Elegant Wireframe Animal Renderings by 3D Artist Mat Szulik

Freelance illustrator and 3D artist Mat Szulik (previously) creates incredibly realistic models, digitally rendering figures that appear as if they were formed from materials such as wood, and most recently wire. His latest project, titled The Wires v2, presents the outlines of forest creatures, horses, and beetles, each placed in stark, white environments or amongst trees built in the same style as the wire animals. The renderings are almost entirely silver wire, yet many also contain a gold core to add a further layer of dimensionality. You can see works from Szulik’s first wire series, The Wires v1, as well as other 3D projects on his Behance.

 

 

A Sutured Lawn Stitched with Cable by French Artist Estelle Chrétien

“Ground Operation,” lawn and electric cable, 39′, image courtesy of Estelle Chrétien

French artist Estelle Chrétien often works with the earth, producing land art installations that subtly weave a human experience into the natural landscape. In her work Ground Operation, Chrétien dug a small division into a lawn which she then stitched back together with electrical cable like thread into a wound. This 39-foot piece remains open at the end however, leaving us to question whether it is slowly healing or perhaps coming apart. (via This Isn’t Happiness, The Creators Project)

The Book Sculptures of Jacqueline Rush Lee

Hawaii-based artist Jacqueline Rush Lee works primarily with repurposed books to construct conceptual sculptures by stacking, sewing, and adhering the pages in unusual forms. At times the books are assembled into ambiguous or haphazard shapes that look anything like a book, while in other pieces the pages become tightly organized into identifiable objects like the petals of a flower or the design of a bowl. Lee was recently an artist-in-residence at the University of Hawaii at Manoa where she completed work on a new site-specific work titled Whorl. Her work is also on view as part of Metamorphosis: The Art of Altered Books at the Fuller Craft Museum, and was included in the book Art Made from Books (via Lustik)

10 Great Gay Hotspots Around the World

I’ve added an LGBT column for the website to make the site more inclusive and talk about issues that affect some members of our community. In this column, we hear from voices in the LGBT community about their experiences on the road, safety tips, events, and overall advice for other LGBT travelers! Returning this month is our column leader, Adam from travelsofadam.com. 

The great thing about travel today is that more of the world is accessible and open — no matter your sexuality or gender identity. While there have been ups and downs in the political movement for LGBT equality, major cities still provide the safest and friendliest spots for LGBT individuals.

I’ve been traveling around the world since 2009 and have visited some of the world’s most popular LGBT-friendly destinations along the way. I’ve marched and danced in Gay Pride parades from Sydney to Stockholm and been to more queer music festivals than I ever even imagined existed.

As the Orlando Pulse shooting reminded us, the gay club is still an important place to find culture and community. And there are still cities that really strut their LGBT history and queer identity, so we need to hang on to them.

There are many more gay-friendly hotspots around the world, but these are 10 of my favorites because of their history of activism, the number of diverse LGBT events they host, and the fact that they’re just really cool cities. If you are a gay traveler looking for a city that has it all, check out one of these:

Berlin

Germany’s capital has a unique place in gay history. In the 1920s Weimar era, it was one of Europe’s most liberal cities — home to gaudy cabaret and the site of one of the first gay villages. Today, Berlin’s free-spirited attitude has propelled it to the top of many “best of” lists thanks to 24-hour nightlife, a burgeoning art and food scene, and a diverse, international population.

Historically, the gay center of Berlin was around Nollendorfplatz in Schöneberg, an area still popular for its fetish clubs and leather bars, not to mention the legendary Folsom Europe street party each September (and where you’ll also find a gay history museum). But in today’s Berlin, the new gay hotspots are found throughout the Kreuzberg and Neukölln neighborhoods in indie bars and clubs such as SchwuZ, SilverFuture, or The Club. Berlin’s legendary nightlife shines through queer parties that are increasingly not just for LGBT people — everything from the techno-fueled weekends at Berghain to KitKat Club’s bi-monthly Gegen party.

