This time of year, Real Art is a little bit like Santa’s workshop. But we share more in common with the big man than our love for all things red.

You already know a little bit about our Real Art gift exchange, thanks to Justin. We trade names in secret in the fall, but it’s usually a last minute panic attack waiting for things to dry and wrapping gifts in the car on the way to the party. (Creatives are great with the idea and the execution, but there’s no substitute for a deadline breathing down our necks.) Some of our gifts will even end up on Real Mart, for all of you to purchase and enjoy!

How do we celebrate finishing all our gifts—we party! In our second year having the annual bash in our new diggs, we pulled out all the stops. We had a full-out Christmas feast Tiny Tim would be proud of. Complete with a hearty-meal, a well stocked bar and desert table, no trimming was left behind. Our Christmas tree sported a custom fabricated steel base, made here at Real Art in all our “spare time,” no doubt. What can we say, details are our thing. Libby decked the halls and the place was jumpin’ well into the night. Rumor has it, epic dance-offs battled into the wee morning hours. Some photos from the party are below, or you can check out more on our Flickr page.

Lest you think we’re done with Christmas here at Real Art, we can’t wait to show you what’s next—it’s going to be awesome!

See the full Flickr Set

It’s abrasive, dense and very, very heavy. So why, exactly, would anyone want to work with concrete? Perhaps it’s because nothing says forever like a hunk of concrete, right? I love it. I mean, it is one of the most ancient and most versatile materials out there, which is pretty much the reason that I like it so much. With that said, I thought I’d share a little bit of how I get from a pile of powder, rock and sand to a solid, finessed shape. So here goes.

First of all, in order to get a good-looking result, I found that you need to start with some good materials. That basically meant coming up with my own mixes and recipes for the concrete I used. Since concrete is made up of two basic materials (Portland cement and an aggregate), it wasn’t too hard to get going. So, I experimented with different aggregates. Really, anything with sand works: fine sand, crushed glass, fertilizers, metal…you name it!

Okay, so now I had something to pour into the mold…mold? Yep, a mold (preferably reusable) is what came next. Molds are tricky too because planter molds aren’t like stepping stone molds, where you can just pour and extract. Instead, they have a hollow center that has to be extracted. So I had to keep all of that in mind. In fact, most of my molds start as sketches or diagrams because eventually I have to be able to build it.

Alright, now it’s time for the fun—pouring the concrete! I just mixed up all those dry ingredients with water, poured them into my mold (upside down), gave it a few good shakes to settle things in and waited. Okay, that’s not everything, but it’s close enough.

After I checked the clock a few hundred times—I am not that patient—it was time to remove the piece from its shell. Depending on how well I made that mold, it should come right out. Oh, and don’t think this is the last step, because there is one more, very important thing you have to do before it’s all done. Once the concrete piece is out of the mold, you have to wet it down and keep it moist for a few days. This helps the concrete set up. I mean, the planters I make aren’t in need of a great amount of structural support. I’ve put wire meshes and re-bar in them, but I think that’s a bit over kill for the size and end use. So, once it’s all cured, just clean everything up and repeat.

This may be a little too much “how to” for everyone, but there really isn’t any secret to using a bit of concrete and a mold. It really comes down to perfecting the making process and your own ideas. Personally I really like the idea of creating something that is simple, elegant and timeless. In fact, I don’t even like to use existing objects for mold creation. I really like the idea that every piece I make is unique to me. You can’t just go find a Styrofoam container and repeat the process. Along those lines, I also like the idea of making the molds upside down to get a more square, more perfect end result. Everything you see in the final product was molded on each side as opposed to troweled or smoothed by hand. As I keep developing new molds and new combinations, I keep the idea of simple and elegant in mind. I mean, who said something elegant can’t be elegant and very, very heavy!

And here’s what happens when everything doesn’t go as planned:

This looks like an exciting concept. You can just watch a “making of” video for now, but exhibits by John Maeda and Mariko Mori will be online soon. The site doesn’t work in Safari 5, but what does these days…

www.adobemuseum.com

“I wonder if real art comes when you build the thing that they don’t have a prize for yet.”

Full post >>

Click here to view the embedded video.

When the rock band OK Go, famous for their viral videos including the spectacular and award winning “treadmills video”, wanted to feature a 4-minute long Rube Goldberg Machine in an upcoming video, they tapped Syyn Labs to build it. The requirements were that it had to be interesting, not “overbuilt” or too technology-heavy, and easy to follow. The machine also had to be built on a shoestring budget, synchronize with beats and lyrics in the music and end on time over a 3.5 minute song, play a part of the song, and be filmed in one shot. To make things more challenging still, the space chosen was divided into two floors and the machine would use both.

Click here to view the embedded video.

From Liquid Treat: Dyna Moe, the New York-based illustrator and designer is the creator of Mad Men Illustrated, a delightful series of drawings, desktop wallpapers, and iPhone backgrounds inspired by scenes from the show and her own cache of period advertisements. “I’m emulating illustrators Aurelius Battaglia, Alice and Martin Provensen, Art Seiden, and J. P. Miller, who did illustration and commercial art during the era the show is set,”