I admit I’ve been a bit obsessed creating ‘underwater’ themes for my paper sculptures! I picked up this 3 panel frame in an op-shop some time ago and decided to see what I could re-create with it. Although I’m not quite as pleased with the finished product as my previous underwater pictures, I had fun creating patterns for the 3D yachts and racing them! The fish are painted with an opal sheen to give a silvery appearance; unfortunately it doesn’t show up in the photos. (Click the top half of the photos to enlarge) A particular challenge with this piece was the shallow depth of the frame – just 25mm to create and construct multiple layers.
This is my third paper sculpture project using LCD backlight diffuser film to create an underwater effect. Just like Lily Pond and Fish Bowl, this piece is constructed in layers, using a transparent acrylic sheet to ‘float’ the objects in the centre. Most of the structure is a collage of photographs, cut and shaped into 3D images together with paper models of coral, fish and the yacht. These pieces are very difficult to photograph due to the film picking up the smallest reflections, but the images below of the construction will give a clearer view. [Click the top half of the photos to enlarge.] I hope I have an opportunity to exhibit these 3 pieces at some stage as they look quite different “in the flesh”!
This is the sequel to “Lily Pond’. It’s my second experiment using an LCD backlight diffuser sheet from an old laptop which blurs objects directly behind it, giving it an underwater effect. The artwork is constructed from cut and sculptured paper and put together in 3 layers with a clear acetate sheet in the centre. This time I’ve made the fish 3 dimensional, although they are somewhat hidden by the ‘underwater’ blurring.
I’ve been digging through my salvaged materials to ReCreate a new art ‘sculpture’.
‘Lily Pond’ is made predominantly from ring-folder dividers (see picture below). It incorporates paper cutting and shaping, constructed in three layers, with the centre layer supported on a piece of clear overhead projector film.
The ‘secret ingredient’ that creates the underwater effect? An LCD backlight diffuser sheet that comes from behind an old dismantled laptop screen! This film is mirror-like on one side, but the other side warps, magnifies and blurs objects directly behind it, making the layered art look underwater. (Click on the close-ups above to enlarge)
It’s weird, because viewing it from the side you can see nothing behind the film – you have to view it front-on, but that makes it very unusual and a bit mysterious. I’m planning to explore the possibilities further with more ‘underwater’ experiments. Stay tuned!
This ‘boutique’ shop window was inspired by memories of dressing paper dolls as a child, together with my love of op-shops and sewing, although creating paper clothing is much more challenging than fabric!
The mannequins are shaped with a scroll saw from offcuts of mdf (medium density fibreboard). While mannequins don’t usually have hair, I’ve used wood shavings as hair made their hats look and fit so much better.
Paper scraps from office stationery, wrapping paper, craft offcuts etc, are shredded and mulched into paper pulp. The clothing is then constructed by experimenting with a variety of paper sculpture techniques; cast paper formed in plaster moulds (to give shape to the bodices and accessories), fluting and shaping the skirts by gently pulling wet pulp sheets onto fabric pieces and leaving them to dry, and by layering sheets of different coloured pulps together.
Mannequins
Moulded & shaped paper
Mirrored ‘shop window’
I’ve used mirror paper in the background to give the impression of a shop window, and also to show off the back of the models.
This piece was created for a Fringe exhibition in 2022 at Gallery 1855 called “Fashion – Make a Statement”.
Two new creations have emerged since my last post, and while I don’t always have my eyes glued to ground when I’m out walking, I see so much potential in the shape and form of natural debris! I keep the twigs, bark and chips in their natural form as much as possible. I gently scrub them, lightly sand them (where possible) and finish with a light sealer, particularly on the more fragile pieces after constructing the bird shapes with wood glue.
(Click on the top half of the pictures to enlarge)
When I’m out walking I often find things on the ground that give me ideas. I’ve been experimenting with leaves and twigs. Although they are strictly ‘found’ objects, they are also ‘recycled’, once their life on the tree is over, and are just begging to be ReCreated!
