Mosaic Menagerie by Amanda Anderson

Amanda Anderson is a very talented mosaic maker based in the West Midlands who hand crafts menagerie of owls, birds and other creatures. Each mosaic is one-of-a-kind that's made using stained glass, tiles, millefiori and recycled ceramics intricately cut and constructed to represent feathers, scales and fur.

She co-founded Wigwam Arts with Johanna Potter in 1995 a community arts group that has produced many large scale mosaics in partnership with schools, hospitals and other public and private buildings across the West Midlands.

Her amazing vibrant, colorful work is influenced by a variety of folk art and traditional stories based around animals and birds. She will be exhibiting and selling her pieces at 'The Contemporary Craft Festival', Mill Marsh Park, Bovey Tracey, Devon from 10th through 12th June 2016. For more information about the show and to get tickets online go here.

New Products by Ingela P Arrhenius

New products by the Swedish designers and illustrator Ingela P Arrhenius for Omm Designs. The babyoshka stackable nesting dolls come in two different designs - owl set and tiger set. The chunky, round shape makes them a cute choice for the little ones to play with or to use them as decoration for any room in the house.

The "Memory" is a fantastic game that features 25 face illustrations from people to animals in the artist's retro inspired design. It's a great game sure to be enjoyed by all ages. 

The postcard sets is a mix of Ingela's Arrhenius designs. Each pack contains 7 cards and 7 envelopes, with a card size approx 13 x 18 cm. These are ideal to send a note to your friend or family or frame them to make a unique wall art.

These tin kitchen sets come in beautiful color scheme and animal graphic illustrations. The "Tin Tea Party" set includes a tea pot, sugar bowl with lid, milk jug, 4 plates/saucers and 4 cups. Another adorable range features a fox and woodland designs on enamel plate and mug that can be purchased individually or together from Retro Kids.

A Metro Ride With Anthropomorphic Animals

Alessandro Gallo an artist from Genoa, Italy created a bizarre world populated with anthropomorphic animals for his installation "Metro" at the Italian Pavilion, 54th Venice Art Biennale. It  represents northern line of the London underground where people from all walks of lives come in close contact, it's a preview of the world above - the city.

“I use animals because they create immediate associations with the viewer,” Gallo explains, “and because they effectively embody thoughts and attitudes that would otherwise remain hidden. In fact they’ve been used to embody aspects of our personality in all eras and cultures, from tales for children to religious narratives. They all have biological and behavioral characteristics which may reflect us – in a tongue-in-cheek way, too – like a mask or a caricature. The chameleon, for example, which can change skin color and whose independent eyes see in all directions, could portray an alert, opportunist predator” - via.

"Metro" project consists of 3 carriages and 21 characters made of clay and mixed media. The clothes and accessories of each of the characters make them even more realistic. The owl wearing a head scarf and reading a book, a rooster with a bouquet of flowers, a squirrel looking for a fruit in her bag and more depict different personalities that can represent us.

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How to Make Sharpie Animal Mugs

This is a great tutorial on how to make animal mugs using a Sharpie marker! Felicity French shared this fun tutorial on Hobby Craft with which you can make an owl, a monkey and a lion mug. You'll find the individual list of materials for all the three mugs as well as step by step instructions here. It's a perfect way of making a personalized gift without spending too much money.

Printable Owl People Toy

I have featured owl paper toy designed by Bryan C. Ratliff in the past here. Recently I came across this cool "Owl People" printable that is from the series called "Owl People Midlings". Go to his blog to download the template for the owl which comes with the little accessories like headdress and clothes to make variants.

Bryan C. Ratliff will be gradually adding more printable in the series. If you want to collect them all then you might want to follow his blog Chemical9 to get the latest updates.