While Mr. Forager & I are on the road, making our way to California, we’re rerunning Artsy Forager’s most popular posts. This post originally published on February 7, 2012 and got a huge bump thanks to being featured on the Freshly Pressed WordPress feature. Enjoy!
I love it when painters explore their 3-dimensional side. I’m not talking about donning special sunglasses to see the latest technology driven flick. I mean, when artists who normally work in 2-dimensions explore the world of sculpture. The result is often magical, their paintings come to life! Seattle artist Liz Tran ( an Artsy Forager fave ) brings her color saturated paintings to life in ceramic form.
My Rayonier, glazed ceramic, acrylic ink, acrylic paint, 19x15x9
Perhaps what draws me to Liz’s work time and time again is her obvious love for the outdoors and the way she expresses that affection in joyful color and whimsical lines. The sculpture above, My Rainer, holds a special draw for me, as Mount Rainier is my favorite mountain. Rainier has been the site of some wonderful memories for my husband and I, and Liz has captured its magic in such a unique way.
My Rayonier ( detail ), glazed ceramic, acrylic ink, acrylic paint
Of course, who could forget her twisting, multi-hued trees? She mimics their shapes and winding branches in these ceramic creations. In this form, they almost take on an alien-like quality, which I am totally digging.
Untitled
Backbone Two, glazed ceramic, wood, acrylic ink, acrylic paint, 5x5x36
Then there are her Backbone pieces, which I must confess, are my fave! They are one part tree trunk + one part stacked tea cup + one part graphic color = total wonderfulness! How amazing would a grouping of these be in a children’s hospital? Or tucked away in a garden?
To see more of Liz Tran’s sculptures and paintings, please visit her website. You can also check out my feature on Liz’s paintings here.
All images are via the artist’s website.
laurenturtonphotography
February 7, 2012 at 9:41 AMVery dream like!
Lauren Turton
keatslover
February 7, 2012 at 11:22 PMI love it all! somehow reminds me of a few Beatles’ songs:)
Lesley
February 8, 2012 at 8:00 AMLove that, Keatslover! Huge Beatle fan here. 🙂
Cheers!
Lesley
Mikalee Byerman
February 7, 2012 at 10:48 AMVERY fun sculptures — great colors! 🙂
amiarting
February 7, 2012 at 10:49 AMnice!!
http://www.amiarting.wordpress.com
Cathy
February 7, 2012 at 10:50 AMThese are nice 🙂
valentinedee
February 7, 2012 at 11:23 AMVery colorful and creative. Great job!
val
http://valentinedefrancis.wordpress.com
The Hook
February 7, 2012 at 11:39 AMWhat can I say? Incredible!
DoF@theinfill
February 7, 2012 at 11:44 AMLike the acrobatic one particularly – great feeling of movement both in colour and shape. Thanks for sharing these – v interesting 😉
ekhaugli
February 7, 2012 at 11:53 AMVery interesting sculptors and fun to see mountains depicted in such vibrant colors. Clearly a place she loves!
ekhaugli
February 7, 2012 at 11:54 AMI meant sculptures…. should have proofread 😉
Cindy L Riemersma
February 7, 2012 at 1:01 PMWow! I am so glad I found your blog! I love art, am an artist myself, and I Love what I have seen so far! I am going to keep looking.
agroekonomija
February 7, 2012 at 1:20 PMInteresting! It is wonderful!
snooway
February 7, 2012 at 2:14 PMbeautiful!
Supriadi
February 7, 2012 at 2:24 PMVery cool post and pics 🙂
mortondesignworks
February 7, 2012 at 2:28 PMI agree, the Backbone pieces are my favorite as well!
Lesley
February 7, 2012 at 2:45 PMThanks for stopping by, everyone! I’m glad to see you enjoy Liz’s work as much as I do. Make sure you click through the link in the article to Liz’s websites and take a look at her paintings, you won’t be sorry!
Lots of other fun artists to explore on Artsy Forager, as well. Welcome!
Cheers,
Lesley
Ryan
February 7, 2012 at 2:53 PMCool, creative!
gaycarboys
February 7, 2012 at 3:13 PMHow extraordinary. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.
cabinorganic
February 7, 2012 at 4:50 PMUnexpected and refreshing! May be all step outside the box in as many creative ways!!!
Lulu Simawati
February 7, 2012 at 5:58 PMColorful ! Like rainbow. I also have a posting about the rainbow. Here is the link http://priajelita.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/shes-a-rainbow/ Please check it if you have time. Thank you
batteries UK online shop
February 7, 2012 at 6:32 PMgreat sculpture and good color!
http://batteriesworld.wordpress.com
Bold Wandering
February 7, 2012 at 7:09 PMBeautiful colors.
