Impressive Pencil Art by Jennifer Maestre | Webdesigner Depot

10 Jul

Impressive Pencil Art by Jennifer Maestre

Art, Inspiration, Interviews

64

Sponsored by: Click here to create FREE Flash Website!

Jennifer Maestre creates stunning sculptures out of pencils. Yes, you read right: pencils!

Her work is hard to describe and difficult to compare with anything else that I’ve seen before.

She was originally inspired by the form and function of sea urchins:

“The spines of the urchin, so dangerous yet beautiful, serve as an explicit warning against contact. The alluring texture of the spines draws the touch in spite of the possible consequences.”

I interviewed Jennifer and asked her about her stunning art, her sources of inspiration and her beginnings.

I’ve also included a selection of her incredible work. A true designer with limitless imagination…

Can you please tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started with this form of art?
I didn’t start making sculptures from pencils until 1999. I had gone to Mass College of Art, majoring in Glass, in the 90’s.

When I graduated, I couldn’t afford to do Glass anymore, so I started to experiment with other materials.

I was intrigued with sea urchins, and tried to replicate them with various materials, and finally settled on using (an obvious choice!) nails.

My nail sculptures grew larger and more complex, but I still couldn’t get enough diversity of form to satisfy my vision. I started experimenting with other pointy things, and eventually had the idea to use pencils.

How do you create your art and where do you get inspiration from?
My pencil sculptures are created by turning the pencils into beads, and sewing them together using a sculptural beading technique called “peyote stitch”. I get my inspiration form nature, Ernst Haeckel and making lots of mistakes.

A mistake, or disaster, can sometimes be a great source of inspiration, cause for me, at least, it sends my mind off in a new direction.

What were some of your most intricate pieces and how did you solve the challenges involved?

It is kind of hard to explain, but the sculptures with legs and petals really took a lot of figuring out, taking apart, and do-overs. Kraken and Ibentina are two of the most advanced of my sculptures, in terms of making up new ways to use my technique.

I’ve invented a few new stitches, at least, I’ve never seen them in any beading lessons.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m not very good at planning. I have lots of ideas, I just cannot seem to find enough time to bring them all to fruition. It seems that I am drawn to processes that take a lot of experimenting and time to complete.

I just try to take it one pencil at a time, I guess.

You can find our more information about Jennifer and view more of her work at her website: Jennifer Maestre

What do you think of this type of art? Please share your comments below…

Share this story

Share

Related Posts

Breaking The Design Cycle: Get Creative To Be Creative 100 Extraordinary Examples of Paper Art An Artistic Homage to Michael Jackson
64 Comments »

#1

livz
July 10th, 2009 at 5:24 am

impressive!

Reply Close comment form

#2

Henry
July 10th, 2009 at 5:35 am

Wow! This is awesome! Maybe you can do a tutorial? lol jk would be nice though

1 Reply
Reply Close comment form

rodeo_cow
September 24th, 2009 at 10:23 am

i bet there’s going to be lot of people’s would love that tut. =D

Reply Close comment form

#3

phiyo
July 10th, 2009 at 5:44 am

This is just amazing!

Reply Close comment form

#4

Dusan Vlahovic
July 10th, 2009 at 6:23 am

It’s odd to look at, but very nice! it must take a long time to get those art pieces together, great work.

Reply Close comment form

#5

Rahul
July 10th, 2009 at 7:03 am

It is damn good.

Reply Close comment form

#6

Senthil
July 10th, 2009 at 8:18 am

Just Awesome

Reply Close comment form

#7

Oliver
July 10th, 2009 at 8:31 am

wow, this is really out there (in a good way), pretty cool concept and ideas

Reply Close comment form

#8

Luis Eduardo
July 10th, 2009 at 8:43 am

Is awesome, these pieces of art have a really hard work, i can imagine putting all those pencils together!!!!

Reply Close comment form

#9

insic
July 10th, 2009 at 9:43 am

ahhh your are wasting pencils! just kidding lol. Very impressive art, never seen like this before.

Reply Close comment form

#10

Ewout
July 10th, 2009 at 10:26 am

Stunning! Really, really great!

Reply Close comment form

#11

SportLogoDay
July 10th, 2009 at 11:35 am

Wow. How many little pencils and crayons. She had to make them? a lot of work before making this creatures;) Some of them look like monsters from the outerspaces. I love them. I would like to have something like this on my desk, Great piece of art.

Reply Close comment form

#12

matt
July 10th, 2009 at 11:47 am

wow that is just so cool, how do people think of these things?!!

thanks another great topic!

Reply Close comment form

#13

GBWebdesign
July 10th, 2009 at 11:58 am

Really impressive!
I would like to know how many pencils this guy uses in one week! I think it are more than I wil use in a whole year..

Reply Close comment form

#14

Johnson Koh
July 10th, 2009 at 11:59 am

Look like durian fruit in all kinds of weird shapes. But can see the great amount of work involved in making these!

