10 Amazing Sculptures Made of Playing Cards

See what one artist can do with the hand he was dealt

By Brynn Mannino

from WomansDay.com

Artist Bryan Berg is the only known person who makes a living by building playing card sculptures. Although he’s a Harvard-educated architect, Berg claims he learned all his techniques the old-fashioned way—through trial and error. "I never knew a career in card stacking was something that could exist,” Berg says. “Even after all these years, I'm still learning how to be better at what I do." Check out his life's work below.

Disney’s Cinderella Castle

In 2004, Berg created a 15-foot replica of Disney World's Cinderella Castle. Over the course of 30 days, he used 3,000 decks to build this Magical Kingdom of cards, which set the Guinness World Record for the World's Largest House of Freestanding Playing Cards. Photo courtesy of Cardstacker.com.

New York City Skyline

In February 2005, Berg joined forces with “Decked Out in Times Square,” an on-air tsunami relief fundraiser, for which he spent 10 days at the ABC Studios in New York’s Times Square to build this structure. The piece, which is made up of 178,000 cards, features landmarks including the Flatiron Building, the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building. Photo courtesy of Cardstacker.com.

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas

Though Berg doesn't typically use any "trickery" (adhesives), he did in 2006 to recreate this famous sign, which was commissioned by Loctite and displayed at the 2006 World Series of Poker. The materials he used include playing cards, dice, poker chips, wood and Loctite Control Gel Super Glue. The completed project weighed over 600 pounds. Photo courtesy of Cardstacker.com.

Rhode Island State House

In 2007, Berg—who was introduced to "cardstacking" by his grandfather—created this piece in three days using 22,000 cards (that’s more than 407 decks). Watch this video to see Berg build the structure in fast-forward. Photo courtesy of Cardstacker.com.

The Bravery

In 2007, Berg appeared with The Bravery in their music video for the song "Time Won't Let Me Go.” He built several freestanding elements of the "card world" featured in the clip. Photo courtesy of Cardstacker.com.

Dallas Art Museum

In 2007, using 1,000 decks of cards, Berg broke his own Guinness World Record for The World's Tallest House of Freestanding Playing Cards by building this tower, which stands over 25 feet tall. See him in action here. Photo courtesy of Cardstacker.com.

Beijing Olympic Village

In 2008, Berg—who uses a strategic four-card cell structure he calls "grids" to arrange his cards—built a replica of the Beijing Olympic Village in 20 days using 140,000 playing cards. Watch Berg build the village replica. Photo courtesy of Cardstacker.com.

Keycard Hotel

In 2009, the Holiday Inn completed its twelve-hundredth hotel as part of a $1 billion relaunch. To celebrate, they commissioned Berg to construct a life-size hotel room, lobby and furniture, for which he used 200,000 cards. This was the second project of Berg's career for which he used glue. He was also featured in this Holiday Inn commercial. Photo courtesy of Cardstacker.com.

Lexus City

In 2009, Lexus commissioned Berg to build an "any-city skyline" on the roof and surrounding a running Lexus ES to demonstrate the smoothness of the new model's engine. Berg worked on the project for three weeks and used 64,800 cards. Watch the commercial. Photo courtesy of Cardstacker.com.

Venetian Macao

In 2010, this 33' x 10', 218,792-card replica of the Macao, China, luxury resort—which Berg built in 44 days—beat out his own Cinderella Castle as the World's Largest House of Freestanding Playing Cards. Photo courtesy of Cardstacker.com.

Surfers Riding Waves Inches from the Jaws of Death

By: Karl Fabricius -

From:  http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/


Photo: Phil Gallagher used with permission
When Fergal Smith dropped in on a monster barrel two miles off the coast of Perth in Western Australia, he little realised he was also dropping in on a monster of another kind. For as he powered down the face of the 20-plus-foot wave, lurking there just a few feet from him was a 500-pound Great White Shark. Smith didn’t even realise how close he had come to an encounter with one of the ocean’s deadliest predators. Other surfers’ shaves with man-eating sharks are closer still.
Close shave: Fergal Smith catching a barrel just feet from a Great White

Photo: Phil Gallagher
Fergal Smith was lucky. If he had wiped out on the wave he was sharing with the Great White, help was far away – and who can tell what might have happened? Smith only discovered how narrow his escape had been when he was shown this picture by local photographer Phil Gallagher. His reaction? Laughter – though perhaps of a nervous flavour. At the time, in 2008, Smith said: “I saw a grey shape in the wave but I thought it was the reflection of a slab of rock – how wrong was I?”
Smiling assassin? Great White Shark off South Africa

