Ready to get in the holiday spirit, my friend Amy and I decided to spend Saturday morning at The Elegant Elf in Sandy Springs, GA. I love to "shop for a cause" and any holiday gift market puts me in a great mood. I'm always on the hunt for a good artisan/farmers market that showcases the unique works of individuals so I was SO happy to stumble upon the extremely impressive sculptural gems of a young man named Daniel Lai.

Daniel is of Chinese descent and was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia. He came to the U.S. in 2000 and was just granted U.S. Citizenship this year.  Quite the scholar, he has a BA in Linguistics, an MA in Art Studies/Art History and is currently working on his PhD in Sociology at the University of Tennessee.

I could have stared at and studied these exquisite works of art all day. Each one, made of clay, glue and artistically folded books was mounted on a block that was approximately 12"x12".

Daniel says this about his work:

"I often write about my experiences in a journal but find it inadequate to convey how I truly feel. As a result, I translate these paragraphs to a visual form that is three-dimensional, simplistic, and often relatable to many."

"Often times, the true meaning of text and words are just beneath that thin layer of lexical meaning. In other words, we live in a metaphorical world. Three dimensional representation of my experience transcends the boundary of words."

Daniel's booth was very crowded so I couldn't take the time to write down the title of each piece but they were very telling. For example, the one below was named " Ideas Hatching."

If you'd like to learn more about this talented artist, click HERE.

His work is also shown on ETSY and in galleries in North Caroline and Tennessee.

You can email Daniel directly at artbydaniel@gmail.com.