1 Reply
Reply Close comment form

Steve Carter
July 12th, 2009 at 7:23 am

Hi Johnson,

Much fiercer than Durian! And not as tasty. : – )

–Steve

Reply Close comment form

#15

cssah
July 10th, 2009 at 12:03 pm

Amazing art,try to do

Reply Close comment form

#16

Marta
July 10th, 2009 at 12:19 pm

Wow, amazing! Great!

Reply Close comment form

#17

Gustavs Cirulis
July 10th, 2009 at 1:20 pm

Wow. Not that’s unique.

Reply Close comment form

#18

Gustavs Cirulis
July 10th, 2009 at 1:21 pm

I meant “Now”

Reply Close comment form

#19

Nicholas Z. Cardot
July 10th, 2009 at 1:33 pm

That’s talent right there! I’ve never even thought of making art out of pencils. Although once when I was in 4th grade I tried to make a statue out of Elmer’s glue. I failed miserably. But you’ve done a great job. Very impressive!

Reply Close comment form

#20

Ronald
July 10th, 2009 at 1:48 pm

You really made me ‘flashed’ – fantastic! Awesome great!

Reply Close comment form

#21

Morten
July 10th, 2009 at 2:27 pm

Crazy, I’ve never seen anything like this! Very cool

Reply Close comment form

#22

Aayush
July 10th, 2009 at 2:38 pm

WOW….this is insanely amazing….so cool….

Reply Close comment form

#23

christian
July 10th, 2009 at 3:12 pm

Nice. Not the pencil art I was thinking about….

Reply Close comment form

#24

Michael Wrigglesworth
July 10th, 2009 at 3:21 pm

Nice work. very original and interesting.

Reply Close comment form

#25

Adam
July 10th, 2009 at 3:34 pm

Pencil art… I’ve never heard of anything like it, its crazy.

Some of those photographs are simply breathtaking… inspired.

Reply Close comment form

#26

lisa t
July 10th, 2009 at 3:52 pm

These are absolutely stunning. I love that she came up with the idea of using pencils as a material. Can’t imagine how long each takes to create.

Reply Close comment form

#27

Matt Ward
July 10th, 2009 at 3:57 pm

Not quite was expecting when I saw the term “Pencil Art” in my news reader… but totally awesome nonetheless. So pretty and spiky. Awesome work!

Reply Close comment form

#28

Teacher teacher
July 10th, 2009 at 5:22 pm

I’m fascinated by these.
#12 jpg is particularly intriguing to me. It gives me a sense of a cave opening to allow the inner monster to enter? Emerge? I like how the image of sharp ends echoes the shape made by the flat pencil ends.

Reply Close comment form

#29

mEtAmorPher
July 10th, 2009 at 5:31 pm

it is quite impressive, but now the question is: does she cut the pencil’s body or sharp the pencil til’ its top? lol

Reply Close comment form

#30

macrac
July 10th, 2009 at 5:41 pm

WOW!!! It is amazing! … If you’re bored at work…

Reply Close comment form

#31

Brad C
July 10th, 2009 at 7:21 pm

I expected something completely different from the title. I’m impressed and surprised.

Reply Close comment form

#32

GrandmasterB
July 10th, 2009 at 7:46 pm

Simply amazing! I can’t imagine the level of patience you’d need to creat a piece of artwork like that. Good Stuff!

Reply Close comment form

#33

tinyURL Whacker
July 10th, 2009 at 9:58 pm

Seems like you’d get poked a lot doing that…

Reply Close comment form

#34

joel k.
July 11th, 2009 at 2:29 am

nice art form-very cool
its amazing how some artists take a medium to express there talent

it takes an artist just to come up with the idea, and then you need the talent to get right, and after that comes all the copy cats who actually exceed your work and do it better then you, but you sure did give some damm art too the world, so be proud of it.

Reply Close comment form

#35

Anthony Woods
July 11th, 2009 at 3:36 am

wow never seen anything like it, total inspiration!

Reply Close comment form

#36

Empire Elements
July 11th, 2009 at 5:56 am

Honestly speaking, I am really impressed, because this is what I call a talented individual.

I pray that you achieve success in life.

Angela

Reply Close comment form

#37

bucabay
July 11th, 2009 at 11:10 am

How do you do that? wow!

Reply Close comment form

#38

Danny Hinde
July 11th, 2009 at 1:59 pm

WOW! Absolutely amazing, I’ve never seen such a creative use of pencils! Just goes to show how everyday objects can be turned into art.

Great post.

Reply Close comment form

#39

Pranav
July 11th, 2009 at 5:25 pm

Woah! They are really, really impressive works of art! Some gave me the goosebumps!

