wanye Rooney in Timberwolf from Crayola. Introduced in 1993 in the Big Box of 96:


Press kit photos courtesy of Wieden + Kennedy, individual crayon carvings courtesy of Diem Chau.

Now, if you haven't seen the Nike Ballman for the 2010 World Cup, learn about him here.

Diem Chau's Crayons Carved As The 12 Chinese Zodiacs

above: individually hand carved crayons that represent the 12 symbols of the Chinese Zodiac.

I can't seem to get enough of the very talented Diem Chau's unusual work. While her porcelain work is amazing, it's her carved crayola crayons that continue to blow me away.

I have blogged about her carved crayons in the past, but recently she tackled the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac which are now on exhibit at the Packer Schopf Gallery in Chicago along with many of her ceramic works in a show named Sojourn.




First, the 12 symbols of the Chinese Zodiac:


Now, Diem Chau's Zodiac Crayons:


She began with the monkey on the far right (note how she wrote on the crayons which was to become which animal):


and once they were finished, she mounted each carved crayon on a wood pedestal for exhibition:

above: all twelve Chinese Zodiac crayons, finished and mounted.

I have close ups and detailed images of all but the Dog, Dragon, Horse, Ox, and Rabbit.

The Goat:


The Monkey:


The Pig:


The Rat:


The Rooster:


The Snake:


and this year, the Tiger:


all images are courtesy of the artist.

Be sure to check out her porcelain pieces in the following show:
SOJOURN
Packer Schopf Gallery
February 19th - March 27th
942 W. Lake
Chicago, IL 60607
312.226.8984

Diem Chau

Diem Chau's Crayon Carvings (now in a tv spot, too!)

above: Diem Chau's adorable self portrait


Diem Chau plays with crayons. But not by coloring outside the lines, she carves them into the likenesses of people and animals. And they are certainly intriguing, if not impressive. So intriguing in fact, that finally, someone has utilized them as a metaphor in a tv commercial (more on that at the end of the post).

Take a look:


She has ceated commissions in the likeness of people from photos:

Some older photos of her crayon carvings:






Artist's Statement:

I consider myself an artist whose medium is stories, especially those that are primarily passed on orally. Coming from a nomadic childhood, what few possessions my family had were necessities. The things of greatest value to us were stories contributed by friends and family. Embedded in these stories are connections to the past, our culture and an occasional escape from reality.

My grandmother told some of the best and most unique tales. She had a wonderful way of spicing up the traditional fable. According to her, Cinderella was kept from the Prince’s ball by having to sort a jumble of Mung beans, Red beans and Soybeans. Snow White went on many dates with Prince Charming before they got married, their first date being a picnic in the park with sandwiches and sliced melons. These small deviations are what fascinate me with oral traditions. Ordinary events injected into fantasy worlds make them more believable but, at the same time, it makes them extraordinary. Stories enable us to live a more vivid life.

I’ve spent countless hours gathering memories and pieces of different cultures by listening to incredible stories. I waited with childlike anticipation and delight on each storyteller’s words. I believe it’s my time to be the storyteller and to evoke the same delight and anticipation from my audience. Each story is a journey that gives us greater understanding of our past and our culture. Each story is a thread that connects us to each other, the storyteller holding one end and the audience the other. - Diem Chau

all photos courtesy of Diem Chau.

Diem Chau has since created many other wonderful art pieces and projects (be sure to see her 'embroidered ceramics'). You can see the work of Diem Chau here.




UPDATE (MAY, 2009): I figured an ad agency would find a way to use Diem's crayon carvings and sure enough, Hal Riney & Publicis has come out with a new U.S. Cellular commercial that uses time lapse photography and Diem's crayon carvings. Once available to view on flickr, ad freak and youtube, the spot has since been removed.

UPDATE (March 16, 2010):

See her 12 Chinese Zodiacs carved into crayons here

UPDATE (June 10, 2010):

See her Nike World Cup Players carved into crayons here.