French artist Edouard Martinet (previously featured here) scours flea markets for everyday objects that he uses to create awesome animals and insect sculptures like the ones you see here.

“Working with a variety of refuse materials such as rusted kitchen pans, typewriter keys, car lights and other scrap metals, Edouard Martinet sculpts several types of animals and insects. His sculptures are made without the use of solder. He fits each component into place as if putting together a puzzle of random pieces and parts. Each masterpiece is carefully assembled after having drafted several detailed sketches.”

Visit Edouard Martinet’s website to view even more of his amazingly intricate creatures.

[via Free York]

One person’s junk is another person’s treasure - or another person’s art supplies. These awesome animal sculptures are called Salvageables. They’re the work of artist Nathalie Trépanier, who creates them using just about any discarded inanimate object or parts of objects that she can find. She transforms scattered abandoned items into wondrous creatures that look like they’re about to get up and walk, trot, swim, or fly away.

“I’m a treasure hunter, either on a beach in Gaspésie, in the garbage cans of my neighbourhood or in an industrial scrap yard… All of a sudden, in these piles of inanimate objects, I discover strange and zany beings who call out to me. This sets the stage for the birth of another character in my series of “Salvageables.”

The longer you look at them, the more elements you’ll recognize - silverware, telephones, bits of musical instruments, and on and on. We can’t help but think that these creatures would make amazing characters in a stop-motion animation film.

[via Design You Trust and Design Stories]

We love this awesome skull made from repurposed skateboard decks by Japanese artist Haroshi (previously featured here). The braces and gold tooth are nice touches. Haroshi is opening his second solo show at Jonathan Levine Gallery in New York on January 12. We wish we could attend.

[via Colossal]

We can’t quite comprehend just how awesome this Cardboard Evangelion is. And it’s not just an Evangelion. It’s also a transformer. From awesome mecha to awesome vehicle and made entirely out of cardboard. Amazing. 

[via Obvious Winner]

Indiana artist Gabriel Dishaw created this awesome Darth Vader Upcycled Mask using materials from adding machines, typewriters, and computers. It’s currently available for purchase via Etsy.

This piece is Gabriel’s second Darth Vader mask. Check out the first one here. 

[via Technabob]

Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman (previously featured here) recently created yet another awesome large-scale installation, this time in the town of Angers, in western France. Entitled Slow Slugs, the piece was created for the Accroche Coeurs Festival. The monstrous mollusks, each measuring 18 x 7.5 x 5 meters (60 x 24.5 x 16 feet), were created by attaching 40,000 colourful plastic bags to netting that was placed over wire frames. 

“The work stood for a total of eight days, with an immense amount of time and planning having gone into its construction. After two weeks of sketching and model making, the massive metal frame was bent and formed in the artist’s studio in Rotterdam. The remainder of the production was completed in France with the skeleton welded on site as well as the bags fastened to the frame.”

Visit Designboom to view more photos of the Florentijn Hofman’s giant slugs, both during their creation and on display in Angers. Mmm… Slugs…

One person’s garbage is another person’s canvas. Malaysian artist Cheeming Boey painstakingly transforms styrofoam coffee cups into awesome little works of art. From pointilistic Breaking Bad and Daft Punk portraits to pieces styled after Japanese woodblock prints. According to Visual News, Cheeming Boey’s more intricate cup projects can take months to complete. 

Visit Flavorwire to view more examples of Cheeming Boey’s coffee cup artwork.

Dutch artist Lise Lefebvre created these two awesome rugs, Bärenjäger and Blanket Statement, by upcycling secondhand wool carpets and blankets. The bear heads are ceramic and their teeth hand-painted. 

It’s all the fun and luxury of lounging on a bearskin rug without, you know, the dead bear. 

[via Clutter]