hippo roller fundraiser by project h

dare i say we are all conscious enough to know that around the world the standards of living vary drastically, and that the basic things we are fortunate enough to have and use on a daily basis don’t come as easily to others located in other parts of the globe? take for example, clean water for drinking. project h, an organization that promotes and produces humanitarian product design supports the hippo roller. this is an innovative barrel that makes collecting and transporting water safer and more efficient in remote locations. the barrel holds about five times more water than what can be collected using traditional methods.

in april, project h will be traveling to south africa and has plans to hand 50 hippo rollers over personally to a group of 17 villages in the community of kgautswane. they need assistance in funding this project. for just $100, you can participate by sponsoring one of these thoughtful products that will aid and support the fulfillment of a basic need.

if you believe that thoughtful design can change communities and lives, maybe this is something that will interest you too. the deadline is april 13th, 2008.

sign yourself up or get some friends together and sponsor a roller right here.

via inhabitat

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jennifer maestre sculpture

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look closely at the fantastic sea creatures created by south african born, massachusetts based sculptor jennifer maestre and you will see that they’re made of pencils. that’s right, you heard me. jen’s current work is skillfully crafted from hundreds and hundreds of colored pencils. they’re cut into one inch pieces, sharpened and then drilled through to become beads, and then sewn together using a peyote stitch. in each of these incredible works you can feel the approach-avoid paradox from her medium - a clear and surprising achievement (and one of her goals). you can also see the genesis and extension of a simply fascinating idea.

all that contrasty tension in the spikey points and smooth, undulating surfaces serve as reminders of all that is dangerously attractive in nature. the textures, at first glance, give way to a certain complex reveal that comes from deep inside a person who is not only a visionary, but also a truly enlightened master of color.

i love to see the progression and throughlines of artist’s work, and jen’s website is a fabulous example of this. knowing that she started out with the idea using nails when she was a student (see the first 3 photos above), and then having it evolve organically into pencils and then being nimble enough with the concept to extend this thought into something wearable and accessible to people who aren’t hardcore collectors is truly extraordinary and seems so purposeful, and successful to me.

and i want to touch everything, even though they’re sharp, and stick my head inside that tall guy with the gaping hole at the top, to see all the spikes in there. to stare. and think and evolve like the piece itself must have done.

see more magnificence on jennifer’s website.

bonus: check out her beautiful pendants, pins and small sculpture in her etsy shop!

via designboom

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