Oddity Central

Oddity Central

Mind-Blowing Animal Artworks Painted with Heat

Posted: 16 Feb 2012 02:04 AM PST


Self-taught artist Julie Bender is a master of pyrography – the art of drawing with heat. She combines this artistic talent with her love for animals and nature to create incredibly detailed sepia works of art.

Pyrography, the art of burning or scorching a natural surface like wood or leather with a heated tip or wire was first practiced thousands of years ago by the Egyptians and African tribesmen attracted by the power of fire. Impressive as it was in its early days, pyrography has come a long way since then, especially since Melbourne architect Alfred Smart discovered a way to pump benzoline fumes through a heated hollow platinum pencil, thus creating an instrument that allowed artist to create tinting and shading, which were previously impossible. In the early 20th century, the invention of the electric pyrographic hot wire machine took the ancient art to a new level, and modern tools have become so advanced that they allow artists to modify burning temperatures and create a variety of tones and shades.

Julie Bender earned her degree in Fine Arts in 1980, but it wasn’t until 2002 that she discovered the art of pyrography and decided to dedicate herself to unraveling its secrets. The self-taught artist found inspiration in her love for animals and nature, and started creating incredibly detailed wildlife images in sepia color. She begins the artistic process by compiling photographs and penciling her subjects on a well sanded piece of wood hand-picked for a specific composition. Julie uses a small selection of burn tips, tiny enough to allow her to burn through her artworks with precision. It’s a slow process that requires slow burning while building layers gradually, but she embraces the challenges of this difficult medium and acknowledges the patience needed to complete each masterpiece.

"This unusual medium still has me marveling over the fact that my subjects may be brought to life solely by applying heat to wood" Julie Bender says, but it’s precisely the uniqueness of her art that attracts the attention of art lovers and collectors all over the world.

 

 

 

 

 All Photos © Julie Bender

 

Mind-Blowing Animal Artworks Painted with Heat was originally posted at OddityCentral.com

Who Needs Hair Transplants When You Can Just Have It Tattooed

Posted: 16 Feb 2012 12:50 AM PST


Hair loss and male-pattern baldness are pretty common, and thousands of men opt for hair transplants each year in an attempt to cover up that balding patch. Hair transplant procedures can be pretty darn expensive and burn a hole right through your pocket. But now, there's an innovative, cheaper and permanent alternative – hair tattoos. Just a few hours of pain, and you're set for life.

Hair tattoos are the brainchild of Ian Watson. When Watson was in his mid-twenties, he lost his brother and developed alopecia due to the resulting stress. Worried about his hair loss and desperate to do something about it, he asked his brother's widow, Ranbir Rai-Watson to draw dots on his scalp using a fine pen. He hoped that the dots would produce the effect of a cropped haircut. When she was finished, the duo knew their silly idea was actually worth something.

Photo via Skin N Beyond

Ian is now 42 years old and Ranbir, 41. After several years of intense research, training and working with make-up artists and hair loss experts, they perfected their skill of camouflaging baldness with ink. The treatment is called the MHT (Micro Hair Technique) Scalp Pigmentation. As a part of the treatment, different shades of pigment are applied to the scalp so that the size, density and shape of short hairs are replicated.

Photo by Vinci Hair Clinic

Ian and Ranbir went on to become the founders of HIS (Hair Ink Scalp) Hair Clinics in the UK and US, where MHT is provided. Their latest clinic was opened in Manchester by celebrity hairdresser Adee Phelan, who has had the procedure done himself. He says that he started losing hair when he was 24, but baldness doesn't really bother him a lot. He got MHT done because he knew it looked good. According to Phelan, the treatment is great because not everyone can afford about £25,000 ($40,000) on hair transplants. At £2,000 ($3,000) MHT is definitely more affordable.

BEFORE (Photo by Vinci Hair Clinic)

The scalp being as sensitive as it is, having a needle pierce several dots on it must really hurt. But the end result looks a lot like a 'buzzed' hairstyle and certainly seems worth the pain.

