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ReCreating Photos

This set of 4 new paper sculptures began as photographs I took recently along walks near the river and sea.
By layering and shaping prints of the photos and using cast paper mulch to build them out, I’ve created 3D settings for little creatures made from paper clay. The parts added to the photos (the paper mulch bark and stones, and paper clay creatures) are painted and sealed. As I wasn’t pleased with the painted results on the lorikeets, I finished them with tiny paper feathers. One of the most difficult aspects of these pieces is constructing the whole thing into a frame!
(Click near the top of the pictures below to enlarge)

Shy Possums

  • Casting paper mulch
  • Texturing ‘bark’
  • Possums

Seagull lookout

  • Moulded paper stones
  • Paper clay seagulls
  • Gluing the flying gulls

Rainbow Lorikeets

  • Sculpting the bark rings
  • Gluing the feathers
  • Finding a home

Brush-tailed Possum

Mouse Heaven

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“Moments in Flight” – sculptured birds

I saw a photograph of a bird in flight with sunlight behind, making its wings almost transparent. I experimented to see if a similar effect could be achieved with paper and finally settled on paper vellum which is strong enough for fine cutting and marking and yet has a slightly transparent quality which shows up when layered.

The bodies of the birds are cast recycled paper. Using plasticine to form the shape, I then make a mold from plaster of Paris. Paper mulch is pressed into the mold and dried.
The next step is to individually cut and mark each feather before layering them and gluing them to the body. More details of the cast and feathers are in the illustrations below.

Once this project was completed, I began experimenting with colour. More about this in my Layered Papercut Parrots post.

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Layered papercut parrots

Creating birds with paper is delightful as they share many characteristics. My objective with this project was to illustrate the delicacy, lightness, colour and movement of birds.

Following my white “Moments in Flight” sculptures, I designed these layered paper cuts to experiment with colour. While I mainly used coloured paper vellum, I wanted to blend colours on the feathers. The biggest challenge with vellum is trying to paint it! As vellum hates water or any liquid (it resists the colour and curls up) I finally managed to “stain” the feathers using small amounts of airbrush ink on rags, and gently rubbing it in.

These pictures consist of three layers mounted in a box frame. Each layer has a body piece on a central ‘post’ and some white foliage. The back layer features the back wing , the centre layer features the tail and the front layer features the front wing. This gives a 3D effect.

The pieces are framed with glass backing and are designed to stand in front of a window or light source. The photo at the top of this post (or click on the images below to enlarge) to see how light brightens and blends the layered colours.