'Wine Knots'- Sculptures That Hold Wine Bottles Also Stand Alone As Art- Great Holiday Gift

Whether it's a festive feast for the upcoming holidays, an anniversary, birthday, or holiday gift, artist and sculptor Robin Antar offers her hand-carved Wine Knots as a decorative and functional element. The Brooklyn, NY artist and mother of three has sculpted an elegant design that holds two bottles of wine, and serves as a work of art. A unique gift to be sure, a great conversation piece too.

The Wine Knots measure 16"h x 11" w x 9"d, and are hand carved out of a solid piece of stone and then cast in stone. They can grace a table, or serve as artwork in another part of the home. Currently available in white and teal blue, they can be made to order in a wide range of colors (www.rantar.com).

Ms. Antar, who is known for her realistic sculptures of American culture-such as Oreos, Diesel jeans, and Dr Martens -- is an award-winning artist whose sculptures have graced the windows of Madison Avenue, and have been featured at museums and galleries around the world including the City Museum in St. Louis, the Las Vegas MGM Grand Hotel, Sotheby's, the National Art Club and the Nabisco Corporation Gallery. Her sculptures are a challenging trompe l'oeil for the viewer, often leaving them wondering: is it a sculpture or is it the real thing?

In contrast to the order of her home and the gallery-like quality of her living room where she rotates her favorite pieces, her studio houses 7 tons of stone (which spills over into her garage), and the unusual tools of her trade (including heavy drills that seem far too bulky for the slight Antar to lift, much less sculpt with). She just completed transforming 6,000 pounds of white Yule marble into a larger-than-life-sized bag of potato chips.

Ms. Antar is the recipient of numerous industry awards including The NYC Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, the Gold Medal of Honor from The Allied Artists of America (for Milano? cookies), the Associate award for my boxing gloves in 2010 from the Allied Artist of America, and the Gretchen Richardson Award for carved sculpture (work boot) from the National Arts Club, NYC. She was recently named in the Best of America Sculpture Artists, and Important World Artists I - to be published in 2012.

She is currently represented at Gina MW Gallery, Long Beach, Ca.,www.ginamwgallery.com/, and LuminArte Gallery, Dallas Texas, www.luminarte.com/home.html.