Photo: hermanusbackpackers
Since 1876, the Great White Shark has been responsible for at least 66 recorded deaths worldwide – most recently off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa – plus around 250 further non-fatal attacks. Incredibly, 101 of the attacks reported in the 20th century were on surfers, though often without serious injury – Great Whites being known to test-bite unfamiliar objects such as surfboards. Even so, there is much in the way of misinformation out there as well as some decidedly fishy photos.
Photoshopped: Fake photo of Great White bursting from a wave

Image via myconfinedspace
When Great White attacks do occur, many scientists believe it is a case of mistaken identity. The shark ambushes the swimmer, body-boarder or surfer from below, confusing their silhouette with that of a seal – particularly if the person has fins or a black wetsuit. However, great whites appear not to like the taste of humans – too bony for their palates, they prefer fatty, protein-rich pinnipeds – and it is only an extremely hungry shark that will go in for the kill after the first bite.
Catching air: Spinner Shark jumps from the waves, New Smyrna Beach

Photo: Kem McNair used with permission
Fact is, Great Whites seldom attack people. Researchers studying the species off the coast of South Africa in 2005 watched as a 13-ft specimen approached the kayak one of their team was sat in, but the creature merely veered off, circled several times, then lost interest. And in places where attacks are common such as Florida’s New Smyrna Beach – known as the shark bite capital of the world with 24 in 2008 – the sharks are usually less lethal – like this 6-ft Spinner snapped leaping from the surf.
Nice turn: Spinner Shark living up to its name, New Smyrna Beach, 2008

Photo: Kem McNair used with permission
Sharks are just one of the dangers surfers face when they take to the waves, but though the odds are stacked in their favour, the risk posed is a real one – as American surfer Bethany Hamilton found out in 2003. Then just 13, Hamilton was lying on her surfboard with her left arm dangling in the water, when a 14-ft Tiger Shark attacked, ripping off her arm just below the shoulder. If the shark had bitten two inches further in, the attack would have been fatal, but luck was on her side.
Tiger Shark attack survivor: Pro surfer Bethany Hamilton at Surfest 07

Photo: Noah Hamilton
Hamilton’s friends helped her paddle back to the shore of Kauai, Hawaii, fashioning a tourniquet out of a surfboard leash that they tied around what was left of her arm before rushing her to the local hospital. Hamilton lost almost 60% of her blood that morning but recovered over six days in hospital, and despite the trauma was back on her board just three weeks after the accident. By 2008, with only one arm, she was competing strongly full-time on the ASP World Qualifying Series.
Mistaken identity: Surfer in wave with Dolphin often misrepresented as Shark

Photo: © Kurt Jones used with permission
Bethany Hamilton’s story is evidence enough that a single bite from a powerful predator like a Tiger Shark can grievously injure a human, yet some sea animals may have something to say about such attacks. Dolphins are well documented protecting humans from sharks – although no one knows why for sure. In 2007, a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins formed a ring around surfer Todd Endris, allowing him to get to shore after he had been mauled by a Great White off Monterey, California.
More Photoshop trickery: Surfing a wave personified as a Shark

Image: Worth 1000
But despite such Dolphin interventions, the words “fish out of water” spring to mind when considering the potential scrapes surfers can get themselves into in the open ocean. To some surfers, the wave itself might be likened to a shark – a force forever capable of chewing them up and spitting them out – but while the wave is a beast whose power surfers have learned to harness, the sharks remains a creature that will never be tamed.


Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

8 Brilliant Bicycle Concepts

Take a spin through our list of innovative cycle designs

By Brynn Mannino

from WomansDay.com

The bicycle, which, according to the Pedaling History Bicycle Museum, evolved from a pedal-less machine built in 1817, is constantly at the center of innovation—whether to correct a flaw, meet a mobility need or simply as a means of artistic expression. So, we set out to find new bikes crafted with modernity in mind, regardless of whether they are rideable or not. From the motor-assisted Gocycle to a three-wheel seesaw-inspired cycle, each of the bikes below binds together the world of cycling and design.

