My first limited-edition paper sculpture

I've only completed one AP of Common
Cliff Dragon--Male so far. Here he is at his
August Art Night show debut--just before
his new owner took him home!

Common Cliff Dragon--Male is a small, relatively simple piece, but it breaks new ground for me. It is my first-ever limited edition of a multiple-original paper sculpture.

I've been working up to this for a bit more than a year and a half, since the first edition in the Mail Piece Project. My emphasis area for my undergraduate art major was printmaking, and most of my earlier fine art career was taken up with producing and helping to sell reproduction prints by myself and other artists, so the idea of a limited edition has never been strange to me.

During the first several years of doing paper sculpture, however, I couldn't see how I could possibly create a limited edition of them. Then I started the Mail Piece Project. Those pieces were more pop-up than paper sculpture, but as I worked on them I began to see more clearly how I could incorporate another "first love," ink drawing, into the process, and make printouts with archival paper and ink.

L-R: The White Dragon (2007), A Nest in the Wildwood (2008-9), Denizen of the Winter Trees (2009), and
Patterns in Turquoise (2011), the final piece in the "Snowflake Dragons-TNG" series.

To explore further, I needed a subject I knew well--it is only helpful to take on so many challenges at once. A dragon was a natural choice for me.

My first-ever paper sculptures, The White Dragon (2007) and A Nest in the Wildwood (2008-9) featured dragons. When I was figuring out a pattern prototype I started with a dragon in Denizen of the Winter Trees (2009). When I was figuring out how to manipulate color in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, I did my first experiments with "The Next Generation" of "Snowflake Dragons"(2011).

"Body" drawing

So it was back to the dragon-drawing board for this new effort. I started out knowing only that the image area should be about 5X7" and the subject should be a dragon. Then I let my pencil think for me, for a while.

The result was a pencil drawing of a dragon crouched on a fairly sheer cliff face.  I used tracing paper to trace first the wings, then a full view of the cliff face (no void, even though that meant much of what I drew would eventually be obscured by the body and wings--I wanted a certain flexibility in positioning). The original pencils provided the base for the body's ink lines.

I inked the tracings and scanned them, then added color using Adobe Illustrator and my new Wacom Bamboo Tablet. As I worked with the colors, the idea of a neutralized gray-green cliff background and splashy red-and-white coloration for the dragon began to develop. But what could possibly induce a species to develop the kind of coloration that would make it stand out brilliantly from its background?

Wings, with color added

Yes, I know: dragons aren't a real species. But if they were, they'd follow the same evolutionary patterns as real species, and I'm deeply enough steeped in science to know that most creatures--even those at the top of the food chain, such as tigers, leopards, and wolves--generally have some level of camouflage that helps them visually blend into their surroundings.

The main exceptions I could think of were birds and fish. In some of those species, the males display brilliant colors, both to attract a mate and to decoy enemies away from nests. One look at this dragon's wings should tell you I see him as more bird than fish! Goes along with the whole "feathered dinosaur" thing, in my mind.

Okay, so now I had a "logical" rationale for making him the colors I wanted to: he's in mating plumage. Maybe the rest of the year he goes around in drab gray-green, but during this one season he sports a complimentary color scheme like Christmas. And just to make sure the rationale is clear, I added a border and "scientific" information about him (If anyone reading this knows Latin, please check my usage!).

Even sporting red feathers, my cliff dragon was too well
camouflaged against the left-hand background.
I gave him deeper shadows in the background at right.

There still was the matter of the cliff rocks, and I went back and forth on this for a while. Even with all the red on him, he still tended to blend into the background a bit more than was helpful for an artwork (although I'm already extrapolating what kind of predator might prey on common cliff dragons. He wouldn't want to stand out so much that Dragon Eaters could even more easily spot him, or it could be a very short, unhappy mating season!)

My husband didn't care about Dragon Eaters. "I'd make the background completely black," he said. "That'll make him 'pop!'"

I tried a really dark gray screen overlay over the rocks, to see if I could live with it, but I couldn't dismiss thoughts of the Dragon Eaters, and it didn't look enough like the kind of lighting and background colors that worked with this dragon's coloration to suit me. Finally, I came to the compromise of giving him darker shadows to outline some key "edges." That way, I wouldn't feel required to put a pin through his back and claim he was a collected specimen in a shadowbox.

Scroll up and check to see if you think the darker shadows did the trick!

Finally, after all this, I had something I could cut out, sculpt, and assemble, sort of in the way I did with the roses I showed a few weeks back. The rocks are 3-D, as well as the dragon. To me, the sculpting is the most fun part, because it's a little like making magic happen.

There's only "AP #1" (the first Artist's Proof) so far. My little cliff-dweller is possibly still in development. I don't know if there will need to be more proofs (I sold AP #1 on its first outing, before my husband could see it), nor have I figured out an edition size. Even when I can print pre-made flat images, I still have to cut out the pieces, sculpt them all, and assemble each one by hand--a fairly time-consuming process, even though I can do it while watching Nature or Bones on TV. Perhaps I can take a reading on some of these questions if people leave comments (please? I'd love some input!).