AFTER (Photo by Vinci Hair Clinic)

Who Needs Hair Transplants When You Can Just Have It Tattooed was originally posted at OddityCentral.com

Germany’s “Village of the Damned” Where Almost Every Household Has a Cancer Sufferer

Posted: 16 Feb 2012 12:25 AM PST


Cancer epidemics are practically unheard of. That's why I was quite shocked when I read about this small village in Germany where almost every household has been hit by the deadly disease. Wewelsfleth, located near the Elbe River in northwest Germany is now being called the 'village of the damned'. With a population of only 1,500, the spread of cancer in the area is about 50% above average. What makes the condition of these villagers even more pathetic is that they feel abandoned by authorities, who are unable to provide any explanations.

The cancer situation in Wewelsfleth is not a new one. In fact, several cases have been reported as early as 1998, steadily rising over the years. The phenomenon is not limited to any particular part of the body. Cases of cancer affecting the breast, lung, womb, stomach and esophagus have been observed. It is not surprising in the least to note that there are three nuclear power plants in the vicinity and also a shipyard where vessels were sprayed with highly toxic paint. Quite understandably, the villagers are upset and do not intend to give up on their demands for a serious enquiry into the situation.

Photo via 14mail.de

Experts, however, remain confused over the cause of the strange spread of cancerous cells across the village. Academics at the University of Lubeck have investigated both the cancers as well as the nuclear plants and shipyard. They even took into account other factors such as the lifestyle of cancer victims and environmental conditions. The results of the study, are inconclusive. The academics point out that it has been impossible to point out any one of these as the sole cause.

Photo by jmueti

The Mayor of Wewelsfleth, Ingo Karstens, has lost both his wives to cancer. Calling it a curse, he has no intentions to back down. He is now insisting that health authorities in Berlin commission another study to get to the root of the affair. This truly does sound like a sad situation; I hope they find a cause and a cure soon enough.

via Spiegel.de

Germany’s “Village of the Damned” Where Almost Every Household Has a Cancer Sufferer was originally posted at OddityCentral.com

Man Proposes to Girlfriend with Dress Made from 9,999 Red Roses

Posted: 16 Feb 2012 12:12 AM PST


This is just the stuff that fairytales are made of. The beautiful princess walks off into the sunset with her prince charming, dressed in a gown made from thousands of roses. You'd never think it could happen in real life, but it has. In an incredibly romantic gesture, this guy in China had a dress out of 9,999 deep red roses made for his girlfriend. After she put on the dress, he proposed.

Initially Xiao Fan considered proposing with only the roses, but realizing his girlfriend’s love for fashion, he decided to go a step further and get them sewn onto a dress. So the flowers were stitched together carefully to make a sweeping floral gown, fit for a bride. Several dressmakers worked round the clock on the project to get it completed on time. I think it's pretty amazing how they managed it, keeping the flowers so fresh and lovely.

Photo by Xinhua/Liu Dawei

Yin Mi, the lucky girlfriend, had the gown adjusted on her on the day of the proposal. On top of the rose gown, she wore an ivory-white fur shrug and also held a bouquet of yellow orchids. The event took place on the grounds of Chime-Long Paradise amusement park in Guangdong province. The place was chosen because that's where the happy couple met for the first time, when Yin Mi was crowned Miss Bikini 2009.

Photo by Xinhua/Liu Dawei

The dress that Mr. Fan had made is not just breathtaking, but also pretty symbolic. The number 9 in Chinese culture is said to represent 'forever'. The orchids are known to symbolize love, beauty and virtue. Mr. Fan has obviously won top brownie points from his girlfriend, seeing that she happily accepted his proposal. But I do think he's set some pretty high expectations with her as far as romance is concerned, and he's going to have to live up to them all his life!

This all seems very original, doesn’t it? Only Xiao Fan isn’t the first to use thousands of roses to propose to the love of his life. Back in 2009, we posted about another Chinese romantic who used 9,999 roses and a lot of friends to ask his girlfriend to marry him. I have to hand it to Chinese men, they know how to make a great impression.

via Xinhuanet

Man Proposes to Girlfriend with Dress Made from 9,999 Red Roses was originally posted at OddityCentral.com

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