Comments on: Unidentified art objects

Question: Unidentified art objects

Cycloptichorn — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 20:26:10 -0800

I have a few pieces of artwork that I can't seem to find any information about. Can you help? I found these pieces at the Citywide garage sale here in Austin last year. Each piece is a asian/chinese theme, and is composed of tiny stones glued onto a canvas. I haven't been able to find any information about these on the web. Embedded pics on the flip

Here are the pics:

The black lines are pieces of string. I love these and would like more of the same type, but have no idea where to find them. Thanks in advance!

By: Quietgal

Quietgal — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 20:32:39 -0800

I remember seeing these when I was a kid. They were DIY kits consisting of fabric printed with the design, some black cord, and bottles of colored glass or plastic chips. You'd glue the cord over the lines on the fabric and glue the colored stuff inside the lines. I don't remember what the kits were called, but they were fairly common in the 1960s and maybe earlier (they have a 1950s vibe about them, I feel.)

Sorry I can't provide any key words for online searching, but garage sales might be your best bet anyway. Or thrift stores, or eBay - places where vintage stuff turns up.

By: tracicle

tracicle — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 20:39:02 -0800

Mosaics?

By: muddgirl

muddgirl — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 21:15:17 -0800

Wow, those are fabulous. Let us know if you turn anything up!

By: foxinthesnow

foxinthesnow — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 21:22:05 -0800

I think these were called "Gravel Art" and people bought kits to make them in the 1950s. You can find a bit of it here on ebay, or there are some simple kits here, but they aren't as cool. Or just search for "gravel art kits" on google and you'll find plenty.

By: foxinthesnow

foxinthesnow — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 21:28:28 -0800

do an ebay search for "gravel art." ignore my link up there. i'm not sure what i did.

By: Cycloptichorn

Cycloptichorn — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 21:59:45 -0800

Foxinthesnow, you rule.

Your links lead me to this article from HGTV, on making the art yourself:

http://tinyurl.com/k4blm

Here's another one that I own:

After looking at a lot of examples online, I believe I own the finest pieces of Gravel art in existence; wonderful complexity!

Thanks to everyone who answered! Now if I can figure out how to clean up the small stains on them...

By: parallax7d

parallax7d — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 15:51:56 -0800

Those rock, I love the 50's vibe.

By: deborah

deborah — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 23:26:53 -0800

Those are quite cool and I'm not any help except to say they're in a Japanese style rather than Chinese.