Jean
February 7, 2012 at 8:08 PMI must admit the lst piece, I had mistakened it for a draped scarf! It’s a compliment to the artist since it looked diaphonous to me.
delightfilledart
February 7, 2012 at 9:24 PMFreshly pressed – congratulations. I continue to enjoy your blog! Love learning about other artists.
http://delightfilledart.wordpress.com
LadyT
February 7, 2012 at 9:46 PMvery creative and cool! im inspired to try something of my own.. congrats on being freshly pressed!
Randis Silas
February 7, 2012 at 10:35 PMLove the colors on the sculptures!
Talitha
February 8, 2012 at 12:02 AMReblogged this on My Favorite Spaces.
Lesley
February 8, 2012 at 8:00 AMThanks for reblogging, Talitha!
7theaven
February 8, 2012 at 3:20 AMThe epitome of creativity I have seen in a long time.
Great work!
whenquiet
February 8, 2012 at 3:46 AMTotally agree that such artsy installments would be perfect for a Children’s hospital…And the one backbone scultpure idea would be cool as a pretzel….a baking pretzel idea for toddlers:-)
bijuterii argint
February 8, 2012 at 5:06 AMNice sculptures…this is realy original
shyam sundar
February 8, 2012 at 7:10 AMgood colors!!
Chaks
February 8, 2012 at 8:09 AMvery creative work. The colors perfect.
TechSmartLife
Distance Landaverde
February 8, 2012 at 9:20 AMI recently been looking into papier mache and I totally agree as far as exploring the three dimensional side of art, I am currently working on a piece that is a direct result of being inspired by the works of artists such as Erika Takacs and Sergio Bastamantes and others whose work takes on a three dimensional turn. Ceramics calls out to me and I love these pieces you have here.
INDIATRIPPING.COM
February 8, 2012 at 9:50 AMThe backbone piece is nice but i really love the untitled one. Great work.
claudsy
February 8, 2012 at 9:52 AMI have to admit never having seen any of this type of art, which makes for a unique experience. The colors have a child-like exuberance that one doesn’t find in most art, even that of abstract rendering. I do like Mt. Rainier and the acrobatic one. The Backbone one isn’t one I’d choose, but I can understand its draw for others.
Cassie
February 8, 2012 at 10:10 AMThis is awesome.
katemadison365
February 8, 2012 at 10:11 AMLove it when artists go beyond the canvas and Liz Tran has won me over just as Lynn Hunter has with her work (her link is below). Two rather different styles, but each speak to me. Thanks for introducing me to Liz’s work!
http://hollowmoonz.com/section/30877.html
dikalev
February 8, 2012 at 10:15 AMReblogged this on dikazworld.
Lesley
February 8, 2012 at 10:41 AMThanks for reblogging!
Cheers!
Lesley
Eryka
February 8, 2012 at 11:38 AMhey i love your blog i love art to
http://angeleryka.wordpress.com/ check out my blog 🙂
creekrose
February 8, 2012 at 12:58 PMwow, perspective is something . . . when i first looked at the first photograph, i thought i was seeing silk/gauze hankies piled up to make mountains . . .it took a shift to see that there’s no cloth involved and it’s sculpural! pretty neat :0)
Sarah Harris
February 8, 2012 at 2:17 PMThose are really cool! Thanks for sharing! I will definitely add more texture and dimension next time I make something!
Chris
February 8, 2012 at 5:12 PMPretty top notch! I was just lookin at other blogs for inspiration, but I thought that I wouls slow down and take a peek. Good work sista. I just started a new blog about 5 days ago, and I’m still figuring it out. Its a are sight dedicated to corvettes! It is clean if you wanna check it out. I’m at ‘ettevroc’ on wordpress. Thanks for takin the time! L8ter.
francifularts
February 8, 2012 at 7:20 PMI really love the layered look of the colors, almost like layers of tissue paper! Thanks for sharing your photos, and exposing me to an artist I was unaware of! As a Washington resident, it was great to see Mount Rainier reinterpreted as a bright and color splashed form! Wouldn’t that blow our minds if we woke up one morning and Mt. Rainier actually looked like that?
Lesley
February 8, 2012 at 8:06 PMRainier is full of color in the summertime! We were hiking there last August, loved all the wild flowers, glaciers and such!
Foto Clipping
February 8, 2012 at 10:21 PMwow! lovely!
kboehnlein
February 8, 2012 at 11:01 PMWow, I love the colors she uses…she makes viewing the natural world through her eyes a very whimsical experience!
Lesley
February 9, 2012 at 7:56 AMLove that perspective, K! Thanks for visiting!
Cheers!
Lesley
healingpilgrim
February 9, 2012 at 12:36 AMLove this post and Liz’s artwork – especially the Backbone series, which I plan to check out on her website. Looking forward to more of your foraging 🙂
Thanks for digging around, discovering and sharing!!
aj
healingpilgrim.wordpress.com
Lesley
February 9, 2012 at 7:57 AMPlease do check out more of Liz’s work on her website, AJ! She really has something very special. I could look at her work all day every day and never tire of it!
