Monday, January 28, 2008

Rose petal paper and some older handmade paper artworks

I used gloss medium to glue the petals. In the past I have used matte medium, which I think I prefer, but all I had was gloss. Also I think maybe some gesso was in the bowl I poured the medium into so things have a whitish cast.
A commissioned wall hanging made out of handmade by me paper. The mountains are paper from a hornet's nest.
Handmade by me paper shield. Frankly I like this so much better than the recent one I made out of purchased handmade papers.
Close up of an assemblage created out of handmade by me paper. The wet paper is thick and pressed into a mold I made out of Styrofoam board. It takes two weeks to dry, but then it is very light. The colors are from acrylic paint. I also made the woman in the center using Mom's angel method. I gave this work to someone who had been very kind to me.
She holds a frame drum which is one of the earliest sorts of drums and often played by women. I read a book about drumming that I found on a friend's bookshelf. When Drummers Were Women by Layne Redmond. In the firelight kind of light this drum looks like a moon she is holding.

11 comments:

Lynn Cohen said...

Suki your work just becomes more and more beautiful and intesting. I love the roses in the gesso...And this will flatten into paper? Amazing. And so pretty.
The other pieces are all wonderful, I enlarged them to see the details. Of course I love the six pointed star on the one "doll" angel/woman drummer...the shells fit well too. Just wonderful all around. I love the colors. WOW! And a commisioned piece too. Good for you!

Cris, Artist in Oregon said...

I too love the roses like that. and you have been busy. Good going. And a commission piece is always nice to have. Motivates you as nothing else can. KUDOS Suki.

Anonymous said...

Are you the creator of this paper art! It is amazing!

marianne said...

Awesome things! You are so productive! (and talented of course!)
Do the petals stay that beautiful or do they get brown?
I just love all these different textures and colors etc! So lovely

sukipoet said...

Britt-Arnhild, yes I made the paper pieces. Did a lot of handmade paper making from leaves, fibers etc for awhile.

The roses don't turn brown I believe due to being encased under gel medium however I have given away all I've done in the past so I'm not 100 percent positive.

Lynn the paper will not be flat but just as it is. You can make it flatter by pressing it when wet but I was afraid to do that with the gloss medium as it seemed very sticky.

My commissions were several yrs ago and only for handmade paper items. I actually had a sort of patron for awhile who bought many pieces from me.

patti said...

Really pretty rose-petal paper, I love it. Amazing too, that you used paper from a hornets nest. Very unique!

Anonymous said...

Your work is amazing. I especially love the drum woman. Oh, and how neat that you incorporated paper from a hornet's nest. A collaborative piece.

sukipoet said...

Re: hornets nest. My mom collected a number of them up here on the farm. She gave them to me. They are wonderous. Humans you know can "make" paper by chewing fibers into a mash. I believe they do this in Japan. Which is what the hornet do I think to create their nests. As i understand it they don't return to the nest the next year thus if you take it down you are not taking their home but I could be very wrong on this. Mary, you probably know.

human being said...

Wow Suki... while watching these lovely works , I was in a dreamlike journey into all the history... your work contains many elements which communicate with our collective subconscious... those universal symbols called archetypes...

I love such themes.... and I love the feeling of discovering them in artworks and poetry.. like an archeologist digging into past...

Women playing frame drums ...in Iran this kind of drum is called Dayereh(circle) and if it is larger, Daff. In older times usually women played them in various ceremonies. So the theme is so universal...

Now, like any other ountry, women play all kinds of musical instruments... :D

human being said...

Think the handmade paper by you has got some magic texture making your work unique...

sukipoet said...

thank you human being. Not meaning to "brag" but i think of all the art materials I have used, I have a natural affinity to making paper by hand and then making things out of that paper. Maybe I can do some this summer, which is the best time to do it as it entails a lot of water usage.