Reply Close comment form

#40

Dani McDaniel
July 12th, 2009 at 2:28 am

Though amazing I can’t help but feel as though artwork like this is a waste of precious resources both in the actual resources that it took to make the pencils but also, imagine if all those pencils had been donated to children without?
As artists/designers we are in a unique position to help bring conservation and “re-creating” to attention and help to show the world that with a bit of imagination we can create beautiful things without hurting the planet. That being said and since these pieces have already been created.. they are an incredible example of creativity definitely worthy of being admired Thanks for posting!

Reply Close comment form

#41

Deluxe Interactive
July 12th, 2009 at 10:36 am

bloody cool works

Reply Close comment form

#42

Callum Chapman
July 12th, 2009 at 11:13 am

Never in my life have I seen anything so good! That’s incredible…

Reply Close comment form

#43

aledesign.it
July 12th, 2009 at 11:26 am

Amazing, Fantastic..Awesome..Is possible to have a tutorial? Very nice work…

Reply Close comment form

#44

Kenny
July 12th, 2009 at 1:24 pm

Very cool! I have never seen anything like that. Reminds me of sponges and other under sea creatures.

Reply Close comment form

#45

Windgefluester
July 12th, 2009 at 5:02 pm

WOW amazing work!!! what for a fun idear!!!!!

Reply Close comment form

#46

Asha
July 13th, 2009 at 6:37 am

Extremely creative and unique!

Regards,
Asha

Reply Close comment form

#47

Laura Montgomery
July 14th, 2009 at 11:54 am

Wow these are just amazing… Such a talent! It must take some patience and skill to create these and make them look so impressive!

I wonder what sort of marks you’d make trying to create the other type of ‘pencil art’ if you were to draw using one of these sculptures =D

Reply Close comment form

#48

Vijay Wadnere
July 14th, 2009 at 1:08 pm

Amazing creativity!

But, sorry to say, waste of resources (lots of pencils, lots of lead!).
That means cutting of lots of trees…!

You sharpened each and every piece of pencil, that means lots of wastage, again.
And yet the purpose of “pencil” is not fulfilled.

Its like, you tie some hand grenades together and kill someone by hitting that bunch on him.

I would love to see a similar or even better artwork by some recycled stuff or even ‘waste’ stuff. As an artiste, and as a human being you carry a responsibility – to our mother earth. Please don’t forget this.

1 Reply
Reply Close comment form

Prashant
July 16th, 2009 at 9:54 am

I totally agree. I call this insensitive art. It is nice but it is evil.

Reply Close comment form

#49

squareart
July 15th, 2009 at 2:28 pm

One word = WOW!

Reply Close comment form

#50

Ritesh Pandey
July 15th, 2009 at 7:05 pm

really its very nice. i have not words for it. really very-very beautiful.

Reply Close comment form

#51

Liz (madeinlowell)
July 16th, 2009 at 12:01 am

Jen is not only a brilliant artist who works hard and makes amazing sculptures, she is also a super fun person! Thanks for featuring her incredible work!!

Reply Close comment form

#52

bash
July 17th, 2009 at 10:28 am

brilliant work but still lot of pencils wasted….
She can think something different as all looks alike

Reply Close comment form

#53

Rahul Deherkar
July 17th, 2009 at 5:54 pm

Awsome!!!

Reply Close comment form

#54

manola
August 6th, 2009 at 7:48 pm

won-der -full
maravilloso
brillant
brillante
good
buenisimooooooo

.)

Reply Close comment form

#55

dapas
August 20th, 2009 at 7:31 am

it’s all use new pencil or used?

Reply Close comment form

#56

Director
August 25th, 2009 at 1:26 am

Excelente idea

Reply Close comment form

#57

Banhawi
September 3rd, 2009 at 10:02 pm

Wow , very impressive

Reply Close comment form

#58

Kiran Patel
September 4th, 2009 at 6:50 pm

The Extreme Creativity

Reply Close comment form

#59

Rizal
October 1st, 2009 at 6:51 pm

wow, keren banget..
very amazing..

Reply Close comment form

#60

Tasorius
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:14 pm

wow, that’s very interesting…

Reply Close comment form

#61

Kelsey
November 20th, 2009 at 6:26 pm

I’ve never seen anything like that! Truly mesmerizing. I love the colors and how they are used to make patterns.

Reply Close comment form

#62

Tony
December 1st, 2009 at 7:34 am

Those are absolutely beautiful!

Reply Close comment form

#63

kessey row
January 11th, 2010 at 10:54 pm

it is awsome im going to copy your work!!!!!!!!!!

Reply Close comment form

#64

Sayla Vee
January 24th, 2010 at 1:01 am

My daughter is currently using crayons in a metals class, as she works toward her Art/Education degree. This will blow her away!

Very cool pieces! Where can I inquire about purchasing one?

Reply Close comment form

Name (required)

E-mail (required - never shown publicly)

Web-site

Your Comment (smaller size | larger size)

4+5=? (required)

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail

TOP OF PAGE

Web Designer Depot

Home| Advertising| About| Contact

© 2010 All Rights Reserved