Mint Condition

There is so much inspiring art and design on the Web, and it's almost overwhelming how many art pieces you can find and enjoy. That's why "finder" sites are so helpful. These finders, who are often designers or artists themselves, cull the best of what's out there and present it in a beautiful format.

My new favorite finder site is Mint, a design blog by Ellie, a graphic designer from North Carolina. Ellie scours magazines and the Web for design trends and art treasures, and she obviously has an amazing eye. She's an artist and photographer in her own right, and you can check out her work on her Flickr photostream.

Here are two artists featured on Mint whose work resonates with me. English artist Claire Brewster uses found items to create her art. According to her web site, Brewster's work "is about retrieving the discarded, celebrating the unwanted and giving new life to the obsolete." This delicate rose papercut was crafted from an old map.
Brewster's biographical statement expresses perfectly how she finds art in what others might see as junk:

In between the glossy consumption of first-time retailed goods and those which are thrown out (to be incinerated or land-filled) is the netherworld of the second hand. Flea markets, carboots sales, and charity shops. Perhaps you can tell as much about a society by what it thows out as by what it puts in its museums as mementos of prior existence. It is the discarded and the second hand that provides Claire with much of her raw material and inspiration. In terms of her work environment, it is by surrounding herself with this that she creates her magical landscapes. This is not out of nostalgia but a genuine fascination with 'things', a desire to examine the overlooked. From this starting point, Brewster develops work that is greater than the sum of its parts.


Chris Kenny is another British artist whose work is featured on Mint. Like Brewster, he uses found materials in his work. This three-dimensional collage is called "The Norman Kingdom of Sicily," and the main images are from old maps. Kenny uses pins to suspend each piece, making each piece seem like a floating island.

Thanks, Ellie, for the inspiration!