During COVID I started to make sculptures using layers of paper, trying to keep away the relentless wood dust that I produce when carving and sanding. It was challenging to make the paper stiff and maintain a nice original surface of the paper. While exploring alternatives, my past work in fresco (plaster) painting and visits to ancient sites in Italy and Greece came to mind. The elegance, flow and smoothness of ancient marble sculptures inspired me to create abstract work with similar qualities using layers of sculpted paper covered with plaster. I was intrigued by combining the thin and fragile qualities of paper with the sturdy and hard surface qualities of plaster. Making the plaster flow over the paper reminds me of my early years of making the wood “flow” through carving.