When to visit: Visit Berlin during the summer, when the city comes alive with countless festivals, open-air parties, and queer events. The annual Christopher Street Day parade (Gay Pride) is celebrated by hundreds of thousands of locals and tourists each June.

• More LGBT Berlin tips: Hipster Guide to Berlin

Manchester

While London still holds an important place in the UK’s LGBT scene, Manchester plays host to a number of the biggest and best LGBT events in the country. Once the home to iconic gay hero Alan Turing, Manchester became internationally famous from the 1990s Queer as Folk TV series set in and around the city’s gay neighborhood, Canal Street.

Today, Canal Street is still filled with bars, clubs, and other gay-owned businesses — from the pretty and glitzy Richmond Tea Rooms to popular nightclubs like G-A-Y and Poptastic. Manchester’s Northern Quarter, with its trendy bars, underground rock clubs, and small indie art galleries, has also become a gay hotspot a little further removed from the twinky, tank top–filled Canal Street.

When to visit: Manchester Pride is the UK’s largest, taking place each September, but other queer events happen year-round, such as the trans-focused Sparkle Festival in July and the Queer Contact arts festival each winter.

• More LGBT Manchester tips: Hipster Guide to Manchester

Dallas

Maybe it’s not the first LGBT-friendly place you think of in the United States, but Dallas, Texas, has become a hotspot in the past decade. The Oak Lawn neighborhood is the epicenter of LGBT culture there, with many gay bars and LGBT-owned businesses on Cedar Springs Road, as well as in the nearby Bishop Arts District. Legendary nightlife venues like Station 4 and the Round-Up Saloon attract big crowds each weekend with their drag shows, square dancing, and other special events. And for those looking for slightly more offbeat travel adventures, the nearby Wildcatter Ranch is a gay-friendly cowboy resort.

When to visit: Dallas Pride takes place each September, but the Oak Lawn neighborhood also comes alive, full of color and costumes, each Halloween for the annual Oak Lawn Halloween Block Party.

Los Angeles

With its seemingly endless warm weather, sunshine, and meticulously manicured population, Los Angeles has been one of the United States’ most gay-friendly cities for a long time. So much so that since 1969 there’s been an LGBT center in the city that now boasts it serves more LGBT individuals than any other organization in the world. You’ll also find the ONE Archives Foundation, tasked with recording LGBT history by preserving historical artifacts, publications, and testimonies. Culturally, Los Angeles is famous for being the global cinematic capital, but it also has world-class restaurants and museums, such as LACMA and the Getty Museum.

Then there’s the nightlife, including West Hollywood’s gay clubs and bars, such as crowd favorites The Abbey and Flaming Saddles. Outside of the “gay ghetto” of WeHo, Silver Lake is a popular gay hotspot. There, you’ll find The Black Cat, site of the first documented LGBT civil rights demonstration in the US and now a popular brunch hangout. For nightlife in Silver Lake, Akbar draws the bearded hipster crowd with its small dance parties.

When to visit: The LA Pride Music Festival and Parade takes place each June in West Hollywood, with hundreds of thousands of spectators, but if summertime is too hot, the biggest gay party of the year is the free Halloween Carnival, a street party on Santa Monica Boulevard.

• More LGBT Los Angeles tips: Gay Bars in Los Angeles – 10 Best Places to Party

Buenos Aires

Argentina was the first South American country to legalize same-sex marriage and adoption rights, putting the country at the forefront of LGBT equality since 2010. The capital Buenos Aires has benefited, with a large and vibrant LGBT culture.

The areas of Recoleta, Palermo, and San Telmo are where you’ll find the largest concentration of gay bars and nightlife. Palermo, with trendy bars, cafés, shops, and restaurants in its Soho district, offers a lot of cool things to see and do — from the Latin pop and drag at Jolie Club (Fiesta Jolie) every Wednesday to the gay-friendly underground speakeasies (such as the new Victoria Brown Bar).

The gay community in Buenos Aires is relatively out and open, but the culture is more subdued than other over-the-top gay destinations. But still, you’ll find LGBT life fairly well integrated in society, with many tango bars and clubs even offering queer tango lessons and dance nights.

