3d illusion arts: October 2013

Oddity Central

Japanese Musician Plays the Most Amazing Hand Flute You’ve Ever Heard
Artist Sculpts Celebrity Portraits in Expensive Lipstick
Send Your Toys around the World with Japan’s Stuffed Animal Travel Agency

Japanese Musician Plays the Most Amazing Hand Flute You’ve Ever Heard

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 11:35 AM PDT

Mitsuhiro Mori is an accomplished musician best known for his hand flute skills. If you close your eyes and just listen to him sing, you ca swear he’s playing a flute or an ocarina, when in reality, all he’s really doing is blowing air into his hands. Prepare to have your mind blown!

The talented Mitsuhiro and his college friend and pianist Keisuke Usuda formed the "Piano and Hand Flute Duo Childhood", after Usuda was so impressed with his buddy’s hand flute skills and decided they should put it to good use. The unique duo have been entertaining audiences all around the world ever since, produced several albums and appeared on numerous television shows. You may have seen your friends do an impressive hand flute or maybe watched YouTube videos of people showing off their skills, but I can assure you you haven’t seen anything quite like this before. There are some pretty amazing hand flute players out there, but almost all of them agree, Mitsuhiro Mori is in a league of his own. He can reach any note he wants and can play really fast, which is incredibly difficult. It just goes to show you don’t always need expensive instruments to make great music.

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 10:23 AM PDT

Ever dreamed of having your face immortalized in expensive lipstick? No, well, you can, thanks to Singapore-based artist May Sum, who has made a name for himself by carving expensive lipsticks from top brands in the makeup industry into detailed busts of various celebrities, from Lady Gaga to Audrey Hepburn.

Some women would kill for a stick of lipstick from established brands such as Yves Saint Laurent or Estee Lauder, but artist May Sum doesn’t think twice before butchering them into oily busts of popular fashion icons. It’s not clear what kind of tools he uses during the carving process, but considering the size of his medium, they must be pretty tiny and precise. Although his lipstick busts aren’t exact replicas of the characters he aims to depict, the Singaporean somehow manages to always nail he details that define his muses. For example, Lady Gaga is easily recognizable by her unmistakable hairdo and large glasses, while Coco Channel can be distinguished by her signature hat and pearls. May Sum can carve sticks of lipsticks into anything from animals to sceneries and customs portraits, but she is most famous for her “Strong Women” series.

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 09:25 AM PDT

There comes a time in every plush toy's life when they must leave the comfort of their homes and go backpacking through Europe and the US to learn about the different cultures out there. And it's all possible thanks to a travelling agency from Japan called Unagi Travel. Their staff takes your toys around the world, shows them a good time and photographs them with popular tourist attractions.

Ms Azuma – who works for the agency, can send your beloved plush toy anywhere in Japan, Europe or the United States for a small fee. Your toy can take a complete tour of Tokyo for only $45 and see some of the country’s most famous onsen (hot springs) for $55. Any beloved stuffed friend is welcome as long as they don't exceed 250 grams. To keep you updated on what your toy companion has been up to, Ms Azuma will also document the trip and immortalize every moment through videos and photos. One lucky pink animal visited the Schönbrunn Palace in Austria and a melancholic bear was photographed with her footprints on a secluded beach. Another lucky pair of toys was photographed at the Great Buddha of Kamakura, and guess what? Your beloved stuffed friend can be next.

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Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Highs + Lows: Suspended Bedroom + Sunken Living Room

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 10:00 AM PDT

chez valentin

This tiny 50 square meter apartment in Montrouge, France takes the idea of the suspended bedroom and makes it even better. In this home, the floating bedroom doubles as furniture on one level and a cozy little cubbyhole on the other.

floor plan chez valentin apartment

Emmanuel Combarel Dominique Marrec Architects placed a suspended metal cube in the middle of the apartment between the kitchen/dining area and the sunken living room. This cube is a self-contained bedroom which takes up exactly zero of the apartment’s meager floor space.

bedroom floor additional seating

When the residents of the Apartment Chez Valentin have guests for dinner or just need more seating, the ledge of the bedroom cube is low enough for people to sit on like a bench.

suspended bedroom sunken living room

In the living room below, the overhanging suspended bedroom and the twin staircases create a kind of comfy nook in which to do some reading, watching TV or snuggling.

colorful suspended bedroom

Contrasting with the clean white of the apartment’s surfaces, the bedroom is a bright and stylish place. Looking into it is just like looking into any other apartment bedroom other than the lack of a door – and the fact that it is simply hanging out in the midst of the tiny apartment, providing a smart and comfortable space without compromising the already-small amount of room available in the home.