Comments on: No, REALLY get the lead out

No, REALLY get the lead out

allkindsoftime — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 05:55:46 -0800

Pencil sculptures: miniature masterpieces carved into graphite by Dalton Ghetti. previous pencil art

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:12:25 -0800

Wow.

By: Xany

Xany — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:13:06 -0800

Wow. That's seriously amazing.

By: DieHipsterDie

DieHipsterDie — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:13:11 -0800

I can't begin to imagine how he does this.

By: DU

DU — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:16:21 -0800

Holy moses.

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:17:10 -0800

between my bad eyes and my shaky hands, the smallest material I can work on is a 2x4...this is amazing .. his comments about considering the ones that break as "dead" are interesting...

By: dlugoczaj

dlugoczaj — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:21:09 -0800

Timely post for me--this weekend, I'm going to see an exhibit (scroll down) that includes many of these pieces. It's at the New Britain Museum of American Art through the end of the month, if anyone in Connecticut or thereabouts is interested. (Technically we're going to see the big Escher exhibit first and foremost, but that'll be there for months and I made sure we're going within August so we can see the Ghettis. I think my kids would be amazed.)

By: resiny

resiny — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:26:04 -0800

Astounding. And no magnifying glass...

By: allkindsoftime

allkindsoftime — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:28:51 -0800

I can't begin to imagine how he does this. From the page: Dalton uses three basic tools to make his incredible creations - a razor blade, sewing needle and sculpting knife. He even refuses to use a magnifying glass and has never sold any of his work, only given it away to friends. He said: "I use the sewing needle to make holes or dig into the graphite. I scratch and create lines and turn the graphite around slowly in my hand"

By: Fizz

Fizz — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:47:36 -0800

Ok, that's just insane!

By: abc123xyzinfinity

abc123xyzinfinity — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:51:36 -0800

Fuck wow.

By: mazola

mazola — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:52:34 -0800

I'll bet he never paid attention in class.

By: EvaDestruction

EvaDestruction — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:55:34 -0800

This is just incredible. Two and a half years. Damn.

By: oulipian

oulipian — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:56:45 -0800

See also: pencil sculptures by Jennifer Maestre.

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 07:04:32 -0800

Wonderful -- but I need a video of him at work.

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 07:08:12 -0800

The first rule of graphite club is don't sell the products of graphite club. They are pretty darned amazing, to be sure.

By: echo target

echo target — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 07:11:21 -0800

The hammer is inexplicably hilarious.

By: samsara

samsara — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 07:11:37 -0800

You know, I really don't see the point... ...and by that, I mean I'm seriously amazed. Awesome post!

By: schmod

schmod — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 07:13:02 -0800

Oh, I get it. He uses gigantic pencils.

By: showbiz_liz

showbiz_liz — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 07:18:20 -0800

My mouth got progressively wider and wider and then I got to the hanging heart and just said "DAMN" out loud which was bad because I'm in a coffee shop. Seriously, amazing!

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 07:24:07 -0800

Previous awesome pencil sculptures that will also make you say DAMN.

By: phunniemee

phunniemee — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 07:26:08 -0800

First person to say "looks like he has too much time on his hands" gets popped in the jaw. Why do people say that about people who do cool, artistic things?

By: HumanComplex

HumanComplex — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 07:26:44 -0800

I saw some of his work at the Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. It's quite astounding.

By: theora55

theora55 — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 07:32:33 -0800

way cool. thanks for posting.

By: Gator

Gator — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 07:37:11 -0800

Whyyyyyyyyy doesn't this guy have his own site?

By: Jody Tresidder

Jody Tresidder — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 07:40:39 -0800

I love the easy-peasy clever subtext too - the words we create using this simple tool that makes us human can be hammers, or razor blades or a restraining chain - or can come straight from our loving hearts.

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 07:47:20 -0800

Sure, another post about the declining quality of our education system. I will admit though, this troll has a unique angle.

