All Entries in the "Paper" Category

noriko ambe maps the land between physical and emotional geography

“Using the five senses, perceiving the natural qualities of the materials, I found that I am concerned less about the end, and more about “doing”. The process of creating is equally as important as the finished work.” Noriko Ambe

A Piece of Flat Globe Vol.9, Yupo, acrylic medium
6 11/16″ x 8″ x 3 9/16″

Drawing with an Exacto knife, Japan’s Noriko Ambe laboriously alters thick stacks of Yupo, a white paper made in Japan.  The resulting sculptures, rife with snaking curves and rippling lines, are meant to evoke not only the peaks and valleys of the earth’s landscape, but also the wrinkles and folds of the human landscape.

A Piece of Flat Globe Vol.6 (detail)

A Piece of Flat Globe Vol.4, Yupo
6 1/8″ x 8 5/8″ x 6 1/2“

Ambe’s art evolved from two dimensional drawings and etchings when she began to stack paper and work in three dimensions, eventually embracing the Yupo, a synthetic, translucent paper with an organic quality that makes it feel almost like skin. She also cuts books and catalogs from art exhibits as she reflects on the concept ‘what is art?’

Attention to Detail! 12 1/4″ x 14 1/2″ x 11 1/2″
Cut on catalogues of “Attention to Detail - Curated by Chack Close”
Flag Art Foundation

“When I am drawing or cutting lines, I am interested in observing the power of the changing growing shape. This dynamic shape becomes an entity in itself, “Another geography.” In a sense, the empty space is myself, and the materials represent the present world. Cutting book work is like collaboration for me. And it is important to choose the materials carefully because printed matter conveys a message automatically. The relationship between the linear actions and the materials is like the relationship between human beings and their restricted environment, a connection that is interested in me, too.” Noriko Ambe

jeremy may: bookish gems

Littlefly’s Jeremy May repurposes old books by laminating hundreds of sheets of paper together and then cutting the pages from each book in the shape of  rings, pendants or pieces to be used in a bracelet. After the “Literary Jewels” are carefully finished, many of them go back into the space carved out of the book. The book becomes both packaging and material for the product.  Love it.

via carrotbox

inni pärnänen: the possibility of materials

For jewelry designer Inni Pärnänen, the thrill lies in the possibility of a material or a technique.  The Finnish artist explores parchment paper, cow horn, wax, fine silver, copper and paint, allowing the materials to define the work with surprising results.

Brooches, parchment, silver

More! brooch, copper, paint

Polymorphous, necklace, etched silver, steel wire

The soft shapes, crisp geometric lines, quiet shades of neutral, bold splashes of rippling color, subtle textures, shadows and light Pårnänen achieves with these materials are beautiful and beg to be touched. I wonder what will capture her curiosity next?

Necklace, cow’s horn, silver, steel wire

Ordinary Beauty, ring, burned/dyed paper, cotton thread, wax

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joan dulla: recreating myself and ‘making’ money

I’m slowly getting back to my daily rituals and routines after months of upheaval (all good).  It’s great to be back in the studio after such a long time away from art-making and I’m realizing that the time away has helped me look at my art-making differently; has shifted my focus; has given me several ‘aha’ moments to ponder.  Joan Dulla’s crocheted wire sculpture “Recreating Myself” is perfect for how I feel today.

Recreating Myself

Changing My Mind

Glory Necklace

Best known for her crocheted niobium wire jewelry and sculpture, Dulla’s most recent work includes woven, crocheted money.  Money.  I need a Money Urn. That’s up next for me.

Money Urn

Money Collar

Money Bracelet

Previous post about Dulla here

francesca vitali: when paper meets metal

Francesca Vitali spent several years living abroad working on her PhD before settling in the United States to follow her dream.  A biochemist with an eye for design, Frucci found her way to Penland School of Crafts and the Revere Academy to study jewelry, eventually relocating to Rochester, New York where she splits her time between careers in science and art. We took a quick look at Frucci’s work on Daily Art Muse back in 2007. In her most recent collection, Frucci uses rivets to connect the folded and woven recycled paper with metals.

