I had the great fortune to participate in a workshop with Ray Besserdin, an internationally acclaimed paper sculpture artist based in Melbourne, Australia.
Ray shared his techniques and insights of sculpting three-dimensionally using only sheet-formed paper. A practice he has been developing since childhood, alongside a deep fascination with the natural world.
You can see how his work was inspired by the painters of the French Impressionist period, by achieving a similar emotional aesthetic using sculptured, torn paper in three dimensions. This approach, which he calls Impressionist Sculptured Paper, became his signature style.
During the workshop he cut, torn, glued, darted pieces of handmade cotton and mulberry papers, creating invisible skeletons that provide the stability of the 3D piece, while allowing the natural character of the paper itself to remain visible.
You can see his interest in biological sciences in particular etymology with beetles, butterflies, winged insects at the Pieces of Paper exhibition on at Burrinja Gallery.
I thank Ray for sharing his breadth of knowledge and inspiring me to think further about the creative possibilities of paper sculpture.