When to visit: Buenos Aires Pride takes place in November, at the beginning of the southern hemisphere’s summer season.

• More LGBT Buenos Aires tips: Gay Buenos Aires Guide

Bangkok

A longtime favorite for LGBT tourists, Bangkok has a lot to offer, making it one of Asia’s most popular gay destinations. The fun and friendly gay scene is centered around the Silom neighborhood, specifically the streets known as Soi 2 and Soi 4. Bangkok’s best gay nightlife is at DJ Station every weekend, specifically the midnight drag shows each Friday. Telephone Pub on Soi 4 serves as an early evening hangout with drag shows and pub food, while G.O.D. (Guys on Display) draws the after-hour crowds when all the other gay bars close down for the night.

While Thailand hasn’t recognized many LGBT rights, many tourists will find the city surprisingly open-minded. And while you’ll find some seedy sex clubs throughout the city, Bangkok’s legendary shopping and culinary scenes make it equally interesting for travelers with more discerning tastes. Also: look out for gay events at Bangkok’s luxury hotels such as the Sofitel So, which runs regular gay parties on its rooftop bar and pool lounge.

When to visit: One of the biggest and best events in Bangkok is the annual Songkran water festival in April, with the largest circuit party, called gCircuit, takes place in Silom — with all the trappings of every other international circuit party (think: hunky shirtless guys and lots of electronic music raging day and night).

• More LGBT Bangkok tips: Hipster Guide to Bangkok

Dublin

When Ireland passed same-sex marriage laws in mid-2015, the country became the first in the world to offer equal rights by popular vote. At the head of Dublin’s LGBT scene sits local icon and activist Panti Bliss, who has been at the forefront of Ireland’s LGBT movement and owns the popular club Panti Bar. Gay pub The George also plays host to Dublin’s best LGBT events, with regular drag and karaoke nights.

When to visit: Paying homage to Dublin’s important place in literary history, the city plays host to the annual International Gay Theatre Festival each May. The festival began in 2004 to mark the 150th anniversary of Oscar Wilde’s birth and has since become the world’s largest queer theatre festival. Wilde, one of Dublin’s most important literary figures, has a statue commemorating his life in Merrion Square Park (near his birthplace). The park is also where Dublin Pride takes place each June.

• More LGBT Dublin tips: Gay Dublin Guide

Stockholm

Famous for cold winters, sunny summers, and trendsetting Swedes all year long, Stockholm has a strange mix of art, fashion, culture, and design — and one of Scandinavia’s best LGBT scenes. Sweden is also one of the most progressive countries in the world when it comes to LGBT and women’s rights.

The LGBT scene is spread throughout the city. From the underground indie club King Kong to the kitschy ABBA Museum, there’s something for everyone in the city. During the summer months, the Mälarpaviljongen restaurant (located on a set of floating docks) hosts a number of LGBT events, fundraisers, and parties.

When to visit: Stockholm Pride each August is the biggest gay event of the year, with big music acts, parties, and public seminars on everything from fetish training to human rights.

• More LGBT travel tips: Hipster Guide to Stockholm

Toronto

Home to Canada’s largest LGBT community, Toronto has a vibrant and lively gay village. The intersecting streets of Church and Wellesley feature a number of gay-owned bars and businesses. The area comes alive each night with locals and visitors, most famously at Woody’s, one of the best clubs on Church Street.

But Toronto’s gay-friendliness extends elsewhere in the city, such as the West Queen West and Trinity Bellwoods neighborhoods. Take a walk down Ossington Avenue, College Street, or Queen Street West (bordering these neighborhoods) for a number of cool, queer-friendly businesses, from Toronto’s best macaroons at Nadege Patisserie to the monthly Yes Yes Y’all queer hip-hop and dancehall party.

When to visit: Too cold in the winter, Toronto is best in the summer when it’s sunny and full of color. Pride Toronto — one of the world’s largest Pride celebrations — attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors. Other popular events include the Inside Out LGBT film festival which takes place over two weeks at the beginning of each summer, showcasing more than 200 queer-themed films alongside artist talks, premieres, and industry panels.