Art Night Profile: Signy Gephardt

A jeweler with a knack for wire-wrap

Signy Gephardt with her "baby" Luna.

I have been wanting to post a series of Art Night Profiles, spotlighting some of the artists who participated in the Art Night show I coordinated last August.  Finally, here is the first of them.

Signy Gephardt is a young artist who has only recently begun to show her work, and--full disclosure: yes, she also is my daughter. But I hope you'll agree her work can stand on its own merits.

She first learned about wire-wrap techniques at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, and honed her skills with private commissions and family gifts for several years.

I particularly admire the way she combines semi-precious stones, crystal beads, and wire to create elegant and interesting combinations.

L-R: Forest Swirl Earrings, Frost Swirl Earrings, and Royal Princess Earrings: 
fun with crystals, pearls, and wire.

She often creates "sets" of coordinated pendant necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, and names them after fantasy creatures. You undoubtedly know about dragons and ghosts, and possibly also about Selkies. But, yes, the Nuckelavee also is a fantasy creature (on the very dark side--Google it!). 

L-R: Dragon Set and Treasures of the Selkie Set.

L-R: Ghost Trees Set and Nuckelavee Set.

Not all of her work comes in sets, of course.  Here are some more pieces featuring her signature crystal beads. 

L-R: Empress Bracelet and New Year's Cheer Necklace.

Steampunk-style Clockwork Gears Pin

She also recently has begun exploring Steampunk approaches, as in the pin at right. 

All of the jewelry featured in this profile was created between April 2009 and August 2011. It is the exclusive work of Signy Gephardt, and should not be reproduced without the artist's permission.  

PHOTOS: images of all pieces were photographed by Jan S. Gephardt in August and September, 2011, and are used with the permission of Signy Gephardt.

Examining "Patterns in Turquoise"

Patterns in Turquoise is a May 2011 artwork.  

I first showed this piece, Patterns in Turquoise, in late May 2011 at the ConQuesT 42 Art Show.  It was completed earlier that month, and is another in my "Next Generation" series of Snowflake Dragons.

I had scanned the page of my "Original Series" Snowflake Dragon body shapes, and manipulated the file in Photoshop to change the colors, adjust shapes, etc.

The second generation, many in tertiary colors such as this blue-green, was printed on archival-quality 20-lb. Southworth business paper, using fade-resistant Hewlett-Packard inks. I then cut them out and creased, molded, folded and glued each by hand to create the tiny, stylized 3-D dragon forms.

In Patterns in Turquoise I continued to explore the textural possibilities of paper weaving in the background layers, this time adding fringed paper and using artist-quality Prismacolor pencils to add depth, texture, and richer variety to the background. The colored papers used for the background are from an acid-free Canson series.

Archival Southworth worked well for the pure-white snowflake shapes, which I stacked three-dimensionally with one in the middle that was cut from translucent (acid-free) tracing paper by Canson.

IMAGE CREDIT: The artwork shown is my own original work, photographed by me, and is copyright 2011 by Jan Sherrell Gephardt.  It is available for re-posting under a limited Creative Commons license that allows use with credit given, but no alteration.

Reframe IV: "Snowflake Dragons"

   

This is my original set of boxed, unmatted "Snowflake Dragons,"
at the February 2011 sf convention, Snowflake 13.

I made the first of my series of "Snowflake Dragons" as a group of whimsical color groupings for Snowflake 13, a small science fiction convention in February 2011.  I'd been invited as the Artist Guest of Honor, and wanted to do something special for the convention.  My earlier post, "Fun at the 'Flake'" tells of that adventure.

Unframed Snowflake Dragons could not have been included
in the display in the Stiles Gallery.

I wanted to display my unsold Snowflake Dragons at the March 2011 exhibition in the Stiles Gallery at Westwood City Hall, but they had to be framed, if I planned to show them there.

I set the boxes aside, pulled out some of my unused shadowboxes, and here are the results.

I added another, larger snowflake to my little piece, Orange on Blue #1,  to complete it for framing. I hope it is a fun little piece of artwork.  It also is a study in complementary colors.

The frames definitely give these pieces more presence.  This is Three Yellow on Yellow, a mostly monochromatic piece.

Yellow, Blue and Violet on Gray uses a different trio, and echoes the dragons' colors in the background.

We are warned not to judge books by their covers, and we might extend that thought to judging art by the framing, but I think no one would argue that--in the "real world"--presentation makes a difference.

Fun at "the Flake"

I’ve been in Kansas City science fiction fandom for a long time, so I’d heard of Snowflake, a one-day “relaxacon” billed as a Cabin Fever Fan Party.  But they never had an art show, so I never went.

At least, not until I was asked to be their Artist Guest of Honor this year.  Well, sure, I said; I’m available on February 19.  I held most of my fantasy artwork out of the Antioch Library show, so I could put on a reasonable display.  

Here I am, with my display at "Snowflake 13."

Tim Keltner, Snowflake’s organizer, borrowed the display panels from ConQuesT (our major annual sf convention, held in Kansas City each Memorial Day by the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society).  

