Daily Art Muse » Paper

viviana santamarina: graphite and paper

Susan Lomuto — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:34:07 +0000

Substituting pencils for crochet hooks allows Viviana Santamarina to leave traces of graphite as she crochets thin paper strips, adding one more interesting element to her collection of figurative sculptures.

One Stitch at a Time

Encircling The Void

Santamarina’s website is under construction and not fully functional but her blog has more than two dozen images of the sculptures.

Wandering

Once Upon A Time

Dress

I really appreciate the low-tech aspect of this work – we are often seduced by tools and techniques – Santamarina reminds us that humble tools and basic techniques are more than enough.

danielle bodine’s paper covered baskets and news from damuse

Susan Lomuto — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:43:31 +0000

Danielle Bodine uses traditional basket techniques and found objects to create the lush, paper covered basket forms seen here. Bodine, a textile artist for 30 years, casts paper on the baskets then adds texture by stitching, collaging and burning with a wood burning tool.

Schroon Lake Melody, 36″ x 7″ x 6″
Mulberry papers cast on basket, removed and reformed into instrument shape.
Painted, printed, and collaged with prints.
Cane, screws, waxed linen attached.

Song of Flight, 19″ x 5″ x 4″,
mulberry papers, Japanese clippers, waxed linen

Mio’s Song, 43″ x 7″ x 3 ”
cast mulberry papers on bamboo basket, plastic gas funnel, and coiled basket, metal clippers, tool, screws, waxed linen

Images from Jane Sauer Gallery. See more of Bodine’s baskets there.

Coming soon from daMuse

When I write about an artist I try to make sure there is a central location to send readers – a place where you can see the full body of work, learn more about the artist behind the art, discover where the work is being shown, get all the latest news…and more.

I came across an image of Bodine’s sculptural baskets during my daily research for DAM and knew immediately that I wanted to share her work, but I couldn’t find a website for the artist. A little digging came up with individual images on different sites and a few galleries showing small collections of the work, an article about her (beautiful) home and a reference to a workshop she taught.

In the end, the images of Bodine’s work on the Jane Sauer Gallery website were compelling enough for me to share with DAM readers (nice job Jane!), but I still wanted to know more, see more, learn more…and so do customers, collectors, galleries and prospective students.

I am getting ready to launch a new service to help artists develop a better web presence. If you are selling your art or are thinking of selling your art, a solid web identity is an important part of a good marketing strategy. Does this feel like an overwhelming, daunting task? Don’t worry – daMuse is here to help!

Whether you have a website that needs a makeover or are just beginning to think about a website design, watch this space for more information…coming soon.

cybele young’s miniature paper sculptures

Susan Lomuto — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 12:38:42 +0000

I’m back after three weeks away – I have emails to answer, phone calls to make, pictures to upload…it’s going to be a busy day. While I’m getting organized take a look at Toronto artist Cybele Young’s finely detailed paper sculptures. Using Japanese washi paper – much of it printed with the artist’s copperplate etchings – Young sculpts snippets of domestic life. She is captivated by the fleeting moments of the every day, and manages to bring a childlike whimsy into a body of work that is adult and highly skilled. Poetic. Click on the images to see them full sized.

Shape Image, Japanese paper

Where’s My List?, Japanese Paper, 7 x 2 x 1

But I’m Looking This Way, Japanese paper, 6 x 7 x 1

I Thought I Heard Something, Japanese Paper, 8 x 7 x 2

I Found It Over There, Japanese Paper, 8 x 10 x 1

Neurartic has a fascinating post about the artist – an excerpt appears below – read the full post here.

“She depicts quotidian objects in odd juxtaposition: Chestnut husks on a milk carton, a shopping cart rising skyward courtesy of a hot air balloon, a view camera pointing at a circa 1975 office chair on wheels. These are familiar tactics to the mnemonist who is able to remember long lists of unrelated items by making visual images that link them together a very personal and idiosyncratic fashion. The artist is building and rebuilding an internal lexicon. We viewers are invited to read along with her and make our own connections. The work comes from that place where where episodic memory meets semantic memory.”

This video is a compilation of 39 Japanese paper sculptures “individually animated through articulation before framed as one piece.”

reinhard wöllmer: necessity leads to innovation

Susan Lomuto — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:53:55 +0000

Reinhard Wöllmer discovered a new opportunity for his art in 1991 when he could not find drawing paper while traveling in Macedonia. Eager to work on his paintings, Wöllmer ground up old newspapers and created his own paper – an act that gave birth to the sculptures he creates today.

Focusing on simple forms and the intensity of a limited color palette, Wöllmer pigments the paper pulp then uses a hammer to create the convex discs and squares. Once dry, the German artist cuts into the layered forms, creating a new space that allows a balanced interplay of form, material, light and shadow.

