Polka Dot Porcelain Skull

NooN, from France, created this polka dot porcelain skull through K.olin Tribu. I love the anatomical detail of the sculpture itself. The polka dots are an unexpected playful addition. Since skulls are related to death, the polka dots remind me of the red and black fabric dots and beauty marks people used to put over small pox scars and blemishes on their faces. This was popular from the 1600s through the 1800s. Other than covering facial flaws, they were placed to signify many things. Here is a little guide to the history and meaning behind the popular beauty practice. I wonder what it would mean if they were all over someone's face...perhaps that they needed to visit a doctor.

Lenore's Super Ceramic Skull Saturday

French artist Lenore62 can clearly be regarded as a skull fanatic when you peruse the multitude of skulls she's creating. These ceramic skullptures are quite the impressive group, but it's just a fraction of her body of work that includes drawing and painting as well.  I posted my favorite of the bunch first, but the plant holder and spike mohawk skulls are tied for a very close second.  Thanks for sharing all of them Lenore!

Collborative Snow Skull

Back in March, Lisa Nichols got a lot of snow in West Haven, CT. Her husband, Jeff Slomba, made this snow skull with his two boys, Luke and Henry.

I love seeing what people create out of snow, especially when it's a skull. This is a fantastic one! I'm glad this was a family creation, as something of this scale definitely requires teamwork. Though Spring has finally showed up here in Richmond, VA, I know several places still have snow. If you still have snow, we fully expect you all to create a snow skull! If you have, please submit it to us!

Thomas' Trio of Skulls

Thomas Maguin is a French skull making artist here to show us his diversity with this trio of skulls.

“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength."

True words spoken by someone you know.  Diversity teaches us to appreciate all things, and I appreciate you sharing yours with us, Thomas.  Thanks!  

Data Skull

Steven Rodrig of  PCB Creations in Newport News, VA sent us this data skull made
from recycled printed circuit boards and components.

Next Generation C says:

Dead Media at its best. It is amazing to think about that just 25 years ago these circuit boards would have been considered too precious or too expensive to throw away and now they end up in the landfill by the truck load.  Thank you for finding a second life for these by-products of our modern-life and also for sharing your work with us.

[CONTEST REMINDER] Win a "Til Death Do Us Part" heart skull by Joshua Harker

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED,  THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!

Don't forget you have until 11:59pm Eastern USA Time, TONIGHT,  Friday, February 15, 2013 to make an entry comment to win a "Til Death Do Us Part" heart skulls created by Joshua Harker. You can find the original contest post by clicking the side bar ad, or visiting this link.

[NOTE: If you are reading this on Facebook or Google+, you must go to THE ACTUAL BLOG POST HERE to enter this contest! You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+] 

[CONTEST REMINDER] Win a "Til Death Do Us Part" heart skull by Joshua Harker

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED,  THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING! 

Don't forget you have until 11:59pm Eastern USA Time Friday, February 15, 2013 to make an entry comment to win a "Til Death Do Us Part" heart skulls created by Joshua Harker. You can find the original contest post by clicking the side bar ad, or visiting this link.

[NOTE: If you are reading this on Facebook or Google+, you must go to THE ACTUAL BLOG POST HERE to enter this contest! You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+] 

[CONTEST] Win a "Til Death Do Us Part" heart skull by Joshua Harker

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED,  THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING! 

In celebration of Valentine's Day this week and to show off his love for the the Skull-A-Day community for supporting his past projects, Joshua Harker is giving away one of his recently created  "Til Death Do Us Part" heart skulls to one lucky reader.

Sculptor, inventor, imagination architect, digital adventurer, and troublemaker. Joshua Harker is one of the most recognized artists working in the 3D printing medium. He became known for "making the unmakeable" with his Tangles series which hold rank as the very first organic forms of such complexity to ever be created. He most recently became an internet sensation using crowd-funding to disseminate his art and currently holds the #1 & #4 most funded Sculpture projects ever on Kickstarter (Crania Anatomica Filigre & Anatomica di Revolutis). Joshua's work has appeared in TIME Magazine, WIRED, Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, MSNBC, TED Talks, National Geographic, Cool Hunting, Venture Beat, Boing Boing, as well as countless others.

PRIZE INFO:  "Til Death Do Us Part" heart skull in red.

Depicting the bittersweet experience of love & loss as well as suggesting that love is what you make of it. The anchor & chain are intended to symbolize the security of steadfast loyalty in stormy seas and that which keeps you from becoming aimlessly adrift. The arrow is love's tool of capture and the weeping tear symbolizes the pain of loss. The suspended ring demonstrates the promise of commitment. The skull is the symbol of the end of us all and the reminder of living in the present.  Dimensions: 4.5" x 2.0" x 7.2" (11.5 x 5.1 x 18.3 cm) Material: 3D printed polyamide (essentially a nylon/glass powder fused together with a laser)

HOW TO ENTER: Leave a comment below telling us where you would take this heart skull on a date.

CONTACT INFO: If you win, we need to contact you. With your comment, please INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!!! Entries are only valid with this information.

