Peanut Art
One of the perks of my job is that I get tours of the Ripley’s warehouse from time to time. So if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that Ripley’s loves small, improbable art. We’ve got sculptures made out of the lead of pencils, crayons, and small enough to fit in the eye of a needle.
Which is how I know Steven Casino’s Peanut Art would be right at home with us.
I know it might be easy to assume that, like jellybean art, peanut art is a big mural or portrait made of peanuts. However, this is actually referring to small sculptures and portraits painted onto the surface of peanuts!
Superhero Peanut Art|CC Steve Casino Facebook
Steve Casino
Casino invents toys for a living. Which is a cool job in and of itself, but then one day he saw a peanut that he thought looked like him. He drew his face on it, showed it to a friend, got a laugh, and decided to take on this new hobby.
As a result, he’s gotten considerable national attention, and even takes commissions for his work.
The finished products can take up to 20 hours to complete, and they’re all funny and impressive to behold.
My personal favorite aspect of the pieces is the way he leaves the backs or some other portion of the figures untouched in order to make sure everyone knows the art was indeed made on a peanut. There’s a wonder and an authenticity to Casino’s work that can’t be duplicated.
If you’re going to commission one for a gift, just make sure the recipient doesn’t have a peanut allergy.
You can follow Steve Casino on Facebook.
A Few Nutty Examples
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory|CC Steve Casino Facebook
CC Steve Casino Facebook
Halloween|CC Steve Casino Facebook
David Bowie|CC Steve Casino Facebook
Friday 13th|CC Steve Casino Facebook
Starry Nut|CC Steve Casino Facebook
[…] strange and unusual art is something we do here at Ripley’s. Whether it’s art made of unusual materials or created by an artist with an amazing story, it’s it somehow out of the ordinary, […]