Paper sculpture is an original trend in art. Not so many masters are engaged in this type of creativity today. And only a few succeeded in this field.
Volumetric paintings by Calvin Nicholas
The paper sculpture made by this unique artist is amazing and extremely realistic. In 1981, Calvin opened his own design studio in Toronto. And after three years, he made his first experience, trying to combine his love of wildlife and craving for creativity. So the paper sculpture was born.
Calvin Nicholas invented his method of creating voluminous paintings, the plot of which were animal portraits. First, he creates a hard paper frame of the future object. Then the sculptor attaches small details to it: feathers, wool, scales. Each detail is given a special texture with the help of wooden and metal fixtures and tools. Nicholas achieves almost one hundred percent realism, portraying representatives of the animal world.
Paper sculpture of Piret Kallezen
The whole world today knows the name of this artist. He creates paper sculptures with his own hands, using a combination of cuts and folding. These masterpieces are obtained literally from a single A4 sheet.
These are incredible plot scenes and individual vivid images. His paintings contain a deep meaning, the fragility of the material carries romanticism, emphasizes the tragedy of the sculptures, shows how short-lived happiness is, how fragile human life is.
Wet Paper Sculptures
Spouses Allen and Patty Ekman developed their own unique methodology for creating the most real masterpieces from ordinary waste paper. Paper is specially deoxidized and turns into a homogeneous mass. The silicone mold is prepared in advance, in which the material is folded, compacted and then dried.
And here the masters begin the most difficult stage of work. Using a medical scalpel, artists work out every smallest detail, every fold and hair, giving the sculpture an amazing vivacity and truthfulness.
It takes more than a year for the masters to create one masterpiece. After all, first you need to sculpt a sculpture of clay or clay. Then a silicone mold is made from it for casting the workpiece. And this is only a preparatory stage for work.
Of course, the most difficult thing is to remove all unnecessary with precise movements. Even the smallest mistake in work can nullify all the previous work, no matter how long and painstaking it may be.
Paper sculptures at home
Looking at the work of great masters, it seems that this is beyond the power of an ordinary person. However, you can try to do something like this. Let it turn out not so highly artistic, not so expertly, but from the heart.
So how to make a paper sculpture yourself?
- First you need to sculpt a figure from plasticine that you want to create.
- Then the template is covered with layers of silicone sealant. The total thickness of the mold should be at least 3 cm. The procedure is carried out in two stages: the first layer must carefully fill in all the small recesses and slots, after drying, the second layer already directly creates the thickness of the future shape. Then you need to let the form dry well.
- After all this, the workpiece is neatly cut, and the clay is removed.
- Now the paper pulp is being prepared, with which the form is filled.
- After drying, the workpiece is removed and worked out with a sharp scalpel.
- If necessary, paint or varnish is applied to the sculpture.
There are many recipes for creating paper pulp. The simplest one is that the paper is thoroughly soaked and crushed, squeezed out, a little sifted wood ash or gypsum is added to it and kneaded like dough.
From such a mass one can not only cast sculptures, but also sculpt, as the craftsmen do when working with clay and other materials.