Not Just A Mummy
February 9, 2012 at 2:29 AMlove the colours, im doing sculpture at the moment and really enjoying it
cravencreativity
February 9, 2012 at 6:05 AMThis is amazing work! I have myself recently transitioned from 2-D painter to 3-D yarn artist and have really been having a good time experimenting ‘painting with yarn’! I combine color and texture in my yarn creations the same way I did through my paintings, its aroused in me new creative perspective. This is a great blog you’ve got and I look forward to following along with it!
Karen
PS. Congrats on being freshly pressed 🙂
Lesley
February 9, 2012 at 7:55 AMThanks, Karen! Glad you found Artsy Forager through Freshly Pressed and good luck with your new venture into 3-D!
Cheers!
Lesley
rumahsangguru
February 9, 2012 at 6:06 AMfantastic…
gamerankman
February 9, 2012 at 7:38 AMGreat post, really nice images
The GroundHog
February 9, 2012 at 9:29 AMReblogged this on Talk Art2me and commented:
Here’s a great article about Seattle artist Liz Tran who works ceramic in wonderful, ways. Good read.
Lesley
February 9, 2012 at 9:31 AMThanks so much for reblogging! Going to check out Talk Art2me! ( Great blog name, by the way! )
Cheers,
Lesley
star girl
February 9, 2012 at 9:34 AMReblogged this on star girl and commented:
Love love love this.
Lesley
February 9, 2012 at 10:28 AMThanks for reblogging, Star Girl!
Cheers!
Lesley
Sinta Jimenez
February 9, 2012 at 10:18 AMThat is very very cool, the entire process must be so satisfying, so many textures and dimensions to think of!
lizpurdy
February 9, 2012 at 10:28 AMMy Rainier is beautiful! Love it.
Birthday in NYC
February 9, 2012 at 11:17 AMOne of the great things about this type of branching out by an artist is that you sometimes reveal a talent that has previously gone unrealized. I am a huge fan of 3D art in general, and love to see a painter take it to the next level. I was introduced to some 3D concepts originally at Union Square here in NYC, where some street chalk artists had created some magnificent works of art in the style. Then, I saw some 2D artists make the transition to sculpture, adding colors that I had not previously seen before. Now, I’m in love.
This Mt. Rainier sculpture is beautiful – ever done any exhibiting in NYC?
Lesley
February 9, 2012 at 11:45 AMBirthday, you can check Liz’s website to see if she’s exhibited in NYC.. http://www.liztran.com. Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers!
Lesley
gypsy
February 9, 2012 at 2:43 PMincredible!
Krysta Marie [Purple Pond]
February 9, 2012 at 2:43 PMbeautiful! love the bright colors and form.
butterflyacres
February 9, 2012 at 5:51 PMI love how whimsical the mountain is.
It reminds me of the children’s story ‘The mountain that loved a bird’ illustrated by Eric Carle
odisumantri
February 9, 2012 at 8:37 PMGood writing, on a mix of beautiful colors
Web development Hyderabad
February 9, 2012 at 9:32 PMGreat Picture and nice blog
helliumworks
February 10, 2012 at 1:03 AMwow..!! very nice color 🙂
The Background Story
February 10, 2012 at 3:01 AMWow! These are amazing!
I also would like to see how sculptors (or those who works in 3D) paint/draw. Should also be interesting 🙂
Lesley
February 10, 2012 at 7:56 AMGreat idea, Background Story! I’m sure that will come up as a feature soon.. 😉
Cheers!
Lesley
septic tank emptying essex
February 10, 2012 at 6:34 AMI never think of 3-dimensional art, I always think of the typical canvas work but it is awesome and every piece is unique. Got to have a good spot for it in the house though 🙂
Hoe
February 10, 2012 at 6:53 AMShe can help God to create mountains!
Lesley
February 10, 2012 at 7:55 AMHaha! Love that.
Cheers!
Lesley
icelandic safety stirrups
February 10, 2012 at 7:11 AMLove this artwork! It would be perfect in my front room.
Pickyourbrains
February 11, 2012 at 6:17 AMAmazing! Love the shapes and creativity! Thanks for sharing
redroomboulevard
February 15, 2012 at 7:54 AMwow this look so amazing!!
http://redroomboulevard.com/
The Stamping 'Roo
February 15, 2012 at 6:45 PMThese are gorgeous!
Jada Jasper-Stewart
April 23, 2012 at 8:11 AMI know right have you ever done anything like this before
2 bhk apartment for sale in bangalore
February 19, 2012 at 12:11 AMwow superb… i really like it….Awesome collection………..
olga66
March 20, 2012 at 9:53 AMTruly amazing works
Lesley
March 20, 2012 at 10:41 AMGlad you enjoyed them! Thanks for stopping by!
olga66
March 20, 2012 at 10:50 AMYou are welcome 🙂
sunnychance0207
October 4, 2012 at 10:32 AMReblogged this on sunnychance0207.