Here's a Glimpse of Two Projects-in-Progress
I have been exploring new ways to make paper sculpture this year. I am coming up with some things that look cool to me . . . but so far I'm having difficulty completing a full composition. Here are the pieces I've made:
"Black-Headed Heron"
While doing research for a piece I am making for a private client, I discovered these wonderful, utterly gorgeous birds!
I had a lot of fun making this Black-headed Heron! But how to handle his background? |
This heron is made up of about 18-20 different pieces of paper. I think he turned out looking pretty decent, but all of the backgrounds I've tried to make so far look--pardon the expression--crappy.
Yeah, yeah, it's not very original, but it'll do for a working title.
This one originated with the wing. You might note the similarity to the Heron's wing, above. I used the same pattern, then added another row of feathers, to make it look more in proportion to the horse.
I was thinking about the heavy hair on some horses' feet, also called "feathers," and my fantasy artist side just couldn't resist playing with the obvious next thought.
So far, none of my backgrounds "work" for him, any better than the would-be backgrounds for my Heron. |
The horse, by the way, is a somewhat simpler piece than the heron, though created via the same basic approach. There are only about 16 pieces to him.
The Reality-to-Unreality Balance
It is proving very difficult to come up with a background that can be executed with exactly the same balance of realism-to-unrealism as that of the "central figure." If the balance is off, the composition has no unity, and the whole illusion falls apart.
Part of the time I think the work I've done possibly could stand on its own as "complete," with just a solid-color, neutral background. Part of the time I don't think that would be enough.
Suggestions, anyone?
IMAGE CREDITS: Both images are photos I took of my own artwork. Both may be used on blog posts as long as they are not altered, and full credit with a link back to this post are given. Otherwise, all rights are reserved by Jan Sherrell Gephardt, (c) 2012.
Jan, I LOVE these two pieces. Fantastic work.
ReplyDeleteThe heron might look best against muted colors of a dry grass prairie-type of setting with pale blue sky, and maybe with a single tree in the middle distance?
Horsefeathers? That one's hard. Maybe something with the court of Zeus? Or him ready to launch off a cliff toward a 'flock-herd' in the far distance?
By the way, these photos really show your pieces well. Great job!