Like marbling and stamping, in addition to more constructive methods like origami and quilling, all done with one sheet....
PICTORIAL
We’re continually fascinated by the infinite possibilities of a single sheet of paper, from these dueling origami knights and stately architectural ruins to exquisitely cut depictions of flora and fauna, and a forthcoming book by artist Helen Hiebert devotes its 320 pages to the mediums’ capacity for creativity.
Released from Storey Publishing, The Art of Papercraft features 40 projects that elucidate techniques for decorative modifications like marbling and stamping, in addition to more constructive methods like origami and quilling, all done with one sheet.
Bound with loose threads and inscribed with sinuous lines that crawl across the page, the textile works created by artist Rima Day evoke the Japanese good luck charms called sennibari. Translating to “thousand person stitches,” the Japanese amulet was developed during war times when women would ask friends, family, and even strangers to make a knot on a piece of fabric, which was then gifted to a soldier for protection. Some of the collectively made works depicted animals such as a tiger, meaningful kanji, a picture of the Japanese imperial flag, or just geometrical patterns, and often were stitched into vests or sashes so they could be worn.
In Day’s iterations, the loose threads hang from letters and books with translucent pages, two objects emblematic of communication and knowledge sharing, with winding systems puncturing their surfaces. Red thread symbolizes human connection in Japan. Artist’s fascination with the similarity between nature and the human body manifested in matrixes that resemble blood vessels, root systems, and tree vines.
As part of his ongoing series titled Flying Houses, French artist Laurent Chéhère imagines a world without gravity where unusual architectural structures seem to float midair, tethered only by loose strands of power lines. Each house seems dense with details, telling the story of fictional inhabitants through purposeful details that allude to much deeper stories behind each image. Chéhère draws influence from Jules Verne to Hayao Miyazaki, but most poignantly brings attention to marginalized communities found in Paris, specifically Gypsies and immigrants. By uprooting the houses he hopes the viewer focuses more clearly on them, an act he refers to as “releasing them from the anonymity of the street.”
Each house is actually an extremely detailed photomontage and begins life as a series of sketches. Chéhère then photographs hundreds of elements like antennas, walls, roofs, graffiti, and birds which he then assembles digitally into the pieces you see here.