Sheller Bracelets, copper, paper

Click on the image of the Rosario necklace detail (above) to see several images of this piece, including an image of multiple Rosario necklaces worn at the same time.  Nice.

Bacello Pendant, copper, paper, pearl

Annabella Ring, paper, copper

“Paper crosses our everyday life continuously and in multiple forms: magazines, maps, shopping bags… I enjoy the idea that fragments of our lives will remain trapped in my paper jewelry.” Francesca Vitali

Find more photos like this on crafthaus

Frucci Design on Etsy.

Frucci was a Featured Seller on Etsy.  Read her interview here.

More Frucci jewelry on her Flickr site.

Roadside Scholar’s 2008 interview with Frucci.

house and home: paper houses

We are officially in our new house, and today I am watching the action as they begin the process of installing the kitchen floor.  Wide-plank, 100 year old reclaimed Douglas Fir flooring combined with a reclaimed butcher block counter and another counter made from 100% post consumer waste recycled cardboard/paper will add character to a room that is destined to become the center of our home. I will post pictures when the kitchen is complete {if you want to see pictures of the progress, be sure to follow me on FaceBook - there’s a link in the right sidebar}.

Until then, take a look at Mandy Smith and Mike Wilson’s interpretation of house and home {the rest of the series here, here and here}.

Inspired by the distorted canal houses of Amsterdam and an abiding love for all things paper, Mandy Smith made the house above from paper, glue and foam board. No paint.  No color. The eye is naturally drawn to the lines and shadows of the paper pieces. It looks so peaceful and calm, even as it leans.

Mike Wilson’s idea to fold and glue a few paper houses painted on the inside and white on the outside took on a life of its own and he eventually created an installation of 160 of the little paper houses. I like the way the color on the inside makes these little beauties pop - and be sure to note the gradation in size and shape.

Wilson even shows you how to make your own little paper house here.  Be sure to stop by again this afternoon for another post featuring paper art - you won’t want to miss it.

jane south: the fluidity of architectural experience

When Brooklyn transplant Jane South rides her bike around the city, she takes in the sights a bit differently than your average Londoner in New York. South became fascinated with the way structures looked coming towards her and moving away from her as she rode and soon began to translate what she saw into her folded, constructed paper sculptures.

Long Wheeled Construction, hand-cut and folded-paper, ink, acrylic and balsa
54″ x 168″ x 19″

Long Wheeled Construction, detail

She paints the paper first with acrylic paints, adding detailed line drawings on top of the paint. Next, South hand cuts the spaces between the lines before stretching the paper over thin pieces of balsa wood. Light and shadow play are important elements in the imaginary urban industrialscapes.

Red Square, hand-cut and folded paper, ink, acrylic and balsa, 63″ x 73″ x 12″

Red Square, detail

Most of my work draws on the experience of riding my bicycle around the city. When I first moved to Red Hook, Brooklyn, I was living amongst the remnants of 19th-century industrial architecture–wharves, cranes and windowless warehouses–and the burgeoning technological infrastructures of the twenty-first–giant satellite dishes, cable terminals…things that I don’t know the names of…these structures were right on the doorstep so I encountered them in all their structural mass and enormity, but by the time I was cycling over the Brooklyn Bridge, they appeared on the horizon as tiny and delicate linear structures. It is this constant shifting of perspective and scale that constitutes our actual phenomenological experience of architecture and the city and that I aim to get across, the moving through and around structures, the fluidity of our architectural experience. Jane South, from an interview on identitytheory.com

Tower, hand-cut and folded paper, ink, acrylic and wood, 15′ x 6′ x 5′

Tower, detail

The artist, who holds a BA in Theater Set and Costume Design from Central School of Art in London and an MFA in Painting and Sculpture from the University of North Carolina, recently exhibited Tower (seen above - more images here) in NYC, her largest and most ambitious work to date.

Susanne Vielmetter of Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects talks about South’s process in this video.

