A basic introduction to my process...

I make paper sculptures - relief sculptures made entirely out of paper that has been cut, folded, embossed, curled, etc... I figured a good way to start "blogging" about my "art" is to show how I go about making it. I recently was asked to make a dragon, and took some pictures at different points in the process of creating it.

First thing I do is a drawing, usually a detailed drawing showing everything I am going to want in the final paper sculpture. I use this to figure out the shapes I need to cut for the sculpture.

Next I trace out all the shapes I'm going to need to cut, pick the colors, and then cut them out with an xacto knife. This person wanted a blue dragon, so I chose various blues and whites.

Next, I shape all the parts using various tools (embossing styluses, burnishers, needle tools, various cylindrical objects of different sizes - anything that will give me the result I am looking for at the moment).

Once all the pieces have been shaped I glue everything together, usually in sections, and then glue all the sections together.

Lastly, I take all of the completed parts of the sculpture and secure them to a background and end up with a finished sculpture.

"Blue Dragon" - 5 x 7 inch - 2010