“Bio-Cycle”

Requiring 100 hours of work, Jud Turner’s “Bio-Cycle”—made of welded steel and found objects—is part of his ongoing series of sculptures that examine how humans are intertwined with their modes of transportation. It sports an exact replica of a human skeleton, the bones of which are coated with a metallic finish, whose feet are attached to the pedals and whose arms serve as the bike’s forks. Displayed in May 2008 at the Mary Lou Zeek Gallery in Salem, Oregon, the “Bio-Cycle” was purchased by a private collector within two days for $3,000. Photo courtesy of Jud Turner via JudTurner.com.

The Contortionist

Dominic Hargreaves designed the Contortionist to—unlike other folding bikes—specifically showcase the aesthetics and feel of a traditional bike. Mechanically, he aimed to create a bike that was unable to fold up while being ridden, even if the quick release were to come loose. The aluminum frame collapses between the two wheels, making its compact size equal to that of a 26-inch wheel, allowing it to be easily carried (or rolled!) onto public transportation. When opened up, it becomes a standard, full-size bike. Click here to watch the bike fold up. Photo courtesy of Dominic Hargreaves via EyetoHand.com.

Gocycle

The final of many prototypes, Karbon Kinetics Limited’s Gocycle took its desired form in spring 2009 as a compact, electric-assisted, corrosion-proof folding bike. Designed to meet the everyday get-around needs of British citizens, the three-speed cycle with five-spoke wheels is equipped with optional accessories including a lightweight kickstand, chain guards to prevent oil rub on pants, integrated cable locks and luggage carriers on the front of the bike (in the form of a mount that allows you to hang a standard pannier) as well as at the back (a luggage arm can be mounted above the rear tire for transporting heavier cases). Fully assembled, the Gocycle costs ₤1,198 (approximately $1,995). Photo courtesy of Gocycle.com.

Skybike

The Skybike, a project designed by Marios Diamantis for the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, was meant to satisfy abstract needs as opposed to practical ones. Rather than providing a transportation solution, the Skybike, which has the rider sitting upside down and pedaling backward, is meant to make a person feel as if they are “riding on the sky” according to Diamantis. The artist claims that this concept raises questions such as “What is the purpose of designing only objects that adapt or apply to everyday life?” Click here to watch the Skybike in action. Photo courtesy of Marios Diamantis via itp.nyu.edu/~md1660/skybike.html.

Cardboard Bicycle

Phil Bridge, who majored in Product Design at Sheffield Hallam University in Sheffield, England, aimed to design a recyclable bike that was, in essence, worth nothing. Bicycles are often stolen or damaged throughout England, so he hoped his cardboard creation, devoid of sentiment and cost, would deter thieves while also preventing owner worry. A waterproof, honeycomb-structured cardboard called Hexacomb—generally used for engineering purposes—was used for the frame, pedals and wheel spokes. Designed to withstand approximately six months of constant use, the bike has an estimated production cost of around ₤15 (approximately $25). Photo courtesy of Sheffield Hallam University via shu.ac.uk/art/design/news/cardboardbike.html.

Bi-Cycle

This unique tandem bicycle is all about trust! Allowing both riders to contribute equally to the riding experience, the Bi-Cycle requires one rider to pedal forward and the other to pedal backward while they sit with their backs to each other. Designed by My Atomic Mass designer Elad Barouch as a “couples counseling” technique, the Bi-Cycle is meant to help a pair establish trust and communication to provoke forward movement within the relationship; once established, the rest should be fun! Watch the video to see how it’s done. Photo courtesy of Elad Barouch via MyAtomicMass.com.

SeeSaw Bike

Displayed at 2008’s Design Miami conference, the SeeSaw Bike is a prime example of bike-meets-art. Though two people cannot ride this bicycle at the same time, designer Elad Barouch was intent on building it with real variables (manufactured bike parts) while imitating an actual object (a seesaw!) so that the SeeSaw Bike creates the illusion that it could, in fact, work with multiple riders. After creating the Bi-Cycle (see above), Barouch aimed to “create an object that stands on that thin line between reality and imagination” and wanted observers to have “a baffled look about what their eyes are seeing.” Photo courtesy of Elad Barouch via MyAtomicMass.com.

Nulla Bicycle

Still just a concept, the Nulla, which means “nothing” in Italian, embraces a minimalist approach to bicycle design. Named as such due its missing parts, including the chain, fork and spokes, the Nulla uses a “direct-gear-chain drive system” instead to support the wheels and produce movement. Created by Bradford Waugh, the bike is still causing much debate as to whether or not it would indeed be operable, but most cycling enthusiasts agree that with its sleek, beautiful design it doesn’t matter all that much. Photo courtesy of Bradford Waugh via LikeCOOL.com.