Here’s a short video that brings you up close to South’s most recent installation at Spencer Brownstone Gallery in New York (no sound).

simon schubert: crease and fold sketches

Germany’s Simon Schubert doesn’t need a pencil to sketch his ideas. Schubert ‘draws’ room interiors by executing a series of folds and creases on a sheet of paper, achieving a result that isn’t quite origami - it looks more like embossed paper.

The shadows, lines and angles of this white-on-white world are soothing, and speak to me of order amid chaos. I want to step inside and climb the stairs - I think there is a quiet room waiting with a view of sea and sky; an uncluttered space where I can dream and think and plan. Is it really only Tuesday?

The artist, who was formally trained as a sculptor, also has a portfolio of installation art and sculpture on his website - the work is a dark, bold contrast to his 2D crease drawings.

via toxel

amy gross reimagines the landscape

Immerse yourself in the world according to Amy Gross for a moment, where paper, polymer clay and seed beads are transformed to mimic objects from nature that the artist paints, embroiders and stitches into being.  The New York native, now living in Florida, trained as a painter and holds a BFA in Fine Art and Design from Cooper Union.

Mushrooms
paper, embroidery thread, yarn, beads, wire, fabric, hand-sewn to wooden sphere, 4″ x 3.5″ x 3.5″

Warbler’s Biotope
embroidery thread, ribbon, yarn, seed beads, digitally printed fabric, polymer clay, paper, trapunto, applique, sewn to sphere, 5.5″ x 6″

Eyes
paper, embroidery thread, beads, wire, fabric, hand-sewn to wooden sphere, 4″ x 4″ x 4″

I make environments where everything represented is made out of something else - imitative materials: fabric, paper, applique, embroidery thread, paint, beads, oil pastel, and wax. I re-imagine the landscape and objects from nature, altered through my life and experiences of the human body. I mix anxieties and secrets, physical symptoms and the love and fear of being mortal with fabricated roots and leaves and pods and insects and blooms. I mimic the quickly changing natural world through man-made materials with a longer shelf life, an attempt, though illusory, to slow change, to consider and to hold on to life longer. Amy Gross

Lichens
paper, embroidery thread, yarn, beads, wire, pom poms, fabric, hand-sewn to wooden sphere, 4″ x 3.25″ x 4″

Grown
embroidery thread, ribbon, yarn, seed beads, digitally printed fabric, polymer clay, paper, trapunto, applique, sewn to sphere, 9″ x 9″

Amy Gross at itty bitty artshow

Amy Gross website

Amy Gross on Flickr

Read an interview with the artist here

Close up images of her work here

sally hayden gilmore’s cast paper sculpture

Sally Hayden Gilmore explores sexuality and fetishism using botanical references as a starting point because of their non-threatening status in society. Gilmore casts layers of unryu paper with acrylic medium to create the plant-like forms in her portfolio. The artist, who received her Master of Fine Arts degree in 2008, has created a body of work that is provocative, tactile and thought provoking.

hila rawet: paper jewels

Hila Rawet calls her jewelry “gutsy with a feminine edge.” Rawet studied industrial design in school and coupled that experience with a love of jewelry to develop three collections of work using paper, plastic, grommets and springs.

The jewelry shown here, part of the Kipul collection, is made from a series of folded sheets of paper - visit her website to see the Kishut collection, made with plastic and grommets - equally compelling.

Hila Rawet

Read this short interview with Rawet on MocoLoco

katherine wheeler enjoys the journey

Katherine Wheeler considers metal to be her main material, but she often integrates porcelain, paper, linen thread and polymer clay into her jewelry and hollow ware. The Melbourne artist, who maintains a strong focus on enjoying the process of making, has a gold and silversmithing degree from RMIT University in Australia.

Untitled Neckpiece
porcelain, silver, linen and polyester thread, paint, glass beads, pva

Anemone Cup Ring, fine silver, polymer clay, cubic zirconia, paint

Stilt Cup, silver, linen thread, pva, paint

Urchin Ring, fine silver, buckram, paper, paint

My method of designing and making jewellery is spontaneous. I like my work to retain the energy of a quick sketch, which can often be lost during the process of making. The use of fine silver shim allows me to make impulsively. My method allows me to fabricate objects that have a paper-like fragile quality unexpected of metal.