By: Nelson

Nelson — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:02:16 -0800

I dunno, these seem mostly like a technical gimmick and not interesting art. Except this cross, somehow its situation in the split pencil seems poetic.

By: Rhomboid

Rhomboid — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:05:23 -0800

Here's a nytimes piece from a few years ago with a little more biographical background on Ghetti.

By: _Lasar

_Lasar — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:07:26 -0800

Awe. Some.

By: Calzephyr

Calzephyr — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:21:36 -0800

Sweet! What a great artform...if you make a mistake, you can just start over again like *that*.

By: Spatch

Spatch — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:24:55 -0800

Why do people say that about people who do cool, artistic things? Because they don't have the time to do cool, artistic things. This is an absolutely glorious collection. I think I like the little mailbox the best for some reason. Just the way it's positioned on the tip of the pencil. Very neat.

By: quin

quin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:26:27 -0800

I can't begin to imagine how he does this. allkindsoftime : From the page: Dalton uses three basic tools to make his incredible creations - a razor blade, sewing needle and sculpting knife. He even refuses to use a magnifying glass and has never sold any of his work, only given it away to friends. He said: "I use the sewing needle to make holes or dig into the graphite. I scratch and create lines and turn the graphite around slowly in my hand" Yeah, but it's a wonderfully misleading misdirection, on par with an Olympic archer describing their craft as "I just shoot the arrows into the target..." Technically a perfectly accurate description, and one that in no way describes the painstaking attention to detail and years of practice that went into perfecting their art. It's an awesome kind of understatement that I really enjoy.

By: orme

orme — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:57:21 -0800

Wow. I was wondering what takes him so long to make these, since there is obviously so little material to remove (although I'm sure he must remove it verrrry carefully). He apparently only works on these for 1.5 hours a day.

By: shinybaum

shinybaum — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:09:12 -0800

Those interlinking ones are beautiful, like really tiny versions of the squares machinists learn on.

By: rmmcclay

rmmcclay — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:26:08 -0800

You are awesome, allkindsoftime, because I saw mention of this work a few days ago, but no links like the link you shared here. Thank you.

By: bonobothegreat

bonobothegreat — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:50:06 -0800

This is exactly the sort of thing I paid my 5 bucks for.

By: interestedfilter

interestedfilter — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 10:05:06 -0800

Very gritty - really love it! Not really traditional which is what I really like the most.

By: that's candlepin

that's candlepin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 10:25:59 -0800

It's just... I'm... I can't... I wish... I...

By: agatha_magatha

agatha_magatha — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 10:44:43 -0800

One of my coworkers glanced over my shoulder as I was looking at this and said, "You find the weirdest things on the web...oh, WOW, that is so cool!" So thank you for helping enhance my 'weird' cred at work. And, it is so cool!

By: digsrus

digsrus — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:07:39 -0800

I can believe he did them. I don't believe he did them with his naked eyes.

By: jetsetsc

jetsetsc — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:07:47 -0800

"Yeah, but it's a wonderfully misleading misdirection, on par with an Olympic archer describing their craft as "I just shoot the arrows into the target..."" Right. Like Monty Python on how to play the clarinet: "Blow in this end, and move your fingers up and down on these keys"

By: Hairy Lobster

Hairy Lobster — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:56:18 -0800

Reminds me of the The Microminiatures of Hagop Sandaldjian permanent exhibit at the Museum of Jurassic Technology in LA... one of the most awesome and enchanting museums ever.

By: jacquilynne

jacquilynne — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 12:34:31 -0800

The first picture, the ones with the little letters on top of the pencils. For some reason that's making me cry. The idea they express, the wonderful form they take. They're just... I don't even know. Perfect? Is this what it's like to be really moved by art?

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 14:53:40 -0800

Long tradition of micro carving, mostly in ivory and boxwood, and a whole lot more elaborate than this. The Wallace Collection in London has some good examples (not apparently, on line), but this gives you sort of an idea (and this is far from being the most amazing example. Your googlefu will be better than mine).