• More LGBT travel tips: Hipster Guide to Toronto

Sydney

While Australia is currently arguing over same-sex marriage equality, Sydney remains a beacon of gay-friendliness on the continent. With Sydney’s progressive attitudes, beautiful beaches, and an active arts scene, the city is as vibrant as ever.

The Darlinghurst neighborhood, just south of Hyde Park on Oxford Street, serves as the unofficial gay neighborhood. Palms on Oxford, with its pop hits, hosts some of the biggest parties each weekend and is a longtime favorite for locals and tourists. But the areas of Surrey Hills and Newtown further out from the city center, with their cool cafés, trendy bars, and small, indie basement clubs (like the Tokyo Sing-Song bar) are also accessible and mostly gay-friendly areas.

When to visit: Sydney’s annual Pride takes shape in the form of Mardi Gras (February/March). It’s one of the world’s largest Pride parades and features weeks of events and parties. It’s a colorful event, with crowds that fill the streets and parks of Sydney all day and night.

• More LGBT travel tips: Gay Sydney Guide

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Here’s the thing: just about any city in the world can be a “gay hotspot” — it’s always a matter of knowing where is safe and how to meet locals. Planning your visit around LGBT events — from film festivals and Pride parades to political activist seminars — is a pretty solid way to make any holiday that much more gay.

Adam Groffman is a former graphic designer living in Berlin, Germany. He’s a gay travel expert, writer, and blogger and publishes a series of LGBT-friendly Hipster City Guides from around the world on his gay travel blog, Travels of Adam. When he’s not out exploring the coolest bars and clubs, he’s usually enjoying the local arts and culture scene. Find more of his travel tips (and embarrassing stories) on Twitter @travelsofadam.

P.S. – Want to meet some cool travelers? The Nomadic Matt team is hosting a bunch of meet-ups around the U.S. over the next few months! You can find out how to join one of them (they are free) by clicking here! We’re even giving away prizes to attendees!

Photo credit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

The post 10 Great Gay Hotspots Around the World appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Overview: A New Book of High-Def Satellite Images Capturing How People Have Changed the Earth

Gemasolar Thermosolar Plant / 37·560755°, –5·331908° / This Overview captures the Gemasolar Thermosolar Plant in Seville, Spain. The solar concentrator contains 2,650 heliostat mirrors that focus the sun’s thermal energy to heat molten salt flowing through a 140-metre-tall (460-foot) central tower. The molten salt then circulates from the tower to a storage tank, where it is used to produce steam and generate electricity. In total, the facility displaces approximately 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

In December of 2013, an Instagram account called Daily Overview began to catalog a wide spectrum of satellite images that capture the many ways people have transformed the face of Earth, for better or worse. The account is run by Benjamin Grant who uses imagery taken from DigitalGlobe, an advanced collection of Earth imaging satellites that provide data to services like Google Earth. The project gets its title from a phenomenon experienced by astronauts who spend extended periods of time in space and what they describe as a “cognitive shift in awareness” as they continuously view the world from above dubbed the overview effect.

As Grant’s Instagram has swelled to nearly a half million followers, some of the best images from the project have been gathered into a new 288-page hardcover book called Overview. The book includes images of our collective impact on Earth, a collection of interlinked systems often too difficult to grasp including aspects of industry, agriculture, and architecture.

All images © 2016 by DigitalGlobe, Inc. from Overview by Benjamin Grant, published by Amphoto Books. Used with permission. (via Twisted Sifter)

Tulips / 52·276355°, 4·557080° / Every year, tulip fields in Lisse, Netherlands begin to bloom in March and are in peak bloom by late April. The Dutch produce a total of 4·3 billion tulip bulbs each year, of which 53% (2·3 billion) is grown into cut flowers. Of these, 1·3 billion are sold in the Netherlands as cut flowers and the remainder is exported: 630 million bulbs to Europe and 370 million elsewhere.

