Nayan and Vaishali: A Perfect Collaboration

Nayan and Vaishali (aka Venus Bird) are East Indian artist and collaborators. Each brings their special skills and training to the art of making miniature paper sculptures. (When referring to "miniatures," their finished sculptures are often less than 1 inch or1.8 cm! No magnifying glasses used.)

 

 

Their inspiration starts by observing creatures in their natural environment. Then, it's back to their studio to sketch what they've observed. 

 

 

Nayan, with his training as a designer, is well prepared for the exactness of making models. A sketch is first made. This is transferred into layers on watercolor paper which Nayan carefully cuts out to create a 3-dimensional creature. Then, it is Vaishali's contribution as a 3-D animator, to paint the layers in keeping with the depth desired. 

 

 

In all, a single tiny sculpture can take as many as 6 hours to complete. One ambitious project was also quite a challenge. It was titled, "365 Day of Miniatures," and included the completion of a bird each day. As if that wasn't enough of a challenge, from 2018 to 2020, they completed the "1000 Feathers Project." Their stated goal was to "... bring awareness about the significance and magnificence of wildlife through art."

 

While they are known mainly for the birds they've created, here are birds and some of the other animals that seem equally unique and demonstrate their versatility.

Chie Hitotsuyama: Sculpting from Old Newspapers!

 

 

It never ceases to amaze me how artists can find art media in the humblest, most common of materials. This blog is about an artist who makes wonderful animal sculptures from tightly rolled newspaper strips. Her name is Chie Hitotsuyama (1982-) As a child, her family ran a paper mill and she was quite familiar with paper processing. 

 

 After graduating with a degree in design, Hitotsuyama began her artistic career as a two-dimensional illustrator. In time, she began to follow her interest in sculpture. She was so familiar with the way her family turned old or discarded newspapers into strips. That inspired her to take it a step further and and roll the strips into "strings."

Hitotsuyama figured out that by  bending and contouring the strings, the strings begin to take on the shape or form of an animal she had sketched. Her first completed newspaper-string figure was of a rhino.She would continue to build animals, including groupings, such as monkeys and walrus.

 

She finds so much inspiration in animal sculptures, to quote: "... I have continued to sculpt forms of animals and while doing so I have become acutely aware of the life force in all beings. I admire the animals I study. I am in awe of their strength and survival in unforgiving nature.”

Below more of her finished animals. Do you have a favorite?

(You can view her processes in online videos.)

Li Hongbo and His Amazing Sculptures

The last blog was about Pissarro - an Early Modern painter in the Impressionist style. Now, a century later, new materials, new methods and a greater latitude for artists have given rise to a fascinating scope of art making. An example of such art and artist can be found in Li Hongbo ((1974-)

Hongbo, who is a resident of Beijing, China was a book editor and designer with a wide-ranging interest in art movements. One method that particularly interested him was the Chinese art of honey-comb paper mainly used to make toys. He noticed that this forming of paper made it strong and flexible.

It took deconstructing the process for Hongbo to figure out how he could create sculptures from paper. Patiently, he cuts, folds and pastes hexagons into the appearance of a log or piece of wood. Then, he uses an electric saw to shape the paper into sculptures.

With the help of an assistant, Hongbo will shape some 30,000 pieces of paper into a human face or torso. At first glance, the sculpture is a classic piece of art, but since it is made of expandable paper pieces, the art stretches until it resembles a Slinky toy.

Not only does Hongbo make human sculptures, but also replicas of antique Chinese pottery and large decorative objects.

Pretty amazing, yes?



If you'd like to learn more about his technique, there's a 3-minute video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gttdbqX4SWA