'The Immigrant' by Michael Murphy

Michael Murphy is a master when it comes to optical illusion. His most recent work, The Immigrant, is a three-dimensional composition made of 2,300 black wooden spheres suspended with translucent fibers.

When you view the sculpture from the right angle, the seemingly chaotic array of objects suddenly aligns to form an image of Michael's partner Natasha Vladimirova. The imagery was inspired by the contributions immigrants make in enriching the society and economy. Natasha is an immigrant and it is with her help that the artwork was made possible.

Michael studied sculpture at Kent State University and received his masters degree from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The Brooklyn-based artist became famous when he created the first fine art portraits of Barack Obama during his 2007 presidential campaign. His work has been featured in various publications and websites and can be seen in numerous permanent installations around the globe.

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The Adorable Sculptures of Yen Yen Lo

These images are from a series of wall sculptures created by Yen Yen Lo . Here you can see her intricately textured ceramic pieces, looking downright adorable. Yen Yen Lo's eye for the unique and whimsical is delightful. Apparently they are not intended for kids under 16. Fifteen-year-olds cannot be trusted with fragile stuff. Get them a Funko Pop instead.

Feast your eyes on the making of 'Heisei Mary'

This is a time-lapse video of Japanese artist Shohei Otomo drawing Heisei Mary — a naked Sailor Moon-like figure completely covered in tattoos. The highly-detailed body ink features Spiderman, Darth Vader, Hello Kitty, Naruto, Street Fighter and Dragon Ball characters to name a few. It's really satisfying to see an artist's process, the way their illustration grows and grows out of nothing. Shohei is known for his hyper-realistic sketches using ballpoint pens. Born in Tokyo in 1980, he is the son of Katsuhiro Otomo, the creator of the manga Akira . He exhibits his work regularly in Japan and Australia as well as in Mexico and France. Three weeks worth of work are sped up into less than four minutes.

James DeRosso's ceramic monsters

I really like these whimsical ceramic creatures by James DeRosso. Yes, they have bulging eyes and toothy grins, but they're not scary at all. The Portland-based artist started making cute monsters while he was a student to jokingly create gargoyle-like guardians for the kiln. After other students kept taking his quirky little figures, he realized there was a market for them. "I'm enjoying the whole monster making niche," James says. "It's amazingly gratifying to be doing ceramics full time and especially to be a teacher introducing kids to the joy of clay." Be sure to visit his website and like his Facebook page for the latest monster news.

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