Katherine Wheeler

Read this interview about Wheeler on the Melbourne Jeweller.

mia pearlman is in flux (and an announcement from damuse)

Lately chaos rules my days, so maybe that’s why New Yorker Mia Pearlman was able to pull me right in to the eye of her paper storm. Pearlman, a graduate of the acclaimed LaGuardia High School (studio art) and Cornell University (painting), creates the intricate paper cuts intuitively onsite - I think it adds to the authenticity of the wind tunnel, cyclone-ish, tornado-like, paper-cut installations.

I don’t make sketches or design the installations ahead of time—it all happens on site. In advance I will take photos of the space, which I hang in the studio, and get the dimensions of the walls and ceiling. By the time I do the install I usually have some idea of what I’ll do, but it always turns out different than I imagined.

See more of Pearlman’s process here.

A video on the artist’s website homepage lets you listen in as she speaks about her work. I found it interesting to hear how she started out moving towards something and then one small shift unexpectedly led her in an entirely different direction.

I am interested in those moments in which its impossible to tell if a form is contracting or expanding, coming or going, etc. The ambiguity of form, the fact that everything in life is in flux, that we are not really in control although we might like to believe so, the constancy of change—the ephemeral form of the work reflects the ideas within.

Read an interview with the artist at The Open End.

Announcement from DaMuse!

Come back in a little while when I will announce the three winners from the blog giveaway.  If you haven’t entered yet, but you want to - it’s not too late. I am extending the deadline until 11 am EST and I will post the winners at noon (check the “Latest Posts” category). Details to enter here.

bugged: robert j. lang

Look twice at these insects.  They look real, but they aren’t.  They are paper.  Folded paper to be exact. Paper folded from one sheet of paper if you want all the facts.  No cuts.  None. Robert J. Lang is one of the foremost origami artists in the world with a portfolio that boasts much more than insects. It will amaze and delight you. More Lang right here.

Goliath Beetle, paper

Water Strider, paper

Praying Mantis, paper

Don’t miss Lang’s Ted Talk, Idea + Square = Origami.

Can’t get enough? Everything in this Mitsubishi commercial is paper except the car.  Lang folded the dragon and had help with the rest of the origami set that included hundreds of folded trees.  Must have been a folding frenzy. A team of modelers animated the figures, bringing his dragon to life. Wonderful stuff.

brian dettmer carves a new definition for book

Throughout history writers have connected us to new experiences, people and ideas with books that enrich, enlighten, educate, romance, uplift, devastate and distract. Brian Dettmer’s altered book sculptures are meant for the same curious sort who dares to pick up a book and be transported to another place.  Full of intrigue and mystery, Dettmer’s carved books are as layered and complex as the characters in a good story.

Full Set of Funk, altered set of encyclopedias, 9.5″ x 66″ x 6″

Standard American, altered vintage encyclopedia set , 9.25″ x 26″ x 9.5″

Standard American, detail

Packer Schopf Gallery describes Dettmer’s work as “sculptural subtraction.” The artist, adept at uncovering secrets, exposing hiding places and revealing beauty, conveys old messages in new ways. By ‘taking away’ - carefully removing pieces and parts of a book’s pages with scalpel and tweezers -  he alters our perception and accomplishes the unthinkable: Brian Dettmer creates new connections.

New Books of Knowledge, altered set of encyclopedias, 16″ x 26.5″ x 10″

New Books of Knowledge, top view

New Books of Knowledge, detail

In the video below, listen to the artist talk about his work, including an explanation of  how he created his new, animated sculptures. If you want to know more about his process read this BPM Magazine article.

For Brian Dettmer’s most recent work, visit his Flickr site.  Even more at Toomey Tourell Fine Art. And books aren’t the only thing he alters. His altered cassette tape skulls are scary. More work-in-progress studio shots here.

Books being prepped in the artist’s studio

Kingdom, altered book, 9 5/8″ x 10.75″ x 9.75″

Many thanks to Seth Savarick to thank for letting us know about this fascinating work.