Plexiglass Rice Paper Art Archives

First, I bought the paper. Last piece in the store. A vivid luminous green just like the spring we know is coming….someday. Couldn’t leave that paper alone….I saw a tree in that paper, a tree with the roots showing. I took out the scissors and followed the patterns on the paper, and slowly, cut out a tree. Next came birds in the tree. First try, the branches obscured the birds too much and as my favourite art critic, Jessie, said, “Mum, that really sucks.” She was right!! But the birds persisted…. that tree was calling for BIRDS!! With some birds, I recreated the branches with a lighter green rice paper so the branches would not be so overwhelming. With others, I took the branch right out of the tree showing the bird’s colours boldly. Time after time, I turn the tree over and hold it up to the light….the tree is different on each side.Sometimes I am surprised!

the branches on this bird are made with a lighter coloured rice paper than the original branchescc

Linda came for a visit and made an artists trading card while we worked

A few weeks previous, I had Glacier Glass cut a variety of sizes of plexiglass. When I picked them up, I was amazed as one piece was huge (30″ x 42″) – certainly the biggest piece I have worked with so far. “What was I thinking?” I wondered. “Where will I store it?” I hid it under the couch. Turns out that this piece is exactly the right size for this tree!!

Next step is to put the tree on plexi glass with tape and add more birds and branches before I can apply the special glue used with plexiglass.

Just one piece of plexi glass with the protective wrap on the other side giving it that wax paper look. There are still some branches, roots and birds to add.

“Tree”is complete. large and unwieldy as it is, I take it out to photograph it!! It blows off everything. So, finally, I lay it in the grass.

“Tree” lying in the grass!
Rice paper, other paper in plexiglass

Then I lean it against the barn door and get some photos, inside and out!!

“Tree” Rice Paper in Plexiglass sitting in the barn door. This is the opposite side from the one pictured in the grass above.

“Tree” Rice paper in plexiglass, from the inside of the barn…love the shadows

detail “Tree” – rice paper and plexiglass

Thanks to darlene dePourque who lent me Mary Lou’s window and took this photo with a fish eye lens. My friend Maggie wrote that it looked like the tree had uprooted and let the birds take it for a flight!!

Next stop – the Paper Umbrella in Regina!

This past Saturday saw me in Lumsden with eleven other creative souls who came to play with paper, scissors and glue… We spent a companionable day contemplating beauty, exploring our own particular styles – some of us loving to tear the paper and go freestyle, others preferring the small, telling detail……We took note of what was difficult for us, what felt like “work” (not always a bad thing!) and what felt like joy? As we cut and pasted, some of us asked “What makes me hum? What gives me great pleasure and satisfaction? What tickled my funny bone and loosened the muscles around my jaw? Do I like to work slowly and carefully or is my way to move quickly?”

For me, each PLAYshop is unique, each a gift in its own way. One of the delights of my time in Lumsden was watching others as they played with the shape of birds – taking the same image and playing with it in so many different ways. This is something that brings me seemingly infinite delight! I was so moved by the beautiful creations – the soft-edged and tender birds of a young mom, families of birds in palettes of blues or of autumn colours or yellows and purples, birds with flamboyant tail feathers. Others created a flame, a dancing goddess, abstract pieces, an exquisite scene with a jewelled dragonfly, a line of dancing women joined by a single golden thread.

I firmly believe that a bracing winter walk in the middle of a day of collage play helps the creative process. But only one intrepid woman took me up on it. (Thanks Chris!) The rest preferred to let winter stay outdoors, except for the brilliant light streaming through the windows as we created a colourful and joyful spring within!

My thanks to all of the fine artists of Lumsden and district, for your dedication to creating space for art to bloom,for your love of beauty, and for the golden thread of friendship and support that keeps you loosely connected.