Artwork

Back in 2011, Athens-based architect Katerina Kamprani started working on her Uncomfortable series, which entailed reimagining everyday items into “uncomfortable” versions of their useful selves. Many of these everyday goods pertain to the kitchen: a double-cupped champagne glass, interlinked coffee mugs, a thick cutlery set, hourglass salt and pepper shakers, and even a slipper spoon. “I started this project for fun, so my purpose is to make people laugh and feel amused!

Best Pie Bakeoff Because so many people now cook with a camera around their necks (and eat with one in their laps) we encourage readers to send in photos with their questions and require them to do so for contests. Many are wonderful, but some could use help. Whether or not you plan to participate in the Bakeoff, I thought a little Pie Photography 101 might be useful.By the way, I learned most of these tips from my mother, who is a food stylist and did the styling for my book. Thanks, Mom.

Restaurant menu design might not be a frequent topic of conversation among home cooks, but food lovers (and what home cook isn’t a food lover?), design buffs, and those who love to cook for a crowd have much to glean from the creative menu’s play on type, color, and presentational style.

Since our conversation with him two years ago, Christopher Boffoli has been busy photographing a whole universe of tiny people interacting with giant food in surprising, funny and illuminating ways. And with the release of his new book, Big Appetites, you can finally have a your own collection of his photographs to pore over and share with your friends.

An art installation in New York City’s Times Square is making a statement about the sugar consumption of American children. It’s conceptualized and executed by KIND Snacks, and reportedly went up Tuesday morning before 5 a.m. The one-day installation showed sugar boxes piled on top of one another to reflect how much sugar children in the U.S. ingest every five minutes. In case the visual cue isn’t enough to guess, it’s 45,485 pounds.

The Dude’s White Russian. Alex’s Moloko Plus. Jay Gatsby’s Gin Rickey. If you have a soft spot in your heart for the signature cocktails of your favorite characters in film and literature, this new infographic from Pop Chart Lab is for you.The Cocktail Chart of Film and Literature illustrates 49 drinks famously imbibed by beloved fictional characters of film and literature, all contained in a clever chart that could also serve as a handy cocktail recipe guide.

A departure from our regular food programming for one moment to indulge our childhood adoration of LEGOs. LEGO is reaching out to grown-up food-lovers right now with some seriously fun food-related sets. How about your own holiday bakery? Or a French-style city block complete with green grocer? Oh the fun we could have!This Winter Village Bakery is so fun. Cupcakes in the window, and a chef complete with toque. So much fun for an aspiring young baker.• Winter Village Bakery, $54.

A pithy saying never goes out of style, and the minds behind these quotes knew it. From Julia Child’s endlessly quotable ode to the best kind of people (those who love to eat, obviously) to W.C. Fields’ witty comeback about cooking with wine, these 10 framed quotes will add a little spark to your kitchen.

You might think a cute heart or a pretty fern in the foam of a latte is a sign of elite barista skills, but then you probably haven’t seen Daphne Tans’ 3-D latte creations. The 17-year-old is taking latte art to new heights with adorable foam sculptures that are technically astonishing and way too cute to drink.

We’re not the best at math (unless it’s figuring out how many cups of chocolate chips need to go into a batter: all of them!), but this is one mathematical diagram we not only understand, but also 100 percent agree with. It’s basically more true than the idea that 1 + 1 = 2. You can print it out (for free!) and hang it up in your kitchen, office, or even your home gym (if you have one of those … ). We knew Venn diagrams must be good for something!

When I tuck into a bag of my favorite potato chips (Meijer’s Kettle-Cooked Jalapeño Chips for life!), I don’t do so with false hope. I know they aren’t good for me, but I’ll be damned if they aren’t the most satisfying snack mankind has ever known. When a craving hits that I just can’t resist, I tend to just pretend the nutrition label isn’t there. But what if that wasn’t an option?

When I was a kid I didn’t look forward to the turkey, mashed potatoes, or even pumpkin pie. What I wanted to do more than anything else on Thanksgiving was color the giant full-page turkey for the “Oh, You Turkey” contest in the Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, you can only enter the contest if you’re under the age of 12.

Designer Ankita Kerjariwal opened her Etsy shop in 2011 with her fun collection of beautiful graphic prints for the kitchen. Many of her offerings are personalized or available in custom colors and would make a great wedding or housewarming gift. Ankita was very kind and agreed to answer a few questions for The Kitchn about her artwork, her home, and what she loves to cook. AK: “My favorite design is the colorful set with bold colors and the simple kitchen silhouettes.

I know it’s probably not a good idea to upstage the bride, but part of me thinks there could be no better way to dress for a spring wedding than in a gown made to look like a giant head of red cabbage. I’m only half joking. There is so much beauty in the shapes and colors of vegetables, which artist Alyssa McNamara captures especially well in this cabbage dress, part of a line called ROOTED that she created several years ago.

A lot of us view food as art — especially the food bloggers amongst us. We appreciate the blackened outline of a meringue and the sheen of chocolate ganache dripping down the sides of a cake. Today though, I’m appreciating art that has food as its subject. Today, I’m looking through the works of Wayne Thiebaud.

Eat your greens… and your reds, and your yellows, and your violets. That’s the message of this bold and informative poster. Want a reminder of just which nutrients are in your fruits and vegetables? Hang this on your kitchen wall. This infographic and poster was designed by Russell van Kraayenburg of Chasing Delicious. (Remember his great seasonal produce calendar?

We recently praised battered baking sheets for their utility and history in the kitchen, but photographer Christopher Jonassen takes it one step further, exploring the physical beauty to be found in the dings, scratches and scrapes of well-used frying pans.

After living in Asia for about 6 months, we gathered quite a vibrant chopstick collection. When we got home to Portland, I wasn’t sure what to do with our loot — luckily, I have a creative husband.The chopstick collection is mounted above our bar counter using small eye hooks. These 1/4″ screws can be found at most local hardware stores. My husband simply screwed the hooks into the wall in an organic, flowing line.

The New York Public Library has a breathtakingly vast digital archive. You can browse botanicals, photographs, historic apartment floorplans, and (our favorite) old menus. It’s addictive! And here’s the best part: You can order prints, framed or unframed, or print them out yourself for free. We can so see a row of these whimsical menus in a kitchen.Most of the menus are from hotels and cruise lines and date back to the early-to-mid 1900s.