Paper Sculpture, Graham Lester

Tuesday 14th May 2013 

 

Bafa members were treated to a talk and demonstration on paper sculpture by sculptor Graham Lester. Graham works in wood and stone but has recently focused more on using paper as a decorative art form. His work includes free standing pieces and pieces for wall hanging. He exhibits and demonstrates at many venues where his attention to detail and intricate work is a pleasure to see.

Graham sculpts beautiful free standing shoes out of papers of various weights and it was the creation of one of these 'killer heels' that he chose to demonstrate to us. He showed us how he traces each shape on to the appropriate paper using tracedown (a sort of carbon paper) and carefully cuts out each shape with a sharp scalpel. He then bends each piece to precisely the right curve by wrapping it round a rod. He showed us how to form the beautifully curved sole, create the heel and form the upper. He glued the pieces together to create the 3D piece. After coffee break several members had a go at making a decorative fan and flower to embellish a plain shoe. Using Grahams' templates they traced then cut out a spiral piece to form a rose like flower and cut, scored and folded a piece to make a fan shape. This certainly gave an insight into the care and precision needed to achieve a good result!

Graham had brought with him a good selection of his work which was much admired. Using paper in a 3D way may well be something that some members will choose to incorporate in their future work having been inspired by Grahams wonderful creations.

Written by Dilys Benjafield 

 

Photos by Emily Pool

 

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