Nancy Fouts had a knack for creating art that is familiar and strange all at once.

Her surrealist creations combined objects together in impossible ways, and shared visual irony in such a simple yet meaningful manner.

Some of these designs have been explored by artists on Instagram, but Fouts was a trendsetter, and actually made the items come alive, through elegant sculpture work, versus just a digital canvas. Indeed, her work inspired leagues of artists today, who work solely in the digital realm.

Whether visual metaphors, politically-driven work, or just fun visual combinations, exploring Fouts’ designs are a good way to exercise your creative mind.

This groundbreaking artist died in 2019, leaving behind a large, provocative, and fantastic body of work.

A combo of plant/balloon mashups.

A delicate egg nestled inside a grenade nest.

A forlorn piano whose keys are sprouting grass.

A hummingbird’s beak as a sharp stand-in for a record player needle.

A pigeon wearing it’s own bread.

Twin Cherries culminate into a pair of well-used dice.

A revolver covered in sharp spines.

Everyone’s favorite, the Bad Year Blimp.

The irony of a needle through the thimble.

An M-16 assault rifle made out of miniature gold figures.

Our favorite, a shuttlecock broken egg.