Your Morning Paper

Artist Sarah Nixon created a paper dress dance piece for dancer Inge van Huijkelom.

I want to wear paper.

The Story of Donna K. And The Cutest Clay Dress Ever!

Donna K. I think she made that shirt.

My fabulously talented friend Donna K. just participated in an art/literary combo project that resulted in the creation of the cutest claymation dress ever. The project is called Single Sentence Animation and it's produced by the progressively hip literary journal Electric Literature, which publishes its issues in each and every way (via paper, Kindle, iPod, Tweet, etc.) effectively utilizing the Interwebs and new technology without bemoaning the state of the printed word. The Single Sentence project teams a writer with an animator and asks one to bring visual life to the other's work. Donna's piece is based on a sentence by Lydia Davis. It's about cows and it's equal parts cute and intriguing:



How wonderful are the cow thought bubbles? Randy and hungry, that's all that really matters, isn't it? Also, I'm not kidding when I say I want that clay dress. I love the stripes.

So, initially I was just going to show you Donna's piece above, but why stop there? The girl--ahem, woman--is full of talent. Her art is homespun and seriously handmade; from the stop motion projects she scripts, sculpts, scores, and films; to the paper pieces she puts together with old magazine photos and hand-set typeface. I'm such a fan of it all.

A selection of Donna's works on paper.

Donna is currently working on a project with her boyfriend/partner in crime Brent Green which involves a giant set that they've built by hand in the backyard of their barn in the woods in Pennsylvania. I can't wait to see the finished product. In fact, I can't wait to see the thing in progress. Donna keeps telling me amazing stories about their shooting adventures (like say, "There are ten little kids in the front yard fishing in holes we dug and stocked," or, "I'm on stilts!") and I keep threatening to show up on set. If only it weren't in The Middle of Nowhere, PA, then I'd be there all the time. Until I can make the trek, I have Donna's Flickr Stream to keep me company. Thank God for modern technology! Here are some Donna short film pieces, which all make me want wings:







She's good, right? The best part: She's sweet as pie.

All images are Donna's work and can be found on her Flickr Photostream.

Pretty Little Papercuts.

The simplest tools can make the most beautiful things. Hand artist Elsa Mora a sheet of paper and a pair of scissors, and she'll snip snip until you hold in your hand the most gorgeous piece of work of art. Her papercuts are masterpieces of delicate and intricate handiwork with sharp objects, mainly tiny scissors from Honey Bee and really well filed X-acto knives.

Here's a closer look at the finer points of her work:

Aren't they amazing? The precision of the incisions is fantastic. Elsa, or Elsita as she is known in the Etsy universe, is a dedicated artist. She brings creativity to every aspect of her life and is a champion for the freedom of expression. After battling stress and baby blues in the period following the birth of her second child, Elsa realized that she had been neglecting her appearance and resolved to change the things she didn't like in the mirror, and embrace and love the things she did. To keep herself up to task, she began a style site called The Hidden Seed. There she documents her daily outfits in the most gorgeous way.

She's a woman full of the kind of rich, real beauty that rage women need to see more of. Her lovely sense of style comes courtesy of a childhood spent growing up in Cuba and winding up in California. Her artistry comes through in her beautifully detailed outfits where every fabric is lush, every color is perfectly hued, and all of her accessories add another detail to the story her ensemble is trying to tell. And, look at those backgrounds. They are so lovely.

What a pleasure to see a woman--a real, unairbrushed woman, a mom, an artist, a creative being--having fun with her wardrobe in a really joyous way. Follow Elsita's lead and treat yourself like a work of art. If you need some help with the finishing touches, check out her Etsy store for jewelry, pins, the occasional article of clothing, and an entire cache of inspiring artworks.

All photos are via Elsa's bolgs. Click any image to be taken directly to the sites.

Paper View

Brussels-based fine artist Isabelle de Borchgrave makes the most exquisite replicas of historical and contemporary clothing and shoes completely from handmade, handpainted paper. Her hand-crafted garments are incredibly detailed, accurate, delicate, and gorgeous.


These images barely do her work justice, but pick up a copy of Paper Illusions: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave from Amazon, or flip through an online catalogue of her work. The catalogue is in French, but the images of her paper mode translate perfectly. Having formerly worked in a paper making studio, I have the ultimate respect for her highly skilled craft. The paper lace is most impressive: whisper light, airy, and transparent, just like the real thing.

Cheap Thrill: Paper Beads

I hate being called crafty; it makes me feel like I'm destined to be a crazy cat lady who crochets tea cosies instead of interacting with other humans. But, on occasion I have been known to make a thing or two by hand, and I think a little DIY chutzpah is an essential weapon in any fashionista's arsenal.

One of my prized handmade possessions is my paper bead necklace pictured above. I made it years ago for a college art course that asked me to construct a wearable book, and it was delightfully simple. You can make your beads of any old standard weight paper: magazine tear outs, photos, old texts, or your $.20 copy of Carter Brown's The Sad Eyed Seductress as I did.

There is a great photo stream on Flickr by sgjennin showing all of the supplies needed to make recycled paper beads:

You'll need your paper selection, a ruler, a sharpie, scissors, an old school bottle of Elmer's, and toothpicks. Start by dividing your paper into oblong triangles. The widest part of the triangle will be the width of your final beads, so use your ruler to measure out your desired dimensions and your sharpie to mark the triangles, then cut the triangles from your paper source.

Once you have your triangles, coat the "wrong side" with glue and begin rolling them around a toothpick, starting at the wide end first. When the bead is fully wrapped around the toothpick, let it sit for a few minutes just to let the glue set a bit. Then, slide the bead off of the toothpick and start rolling your next one.

Repeat the above steps until you have enough beads to string your necklace, and then set the beads aside to dry. Once they have fully dried, you can string them and either add a clasp or knot closure to secure. The final step is to wear your handmade necklace proud as a peacock and sleep well at night knowing that you not only saved a few bucks and recycled some paper, but you also made something with your two little hands.

The fun thing about recycled paper beads is that the paper you use can change their whole look. I love that you can sort of still read my beads, but the pictures below from Flickr user and Etsy star Jesssprkle show that you can choose color over content to gorgeous effect.

Make these and I'll call you resourceful, not crafty. Send me pics if you take on the project; I'd love to see what you come up with.