London, Ont.-based ceramic artist and creature creator Daumante Stirbyte's art feels like spring. Her organically shaped sculptures transform insects and monsters - who some would describe as repulsive - into delicate works of art. "When you look at micro shots of insects, there's so much colour and texture, and all these amazing details."
Inspired by the natural world, but disinterested in portraying it exactly as it appears, Stirbyte instead crafts a fantasy-driven universe that feels familiar yet strange. That may be because despite their otherworldly appearances, her goal is to humanize her clay critters. She brings the colourful concoctions to life using subtle cues like body language or naming conventions that trend much more cute than monstrous.
In this video by Hex Productions (filmed before the pandemic), Stirbyte shows us her meticulous process, from building biomorphic bodies to tiny antennae.
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