Paper Sculpture: ‘Can You Find My Lucky Four Leaf Clover?’

I wanted to make a whimsical, three-dimensional paper sculpture for an upcoming miniature show. After doing some sketches, I came up with the idea of creating a little rabbit.

I wanted the bunny — who I call Flower — to be sitting on top of the hill she calls home. I also thought she needed a little basket to sit in so she can be comfy and cozy. I imagined that she is collecting and saving some of her favorite items and foods.

Now that I had my idea thought out and sketched, it was time to start working on all the pieces. Using white paper and a scissors, I cut lots of thin pieces of paper to create thin grass-like shapes. Then I took the grass shapes and formed them into a decorative hill for Flower to sit on. I wanted there to be a couple of holes at the base so she could stow away a special surprise.

Next I needed to make a tiny little “wicker” basket all out of paper, of course. I’ve always love woven baskets, especially the different styles and shapes. I have collected many different styles and varieties of baskets over the years.

After weaving an actual-size paper “wicker” chair and table for a large-scale exhibition, I wanted to see if I could make a miniature basket using just paper and paint. I started with white paper cut into narrow strips. I was debating what color to make the basket, but then realized I didn’t need to narrow myself down to one color or style.

So, I painted the narrow strips of basket weaving paper into a couple of different colors so I could make a variety of baskets. One basket would be used for this paper sculpture. I also did a few additional weavings to plan for some other ideas I have in mind. After the paper was dry, I started weaving the basket.

After I made the basket, I started cutting the papers to make the rabbit. I wanted Flower to be sitting up in the basket with her arms over the sides. I also wanted her to hold a bunch of flowers that she collected to decorate her little home with.

I wanted the basket to sit on top of the hill. Because it is an important feature of her home, I had to make a little decorative ‘doily’ for the basket to rest on. I wanted the basket to look fancy too, so I cut out little hearts and attached those to each of the bows on the basket.

Next, I started cutting out maple leaves and carrots — lots of carrots of course! Then, I designed the outside of the bunny’s home. I also added clover and one little flower as additional decorations.

And of course, I had to include one of Flower’s little friends — a cute, teeny, tiny turtle. After all, everyone needs a friend in their life. Sam the turtle was made from paper that I painted in golds and browns. I was able to fit him inside one of the little openings in the grasses on the side of Flower’s hill.

Next, I needed to find a good spot to place Flower’s prized possession — her lucky four-leaf clover! And that finishing touch led me to the title of this artwork, “Can You Find My Lucky Four Leaf Clover?” Most recently, Flower and her home were on display at the annual Miniature Painters, Sculptors & Gravers Society (MPSGS) miniature show at the Mansion at Strathmore near Washington, DC.

Critters Are Moving to the Mansion at Strathmore

On my first installation day, I rented a truck to take the large paper sculpture items for my “Charming Victorian Country Garden Retreat” installation to the Mansion at Strathmore. On the second day, it was time to take the critters to the mansion.

Because my paper sculpture animals are more fragile than many of the other pieces going into my large-scale installation, I wanted to take them separately and not risk them being jostled around too much in the back of the truck.

To pack up these cute furry, handmade, hand-sculpted, critters, I needed to figure out a way to pack them safely without altering their appearance — such as the cute little nose on the bunny rabbit or the fluffy tail on the squirrel.

It seemed like the best way to pack up these cuties was to make a little nest for them to sit in. Using acid-free tissue paper, I carefully made them nests. I didn’t want the whiskers on the cats to become damaged, so I let their little faces stick out of the boxes just like they are sitting in a pet carrier. Well, like the most well-behaved cat ever sitting in a pet carrier.

They looked so cute all wrapped up in their boxes and packed up inside my car – all ready to travel to The Mansion at Strathmore in Bethesda, MD for installation day No. 2!

Identifying an Artist's Signature Style: 'Bunny and Butterflies in My Garden'

When you look at an artists’ work, you can often get a sense of not only their style, but also their color palette, the subjects they enjoy painting – such as landscape painters, floral artists, animals, etc. You may also notice similar items in many of their paintings. If you look through my art and illustration work that I’ve done over the past 35 years, including my published illustration books and editorial work, you will also notice a trend.

Like many artists, I tend to paint and illustrate things that I am familiar with and that are of interest to me. My work is almost always nature-related and is very colorful. An example of some of my favorite things to illustrate can be found by looking at the paper sculpture illustration, “Bunny in My Garden.“

The first thing you may notice about this 3D paper sculpture illustration is that it is quite colorful. It is a good example of my color palette, which includes pinks, purples, magentas, coral and blues. The next thing you probably will notice is the bunny rabbit.

Instead of painting a typical brown wild bunny, I wanted to depict one of the pet rabbits my daughter had when she was growing up. It is no coincidence that this bunny is sitting in the flower garden. You may think this is where she would run off to when not in her hutch, but that is not it at all. I will often include a little secret or a hidden play on words in my paintings (that only my family members would catch onto) and this is actually a small play on words.

Our family bunny never ran into the flower garden. The bunny’s name was Flower. So of course she needs to sit among these beautiful colorful flowers. (Although I must admit I had imagined that if she did get into the flowers, she would have eaten them all.) The other thing about Flower is that she was the cutest little dwarf bunny rabbit — soft bright white with dark black spots — just like in the illustration.

At the top of the oval picture are one of my favorite flowers, the bleeding hearts. I really like the shape of the flower and the plant and I like drawing them and paper sculpting them as well. The pink heart-shaped flowers curve nicely on the stem, which I can use to my advantage to help to create a frame around the subject, as I did in this painting. I used the curved flower stem to bring your eye back to the cute little bunny rabbit.

I’ve also loved seeing and watching butterflies since I was a little girl and have many reference books, photographs and books about butterflies. This spring I even had the opportunity to visit the butterfly pavilion in Los Angeles at the Natural History Museum. I will often include butterflies in my work and the ones in this picture are three dimensional and pop out of the paper instead of being just a flat painting.

The last thing I want to point out about this “Bunny and Butterflies in My Garden” design is that if you look closely, you will notice a little ant “hiding” in the leaves of the flower garden. I’ve drawn hundreds of hidden object pictures over the years and will often have little things hiding out in the background of my work, waiting to be found.

If you have the time, I hope you will take a look through my portfolio to see if you can notice any other similarities in my work. Can you find other illustrations with bleeding hearts, bunny rabbits, ants and flowers?  I hope I have also encouraged you to look through other artists portfolios and gallery work to see if you can discover their color palette and the similarities they may have in their work.