WHERE TO ENTER: All entries must be made on this blog post, on Skull-A-Day.com. You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

CONTEST CLOSES: 11:59:59 PM Eastern USA Time Friday, February 15, 2012.

NUMBER OF WINNERS: One

PRIZE SHIPS: This contest is open to all skull lovers around the world.

IF YOU DON'T WIN: This piece is available in alternative colors as well as other work created by  Joshua in his store HERE.

Pepper Skull

Parade float artist, and past contributor, Marcus Pollitz in Pomona, California created this skull using natural materials.  He wrote: " This is 1 of 12 skulls made for Dia de Los Muertos at the Autry National Center.  The display '12 Tribes of Seed' are all sculpted and decorated in natural materials. This pepper skull is made up of several different chiles, peppercorns, pepper seeds, and crush sweet rice."

 Spicy C says:

It is truly amazing how the natural world provides us with such wonderful items that we can create with. I really like the look of the fire that seems to be erupting from the top it captures the look that one may expect to experience if one were to mistakenly eat a spoonful of habenero relish not realizing that a spoonful was way too much.  Thank you for sharing once again some of your interesting skull related work with us.

Steampunk(?) Skullpture

Today, Teresa Reaver  presents us with, "A sculpture piece I completed in Mexico for De La Los Muertos this year."  It appears to me to be a combination of steampunk and stone.

Teresa's work is wonderful in many ways. She uses a lot of different elements in her work (stone, metal, glass, wood) and the details are astounding. Check out this thoughtful skeleton if you want to see more. Thanks for sharing your work, Teresa!

Wabbi-igami Skull

Artist Jaisen Yates who lives and works in Newcastle Upon Tyne in the UK sent us a piece of his work.  He explained: "My Wabbi-igami sculpture is made from molded resin with a real skull set into the resin after drying using car body filler, which was then shaped and spray painted."

Donnie C says:

Frank is that you?  I am recognizing recently that I am a fan of assemblage art.  It truly is an incredible feat you accomplished with this piece, it has the look of fired porcelain, but you have mastered that element of disguise. It also reminds me a little bit of an award statue, congratulationg on winning a "Wabbi" for best artistic use of car body filler.  Thank you for sharing this piece with us.

Mythical Glass Skulls

Percy Echols is a glass sculptor working from Illinois State University.  I feel his description of his work does a waaaay better job than I could....

"Using fictional narrative, I create a mythology in which I deal with human perception and belief. The narrative itself focuses on the presence of corruption in the world. I use corruption analogously with change, influenced by talks by Jan Verwoert on corruption, care, and magic. As a medium, glass is chosen for its translucent properties that lend to the mystical. Through the narrative I draw inspiration from many religious and cultural mythologies, as well as my personal experiences. In rendering this process I use deconstruction and reconstruction of nature to render abstract creatures. These creatures together with other sculptural elements will tell a piece of the narrative."

Title: Solntsedar I: Character Attribute Study
Materials: Blown, Cast, Flamworked Glass, paint, and colored water

Detail view

Title: Syblline Abyss: Ravine
Materials: rolled steel, blown and cast glass, LEDs, arduino hardware

Glass sculpting is still one of my personally favorite art forms. These pieces are works of imagination brought to life by Percy. The mental becoming the physical by way of molten creationism and hand manipulated tools. Thanks for the great work, Percy!

[CONTEST REMINDER] Win a Skull Brain from Emilio Garcia

This contest has ended. Thanks to everyone who left a comment to enter.

Don't forget that you have until 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time TONIGHT to enter our latest giveaway contest for a "Skull Brain" from Emilio Garcia.

[NOTE: If you are reading this on Facebook or Google+, you must go to THE ACTUAL BLOG POST HERE to enter this contest! You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+]

Of course you can always put your own brain to good use by visiting Emilio's Fine Art Shop. You can find the Skull Brain and Jumping Brain there with a variety of options. Thanks again for the chance to free our minds, Emilio!

[CONTEST REMINDER] Win a Skull Brain from Emilio Garcia

This contest has ended. Thanks to everyone who entered with your comments.

Don't forget that you have until 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time Wednesday Dec. 19th to enter our latest giveaway contest for a "Skull Brain" from Emilio Garcia.

[NOTE: If you are reading this on Facebook or Google+, you must go to THE ACTUAL BLOG POST HERE to enter this contest! You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+]

Of course you can always put your own brain to good use by visiting Emilio's Fine Art Shop. You can find the Skull Brain and Jumping Brain there with a variety of options. Thanks again for the chance to free our minds, Emilio!

[CONTEST] Win a Skull Brain from Emilio Garcia

This contest has ended. Thanks to everyone who entered with your comments!

This week's giveaway from Emilio Garcia reminds me of some song lyrics I once heard, "Free your mind and the rest will follow".  By letting the brain take the skull's form he has created the "Skull Brain".  No argument needed for which side is more important, left or right, he shares his entire mind with you in this delightful and anatomically (in)correct work of art.  Never forgetting the true purpose of the skulls we love, to protect the most precious of organs. 

