A 'Snow Beasts' MINI and Custom Burton Snowboards by Illustrator Andreas Preis.

A creative collaboration between MINI, Burton Snowboards and urban artist Andreas Preis resulted in hand-painted Burton snowboards and a decked out MINI Paceman, all created for the Burton European Open in Laax.








A matte white MINI Cooper D ALL4 Paceman was given to Preis to use as a blank canvas. Left to the creative devices of Andreas, the car was transformed into the MINI Paceman SNOW BEAST.







Highlighting the MINI maxim of Creative Use of Space, he went to work emblazoning each side with heraldic creatures of the highlands, or SNOW BEASTS, as he calls them. The five emblematic animals include: the lynx for its gracefulness, the eagle for its vision, the ibex for ambition, the wolf for teamwork, and the owl for its wisdom.







"SNOW BEASTS all have properties that make them role models for people who move in the mountains and snow," Andreas explained while a warm winter sun shone through the glass of the MINI C_ART Container. "Snowboarders move with grace, ambition, vision and wisdom and have the most fun when they're on a team. These technical and aesthetic qualities of SNOW BEASTS are what I wanted to express on the MINI."



A dedicated snowboarder (and skateboarder) himself, Andreas imbued the installation with his first-hand knowledge of these qualities... and may have done some extra research while on site. "During the breaks I was able to get together with the Burton and MINI crew and put in a few runs, which was really cool. I'm definitely not as good as the kids competing, but I love to ride."

The beautiful snowboards:





In addition to the patina he gave the MINI Paceman, Andreas's stickers and hand-painted MINI custom SNOW BEASTS snowboards were given away to lucky riders both on site and online.


above: Andreas Preis with one of his custom Burton snowboards that was raffled of at the event.

You can also find some of Andreas' illustrative work for sale here at Society 6

information and images courtesy of MINI , Burton, and Andreas Preis

Elegant Animal Head Urns of Ceramic and Wood by Artist Lorien Stern

Lorien Stern comes from Ojai, a small town in Southern California. She recently received her BFA from California College of the Arts in Oakland, where she focused on ceramics, painting, claymation, screen printing, wood turning, piñatas, and egg batiking. Experimenting in various mediums, her animal urns are what caught my eye. They combine white ceramic animal heads with turned wood and are simultaneously whimsical and sophisticated. Whether used as actual cremation urns or merely objets'd'art, they are definitely unique.

“Penguin Urn” (10” x 3.5” x 3.5” Ceramic and American Poplar 2013)


“Alligator Urn” (8” x 3.5” x 3.5” Ceramic and American Poplar 2013)




“Bear Urn” (10” x 3.5” x 3.5” Ceramic and American Poplar 2013)


“Horse Urn” (10” x 3.5” x 3.5” Ceramic and American Poplar 2013)



“St. Bernard Urn” (9” x 5” x 5” Ceramic and American Poplar 2013)


“Bull Urn” (12.25” x 6.5” Ceramic and American Poplar 2010)




Lorien Stern (above) now lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. (image courtesy of Facebook)

Lorien works in has a fun series of large and small "animal heads" that you should check out at her website.

Shop her etsy store here

Emma Hack Takes Body Art To A New Level With Her Latest Collection

We've seen body painting before. I've posted about well-known hand painter, Guido Daniele and the body painting of shoes on feet by Temptu. And how could I forget Veruschka?* But it wasn't until I saw her work on the cover of India's Platform magazine, that I was introduced to Australian artist and body illustrator Emma Hack.

Above: The image used on cover of Platform magazine from last year that piqued my interest in the work of Emma Hack.

An artist with several skills; sculpture, multimedia, photographer and more, I'm sharing images of her body painting for this post because it's simply amazing. Her work uses the naked bodies of both men and women as canvases and incorporates the backgrounds to give us the illusion of a flat surface in which the bodies are so well camouflaged against wall coverings, it's hard to even see them.

About this stunning collection: Emma’s Wallpaper 2005, 2007 and 2008 collections feature Florence Broadhurst wallpaper designs mixed with her body illustration. Emma continues to work blending her ‘wallflowers’ with the beautiful designs of Broadhurst.

Emma’s recent 2008 collection, featured during the Adelaide Fringe Festival, features exotic Australian animals, nude landscapes and a continued collection of Florence Broadhurst wallpapers. Emma photographed this collection herself, evolving her talents further. Here are her most recent works from her Wallpaper series:

And earlier works in the series:

In her Evolution collection, she actually painted animals!
An alligator, a possum, a dragon and turtles:

A bit about the artist:
Emma began her career as a make up and hair stylist and painted children's faces. She has evolved into a world-class body illustrator with several awards and acclaim, as well as a sculptor, a photographer and more. She's involved in several projects and continues to stretch and hone her talents.




Emma is represented in Adelaide by:
Art Images Gallery
32 The Parade Norwood
SA 5067
Phone: 08 8363 0806

*addendum:
I had to amend this post to answer to the several emails I've received reminding me of the amazing body painting and transfigurations by Vera Lehndorff (aka Veruschka). I was remiss in not referencing her work in a post about body painting- because it is superb and especially since my colleagues worked with her to produce a Lexus TV and print campaign in the mid 90s.

After beginning her career as a model in the 60’s, Lehndorff used the Veruschka pseudonym to enter the public domain, becoming one of the most sought-after and heavily publicized models in international fashion. Prior to crossing over to the art world with a renowned series of camouflage body-paintings, Lehndorff worked with many prominent photographers, including Helmet Newton.


above: self portrait by 'Veruschka'

Vera von Lehndorff (aka Veruschka)'s myspace page.