More here.

alexandra deutsch’s paper sculpture

Susan Lomuto — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 21:50:39 +0000

Drawing inspiration from marine life, fossils and exotic plants, Germany’s Alexandra Deutsch molds, folds and pigments paper until the transformation from idea to sculpture is complete. I see deeply textured surface treatments, radiating lines, color combinations that PoP! and rich ideas for jewelry in this work. What do you see?

Our internet connection is back and all is right with the world. Have a great weekend!

Paper, pigment 20″x 23″ x 8″

Paper, pigment

Paper, pigment 10″x 8″ x 4″

Paper, pigment

Paper, pigment 16″x 15″ x 4″

ann weber: balancing act

Susan Lomuto — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:48:46 +0000

In a time when recycling and reuse is trendy, Ann Weber’s reasons for doing it are anything but trendy. The California artist was looking for a way to go big – even BIGGER – with her sculptures, and cardboard proved to be the perfect material.

String of Pearls

Armed with a stapler, strips of cardboard, shellac and an exuberance that permeates each piece, she creates organic forms that are familiar yet foreign, graceful yet bull-in-a-china-shop awkward, inviting yet intimidating by their very size.

Tiny Dancer, cardboard, staples, shellac, 108″ x 51″ x 38″

“The sculptures read as metaphors for life experiences such as the balancing acts that define our lives or how far you can go with something before it collapses. They are large primal forms that can represent seed pods, figures, architecture, relationships, pearls.” Ann Weber

Click on Weber’s image above to watch a short film about the artist. Weber’s enthusiasm for her work is infectious, uplifting, joyous.

Wedding Party, cardboard, staples, shellac

Turvy, Miss Priss, Topsy, cardboard, staples, shellac, 96″ tall

See more of Weber’s sculptures at Donna Seager Gallery

Read an article about Weber in The San Francisco Sentinel

Even more about the artist here and here

carlos natan lopez: origami tessellations and a word about love

Susan Lomuto — Tue, 18 May 2010 14:56:15 +0000

today’s flickr find:

“The eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them: there ought to be as many for love.” Margaret Atwood

LOVE, positive, front

LOVE, negative, back [it's still beautiful, eh?]

LOVE – how you get there: the roadmap, the crease pattern, the glorious, confusing labyrinth

Origami Tessellations by Carlos Natan Lopez

blog here

[via]

lydia hirte’s contorted paper shapes

Susan Lomuto — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:08:25 +0000

If you’ve been reading DAM for any length of time you know that I have a weakness curves and swirls. In this collection of paper pendants Lydia Hirte manages to give us a different take on the curving line. Clamping and strengthening stacked pieces of card stock allows Hirte to create contorted shapes that flow and bend, suggesting subtle, graceful movement.

jennaca leigh davies: paper, tyvek, metal jewelry

Susan Lomuto — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:42:17 +0000

After receiving a degree in architecture in 2000, Jennaca Leigh Davies worked as an architect while she went back to school to complete her MFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing. The artist graduated in 2007 and her designs combine a fascination with the geometry of nature and a love of architectural details. Materials include Tyvek, laser cut paper and enameled copper. I find it endlessly interesting to watch how she translates similar designs into each of the materials she uses.

Rings, Tyvek

Bracelet, laser cut paper

Pendants, enameled copper, sterling silver chain

Rings, Tyvek, sterling silver

Paper Study II

Pendants, enameled copper, sterling silver chain

Spiral Earrings, laser cut paper, sterling silver

“The work I make is meant to be worn, but I also intend for it to be an interesting object when off the body. I think of my jewelry as small sculptures or miniature architecture, and the body, as my canvas.” Jennaca Leigh Davies

charles clary: hand cut paper installations go viral

Susan Lomuto — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:46:18 +0000

Not satisfied with the results of the paintings he was trying to create based on the microscopic viral world, Charles Clary decided to move away from the two dimensional medium and experiment with other materials. He eventually discovered that he could achieve the desired results by hand-cutting and layering paper shapes. Using a paper made specifically for scrapbooking, he cuts up to 4,000 sheets of paper and 14,000 polystyrene spacers for each vividly colored installation. Clary’s intent is for the reliefs to look like they are growing, out of control, contaminating surfaces and taking over the space they inhabit. Mission accomplished.

Double Diddle Evisceration, detail, layered paper installation

Codastic Infestation

Untitled Movement

The detail shots tell more of the story for each installation.
Visit the archives on Clary’s blog to see more.

“The whole process becomes very meditative, whether its cutting and sanding my supports, or spending days meticulously cutting paper, or cutting all the polystyrene spacers that go in between each layer everything takes so much time that I have to fall in love with it or I’d go crazy.” Charles Clary, from this interview

Codastic Diddlation, detail

Microbial Reverberation, detail

This detail shot shows the acrylic spacers between the paper layers

These worlds escape reality, growing beyond my control. With each new evolution, these worlds continue to grow and morph into strange new embodiments, developing new and limitless manifestations of viral like expanses. Charles Clary from an interview with yatzer