Olives / 37·263212°, –4·552271° / Olive tree groves cover the hills of Córdoba, Spain. Approximately 90% of all harvested olives are turned into oil; the remaining 10% are eaten as table olives. With rising temperatures and phenomenal weather variations in growing regions, olive groves on high hills or slopes will probably suffer less, but groves located on low altitude areas or plains could become totally unproductive.

Moab Potash Evaporation Ponds / 38·485579°, –109·684611° / Evaporation ponds are visible at the potash mine in Moab, Utah, USA. The mine produces muriate of potash, a potassium-containing salt that is a major component in fertilisers. The salt is pumped to the surface from underground brines and dried in massive solar ponds that vibrantly extend across the landscape. As the water evaporates over the course of 300 days, the salts crystallise out. The colours that are seen here occur because the water is dyed a deep blue, as darker water absorbs more sunlight and heat, thereby reducing the amount of time it takes for the water to evaporate and the potash to crystallise.

Marabe Al Dhafra / 23·610424°, 53·702677° / The villas of Marabe Al Dhafra in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates are home to approximately 2,000 people. Located in one of the hottest regions of the world, the record high temperature here is 49·2°C (120·6°F).

Port of Singapore / 1·237656°, 103·806422° / Cargo ships and tankers – some weighing up to 300,000 tonnes – wait outside the entry to the Port of Singapore. The facility is the world’s second-busiest port in terms of total tonnage, shipping a fifth of the world’s cargo containers and half of the world’s annual supply of crude oil.

Ipanema Beach / –22·983606°, –43·206638° / Ipanema Beach is located in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Recognised as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, the sand is divided into segments by lifeguard towers known as ‘postos’.

Nishinoshima Volcanic Activity / 27·243362, 140·874420 / Nishinoshima is a volcanic island located 940 kilometres (584 miles) south of Tokyo, Japan. Starting in November 2013, the volcano began to erupt and continued to do so until August 2015. Over the course of the eruption, the area of the island grew in size from 0.06 square kilometres (0.02 square miles) to 2·3 square kilometres (0·89 square miles).

A Peek Inside Japanese Candy Sculptor Shinri Tezuka’s Amezaiku Studio

At the age of only 27, self-taught candy sculptor Shinri Tezuka (previously) may be one of the youngest practitioners of amezaiku, the dwindling art of candy crafting. Even though the craft dates back hundreds of years, there are only two known candy makers in all of Tokyo who roll, sculpt, and paint lollipops in this manner. Great Big Story recently stopped by Tezuka’s workshop for a quick video interview you can see below.

Elaborate Floral Scrollwork Engraved on Coins by Shaun Hughes

New Miniature Hand-Thrown Ceramics and Equipment by Jon Almeda

Win $500 in Merch with Artist Shops by Threadless (Sponsored)

Want to win some free merch and create an online store for your art? Sign up and create an Artist Shop for a chance to earn $500 worth of merchandise from your own shop! They say it takes money to make money. But when the cost of signing up for an Artist Shop is 100% free and can get tons of free stuff? Well, that’s not too shabby. The only way you won’t have a shot at winning is if you don’t enter the contest – create your own Artist Shop now for your chance. Chance to win ends 12/1/16 at 12pm CT.

Artist Shops by Threadless make running your online shop easy by taking care of all the hassle, leaving you more time to make great art. And best of all, sign up is totally free.

Electroluminescent Installations Highlight Loneliness in a New Short Film by ‘3hund’

Installing beacons in scenes of thick forests and milky lagoons, German duo Tarek Mawad and Friedrich van Schoor of collective 3hund produced the film LUCID in order to capture the melancholy mood of these displaced works. The short film is a surreal tale of loneliness, with long panning shots that highlight electroluminescent shapes’ placement within selected alien-like environments. The light installations are all unique to their specific landscape, and differ between groups of thin lines, small orbs submerged in water, and illuminated triangles that seem to hover above the rocky terrain.

You can look behind-the-scenes of LUCID in this film outlining how the filmmakers set up many of their shots. (via This Isn’t Happiness)