I’m branching out on color here, and really loving it. I just took a trip to Dallas, TX and visited the Perot Museum. There were so many amazing crystal and mineral formations in their collection, I was quite inspired. Fluorescent minerals made an appearance, and I was so excited to see them in person.

Geode #30, Melrose

Geode #30

Geode #30

Geode #30

Their illustration style is not exactly something new, but it’s so well put together, consistent, and whole feeling. When I you really look into their imagery (they provide an awesome magnifying view on their site) you can see all the madness and details and creativity they posses. I almost don’t comprehend some of the characters they’ve made and have to double take constantly, it’s so very badass!

It was hard to even select a few images to post, but hopefully this is a great teaser.

I’m always looking for exercises and ways to “trick” myself into being creative and exploring. Sounds ridiculous, but I have a hard time getting myself to dive into the unknown world of anything is possible. I think that’s why I’m so attracted to this as a tool for the kind of trickery I use on myself.

Instant Face Maker, a Fun Art-Making Tutorial by FaceHeads | The Fox Is Black.

Shlian’s work is an incredible engineering fete of folding. His works often leave me puzzled on how they were constructed, and wanting to constantly see more of what he dreams up. They’re so very architectural and artistic, I very much love the way he works in which the energy and process dictate the final result. Similar to the way I create my own puzzles and paths in my own work as I go, yet incredibly structured, the opposite of my chaotic mass.

“I begin with a system of folding and at a particular moment the material takes over. Guided by wonder, my work is made because I cannot visualize it’s final realization; in this way I come to understanding through curiosity.”

- Matt Shlian, from his Artist Statement

All photos from mattshlian.com

All of this was long hours of creating and preparing and not sleeping and it was amazing! I’ll be sharing everything in time, but first, let’s talk Madrid.

My friend and I had an apartment for the week in Barrio Salamanca, walking distance to museums and parks and the older parts of town. As on any European trip, we spent hours and hours walking the streets and discovering all the details of Madrid. My bag always contained a pile of externally designed geodes, that I had already organically puzzled together, and some adhesive. I pasted up a piece when a wall, crevice, or crack caught my eye. It was such a beautiful process—I kept pulling out my predetermined shapes and they would fit exactly into the spot I found. All of my pieces were a metallic bronze color, which ended up being a very fitting color for gray Madrid.

A reader pointed out that my new style of geode is called a “druzy”, in which they “cover a surface in more or less outward pointing clusters of small crystals”. You’re going to see a lot of druzy moving forward. I’m still calling them all geodes for the sake of the project, but there will be more types of formations growing around the world from now on.

#21

#21 Pasting up my first Spanish geode.

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#21 Underneath the aqueduct where the geode lives.

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Trompe L’oeil mural and letters across from the geode.

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#24 and 25

#24 & 25

#24 & 25

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I was thinking about quick and different ways to produce these pieces and conjured up this formation. It’s still a geodesic, crystallized shape, but it now protrudes from the wall rather than being embedded like an actual vug or geode rock. Inspired by Space Invader‘s work, I tiled the resin piece directly to the outside wall. I like to imagine some buildings are still internally compressing their insides into crystals, but some of them are now oozing and creeping out.

Getting a lift from my friend to tile the geode high on the wall

Geode #20

Geode #20

Geode #20

Geode #20

All images by Gregory Tuzin.

Geode 18 installation

Geode #18 & 19

Geode #18 & 19

Geode #18

Geode #19

All photos by Gregory Tuzin

I have a list of more to hit when I get back next year, but over the next few days I’ll be revealing what I did get done. Check out #17 shown below, silver resin in a large vent that had been painted over. This is located in the Mission District, I’ll be updating my map this week as well. Lovely mural on the rest of the wall, no?

Geode #17

Geode #17

Geode #17

Geode #17 Close Up

Geode #17 Close Up

Photos from Nathan Craven site.