"Emilio Garcia was born in the winter of 1981 near Barcelona, Spain. He has a long career trajectory as freelance art director and visual artist. Since 1999 he has been specializing in motion graphics and multimedia content. His work is published in Taschen Favourite Websites and Web Design Index Books.  Concerned with the digitalization of our society, Emilio saw his culture moving slowly away from the tangible. As reaction to this, he left his multimedia career and embraced the tactile. Drawn to the fascination of plastic, he started a new stage with the Secret Lapo Laboratories, a space for plastic experimentation, where he can give capacity to his artistic restlessness, far away from bits, clicks, databases, and scripts. Out of this desire to make form with his own hands, the Jumping Brain viral was born. " *taken from Emilio's site

Emilio's newest piece is a perfect match for the intelligent group of fans that we have.  The "Skull Brain" takes the gift and makes it the box.  It  replaces the bones with the brains and still maintains the everlasting shape of the casing that we all know.

The entire creation process is documented for viewing on Emilio's Flickr collection.  Be sure to check it out if you want to see how he got from the above to the below.

PRIZE INFO: One (1) Skull Brain measuring 7 x 5.5 x 5 inches resin cast, and comes in the winner's choice of 4 different finishes: PINK: Gloss nitro,  GRAPHITE: Sand textured,  CHROME: Nickel plated, or 24K: Gold plated. 

HOW TO ENTER: Leave a comment below voting for the side of the brain that you feel is more important- Left or Right.  No explanation or argument is required, just a simple left or right will get you entered.  I'm gonna go metaphysical and vote for the inner brain that contains the 3rd all seeing eye, but only I get that vote.  Oh, and Jessica, too.

CONTACT INFO: If you win, we need to contact you. With your comment, please include your email, or make sure your Blogger profile has a working email link for you on it. Entries are only valid with this information.

WHERE TO ENTER: All entries must be made on this blog post, on Skull-A-Day.com. You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

CONTEST CLOSES: 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time Wednesday, December 19th.

NUMBER OF WINNERS: One

PRIZE SHIPS: This contest is open to all skull lovers around the world. The minds of the masses must be appeased.

IF YOU DON'T WIN: You can always put your own brain to good use by visiting Emilio's Fine Art Shop.  You can find the Skull Brain and Jumping Brain there with a variety of options.  Thanks again for the chance to free our minds, Emilio!

Faux Decayed Skull

Eben C. O'Connor from Seattle, WA created this skull. He explained, "Here is a photo (actually scanned face down on a flatbed scanner with black cloth over) of a sculpture I did a few years back. Cast in plaster with epoxy, liquid latex, egg-tempera paints, and a sterling filigree heart found within the walls of an old house renovation."

This skull reminds me of horror tales. It looks partially decayed and haunting. Since the filigree heart is from a home renovation, this skull makes me think of all those stories of ghosts and supernatural occurrences at homes when they are renovated or built on burial grounds. The spirits are disturbed and skeletons start coming out of the ground... ok, enough of the terrifying stories. I hope this creepy beauty doesn't give you any bad dreams.

Day of the Dead Sheriff

Artist Lorelei Lombard at DEVOUT HOME in Rocky River, OH sent us this sculpture she made of Paper Mache & Plaster over Chicken Wire. It stands 30" tall.

 Depu-C says: 

In the age where artists are constantly pushing the bounds of technology to produce new work, I truly appreciate the traditional folk art in which ones hands actually get dirty in the process.  There is something primordial in the act of physically creating something tangible from nothing.  Thank you for submitting this work for us to share.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 6.22

Today's skull were spotted by our own skull man, Noah Scalin.

Spotted this screaming skull on the bottom of my shoe today!

While in Washington, D.C., Noah "Spotted this guy looking in the window of my train as we sat in the station."


Keep sending those pictures in, we always love seeing what our skull hunters find. Anyone is welcomed to participate, it's fun and it's easy- if you see a simulacra skull, photograph it and send those pictures in to our submissions address with a little something about what it is really and maybe a little about you.


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Starry Skull

Artist & Designer Janreji from France showed us a prototype of this latest work earlier this year HERE.  They return with a finished example that served as a sculpture target, for the last hole of a Parisian street golf course. You can read more about the process of making this piece HERE.

In use

Van C says:

Thank you for continuing to keep us updated on the skull-a-rific work you continue to do.  It may seem like  I say this often, but it is truly wonderful to be able to revisit with some of our past contributors and watch how their work progresses. I certainly could never have imagined earlier this year that your piece would be reworked into mini golf hole.

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Record skull

Ryan Kinney from Ashtabula, OH made this skull with old records formed over a mask.

Records are considered one form of "dead media", but to me and many other vinyl enthusiasts  they are still alive and well in our massive collections. There is something about the crackles and pops of a record that you can't get with a CD, or MP3. I love the tactile quality of being able to hold the music in my hand, vs only digitally view. That being said, I do enjoy seeing bad or damaged records recycled into artwork, like this skull.


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20 more days and counting...