Around 8 years ago I won a prize as Best Emerging Artist 2012 via the Delaware Division of Art, and a certain amount of money accompanied this prize, some of which was spent on paper clay. I had an idea. I wanted to create tabletop 3D landscapes and thought maybe paper clay could work for this idea. It didn’t require glazes or kilns, just a pair of hands and some paint. 

Jump start to 2016 and a new life in Santa Fe, and the table top landscape idea still roaming around in my brain, and a chance encounter with James Morrison, a Papier Mache artist creating small landscapes, while googling Papier Mache landscapes. And perfect timing, since I needed an escape from painting after completing a new series. This would be it! The Escape! Thus, out came the paper clay, the wire and masking tape, the aluminum foil, and gesso. 

So for a few weeks I’ve been lost in this new work of fantasy animals and rocks and branches and leaves, and playing around with my new micro engraver, an incredible tool. And I now have the pieces needed to start arranging on one of my wooden cigar box tops. The perfect base.

So all pieces are formed and gessoed and sanded and ready to start the drawings on the objects. My thought is painting these objects with black acrylic paint and carving out a design with the new micro engraver. We shall see. Once this is figured out and completed I’ll have to figure out how to attach each piece to the base. One step at a time. It’s nice learning as I go. It has been a long time since I’ve been so engrossed in something new and challenging. Plus the 3D element after so many years of 2D has been a joy to explore.