Tiny Art

Leslie Chen, Staff Writer

Artists around the world have been patiently creating tiny, intricate art pieces using various materials and techniques. Here are some of the world’s most talented artists who specialize in tiny art.

Takanori Aiba
Japanese artist Takanori Aiba creates a series of intricate worlds using bonsai-inspired art. The Japanese art of bonsai is a painstaking, meticulous process using cultivation techniques to produce and maintain small trees. Aiba has not only perfected the technique, but has also added scale models of windmills, lighthouses, and boats to create three-dimensional worlds.

Omid Asadi
Using a craft knife and a needle, artist Omid Asadi carves delicate illustrations onto naturally fallen leaves. On his website, Asadi explains his reason for drawing on leaves, saying that he “wanted to give the leaves another life [other than being stepped on] and make art from them.” His carvings provide ephemeral images of the Mona Lisa, the Statue of Liberty, and fantastical landscapes.

Dalton Ghetti
Brazilian sculptor Dalton Ghetti carves out tiny sculptures from the fragile tips of pencils. His works include a bust of Elvis, a miniature chair, a tiny hammer, and even two interlocking hearts. Using only a razor blade, a sewing needle, and a sculpting knife, Ghetti refuses to use a magnifying glass, making his work even more impressive.

Anja Markiewicz
German artist Anja Markiewicz folds tiny pieces of paper, usually smaller than an inch long, into incredibly cute figurines. Using simply a toothpick, skilled hands, and an incredible amount of patience, she creates cranes, dragons, mice, and flowers on an extraordinarily small scale. Markiewicz uses the ancient Japanese technique of origami to replicate the classic animal figures on a Lilliputian scale.

Anastassia Elias
French artist Anastassia Elias creates mesmerizing landscapes inside toilet paper rolls to raise awareness about sanitation. She chooses cityscapes from both developing and developed countries to use in her artwork, highlighting the fact that healthy cities are built on good sanitation. Elias explained that she “has always enjoyed experimenting that people might otherwise throw away, which is why [she] started working with toilet paper rolls.”

For as long as people have made art, they’ve experimented on a small scale. Today, artists continue to explore the possibilities of art. Many are attracted to the challenges and process of creating tiny art, as it requires extreme patience, concentration, and skill.

Photo courtesy of INHABITAT.COM, TREEHUGGER.COM, PINTEREST.COM,