Bits and pieces of works-in-progress always seem interesting.

I brought along some of my bits and pieces of “works-in-progress,” as I have begun doing with my opening receptions for more mainstream shows.  I spent much of the morning demonstrating paper sculpture techniques and having fun conversations with people who came over to my table to watch.

About two weeks before the event, I had started making small “Snowflake Dragon” mini-paper-sculptures.  I priced them pretty low, and sold them with their own little boxes so they’d be somewhat protected without having to encase them in small shadowboxes that would raise the price.  I spent most of the afternoon happily engaged in selling them to several people.

My little "Snowflake Dragons" were a hit!

Other highlights of this mini-convention were an appearance by actor Jeff East as Media Guest of Honor, a screening of the movie Lunopolis, and several panel discussions.  In addition to Mr. East and me, Sea of Clouds novelist Allen Billings (a.k.a. Reuel Petrova) was the Author Guest of Honor, and Imperial G.E.L.F. web comic creator Keith Dickinson (as Hikaru Katayamma) was the Fan Guest of Honor.

Snowflake 13 was produced by Nexus Teknology Group and StarBase Kansas City.

Photos by Signy Gephardt--Thanks!

 

“Work: In Progress,” The Fantasy Collection

My artwork was on view September 2-19, 2010, at the Johnson County (Kansas) Library’s Central Resources Center.  The "Work: In Progress" show spans several decades, and gives kind of a past/present/future view of my work. It included some of the 2-D work from my "first art career" in the 1980s, all of the current paper sculptures, and sketchbook pages, which show some of my works in progress--a glimpse of the future.

The left-hand (southern) display case focused on my fantasy artwork, and this collection is the focus of this post.  I'll focus on the other display next time.   

The fantasy collection included three images from my “first art career” as a science fiction and fantasy artist/illustrator in the 1980s, as well as my current, mixed media paper sculptures, many of which have been shown at the ConQuesT, Conestoga, and Capricon science fiction and fantasy conventions.  All of the paper sculptures were displayed in the “Paper Dragons” show, Roeland Park, KS, March 2010.

"Stormwings" 1985, acrylic on Masonite.

This painting took 6 months to create, from first sketches through final brushstroke. Back in those days, I had to rely on images clipped from publications, for reference material. It took a week to find a grainy newspaper image of ducks taking off from a pond, that I could use for "wing" reference. Nowadays, I'd have hundreds of images available with one image search!

"Harmony" 1984, graphite on paper.

I used this drawing for our "Christmas Print" in 1984, and displayed it at numerous shows.

"Enlightenment" 1988, ink on Bristol board.

This piece was used for a "Christmas Print" in 1988. The model for the little boy was my son Ty, who was two years old at the time. The titles on the spines of the books on the shelves behind him were all titles of books written or published by people on our Christmas mailing list that year.

"The White Dragon in His Cloud" 2007, mixed media paper sculpture.

This was my first piece of paper sculpture.  I'd been thinking about the possibilities of making dragons in paper sculpture for quite some time, and a few months earlier I'd spent a fun afternoon doing somewhat nonobjective acrylic paintings.  I wasn't sure what to do with them, however, until one day I sat down and began to make my little dragon.  This piece took an afternoon (and the better part of two years) to make.

"A Nest in the Wildwood" 2009, mixed media paper sculpture.

I used painted bits for the background that date back to 2007, but the rendering on the feathers is more sophisticated than my little "White Dragon."

"The Wild Thing in the Weeds" 2009. Mixed media paper sculpture.

This piece was completed not long after "Wildwood," and I drew my materials from the same sources.

"Bone Dragon" 2009, mixed media paper sculpture. 

Kindly lent from the collection of Karin I. Frank.

This was my first exploration of some of the more abstract possibilities of paper sculpture.

 

"Denizen of the Winter Trees" 2009, mixed media paper sculpture.

I spent several months developing the prototype pattern for this dragon form. You'll also see that I created variations on it for another piece, "Treetop Primaries." This artwork also incorporates a real silver maple twig.

Development pages for "Treetop Primaries," 2009.

The "Work: In Progress" show attempted to show something of my process for creating artwork. To that end, I included four sketchbook spreads, including this one.

"Treetop Primaries" 2009-2010, mixed media paper sculpture.

Completed in 2009 (see the "Development pages" that were displayed with it) and adjusted in 2010, "Treetop Primaries" is the largest paper sculpture I had created by the time of the "Work: In Progress" show. I developed the dragon forms from the pattern originally developed for "Denizen of the Winter Trees," and also incorporated several real silver maple twigs into the design.

"The Leaf Thing" 2010, mixed media paper sculpture.

I so enjoyed working with the leaves in the background of "Treetop Primaries" that I made some more . . . then wondered what kind of fantasy creature might inhabit trees where tiny dragons live. I kept calling this piece "my 'leaf' thing" while doing the initial development, and finally decided that the creature also was a "Leaf Thing."

The fantasy collection made up half of my "Work: In Progress" show.  In the next post on "Artdog Observations," I'll show the rest of it.