Click the top half of the images to see them in detail.
Camouflage
Camouflage This first piece uses leaves from an ash tree which have a remarkable resemblance to bird and wing shapes. I’ve arranged them on a twig ‘tree’, using fibres from a fallen palm branch to create a tiny nest. The leaves are press-dried and coated with a thin sealer which I’m hoping will retain their natural autumn colours. This piece is made in two layers to give an added dimension, which I can never resist. The birds are perfectly camouflaged among the leaves!
The back layer
The front layer
Bird detail
Nest detail
Leaf Litter
2. Leaf Litter This second piece also uses leaves and twigs, but this time I’ve bent and twisted the twigs to shape them into birds. This has been a fun project as little personalities seem to emerge as I experiment in constructing the birds. Tiny leaves are used in the nest ‘litter’.
Winter is a perfect season for hours of experiments with art. The days grow cold and dim, but not before the glorious splash of autumn that is such an inspiration! Watching the sun illuminate the leaves of maple trees, I wanted to capture their colour, glow and delicacy, and to contrast it with the dark, solid trunks.
It’s been fun to further develop my love of layering and 3D art, as well as using mainly recycled elements. I’ve cut to size glass and clear acrylic from old picture frames found in op-shops and used recycled paper for the sculptured trunks and branches.
The picture is created in five transparent layers (see diagram below). The trunks are made from moulded paper pulp, supported on cardboard armatures and painted with sealer and acrylic paints. The leaves are painted with alcohol inks onto the glass and acrylic layers. The effect is finished with tiny cut and embossed paper vellum maple leaves on the lower branches and falling to the ground.
Construction layers
Creating the sculpture mould
Sculpture layers
Inks used to paint the glass and acrylic layers
Layering the leaves
Adding tiny paper leaves
The biggest challenge was the transparency, especially the glass backing. The picture had to look (almost) as neat from the back as the front! The transparency also created problems in gluing on the tiny leaves as even after trialing 5 types of glue, it can still be detected in certain light, so I had to work very carefully. The deep solid wooden frame, together with 2 layers of glass also make the picture heavier than average. It’s also very difficult to photograph art that is behind glass!
The picture looks particularly nice with some light behind it, but still quite effective on a white or light coloured wall. [Click the images below to see close up details]
This is the second paper sculpture I’ve created for the “Living Water” SALA exhibition.
Depicting the joyful Living Water of baptism, water is symbolically linked to the Holy Spirit (dove). All efforts to keep the water within the picture failed! Living water can’t be contained – it insists on overflowing boundaries to give life to the world!
The dove was sculptured using the technique I created for Moments in Flight
The water was inspired by my Splash! table centerpiece, but it’s a new design created with three layers of vellum paper in shades of grey, blue and white. Behind the layered cut-outs is silver foil, to give the impression of water sparkle.
Once again, the complex framing of the piece was a challenge to accommodate the delicate layering and 3D images.
“Living Water” is a SALA (South Australian Living Artists) exhibition, hosted by the Lutheran Church of Australia that ran throughout August 2021. Artists were encouraged to explore the influences faith plays in artwork. This is the first of two paper sculptures I’ve created in response to the theme.
Based on the Bible story in John 4, a woman comes to the well to draw water. But through her encounter with Jesus she’s captivated by Living Water, her life changes direction and she returns home without her water jar.
The water jar, well and woman are sculpted with cast recycled paper. Images are modelled in plasticine and plaster molds are created into which paper pulp is pressed. This process is detailed in my Paper Sculptured Photographs post.
The scene is set within a water drop and I experimented with cutting and embossing to decide how best to represent the gentle water ripples that surround it. This sculpture also includes ‘behind the scenes’ three layers of cut and embossed droplets descending. Due to its translucency, I’ve chosen paper vellum to depict water.
It had its challenges! At A3 size, these are much larger than my usual paper sculptures, so working on and supporting larger sheets of paper was the first challenge. The second was the complex framing required for the bas-relief and layering.
