Creature Feature: Playful Squirrel Playing on Wisteria Vines
The squirrel is a three-dimensional paper sculpture made completely out of paper.
Wisteria vines wrapped tightly around each other, growing up a tree, around a fence, back down again to the ground, sprouting up a new shoot. Squirrels scampering over the vines. Bumble bees buzzing in the newly opened spring blossoms. A safe haven for new life in spring — butterflies, praying mantis, and tiny ants — all wanting to call the wisteria their home too.
That’s the scene I am working to capture with this squirrel perched on top of a wisteria vine, part of my upcoming art installation, “Charming Victorian Country Garden Retreat,” at The Mansion at the Strathmore in 2020. This squirrel is ready to check out what is happening below. He’s thrilled it is finally spring — and he’s ready for some new adventures.
The squirrel is a three-dimensional paper sculpture made completely out of paper. Even his tail is made out of paper. The tail is actually the easiest part of making squirrels, and it goes the fastest. It takes many, many hours to apply the paper fur to his face and body, however, which is what took the longest.
After the squirrel is shaped out of paper, he is ready for some paint. He is made out of the finest of white papers and painted in watercolor and gouache.
The wisteria flowers and leaves are also three-dimensional and are hand-cut and sculpted to form the shapes I need to create this beautiful squirrel’s spring habitat he and his other friends in the “Charming Victorian Country Garden Retreat” will also call home.
Finding Inspiration in Wisteria Flowers Blowing in the Breeze
Honoring the distant memories I find in these simple yet beautiful flowers adds more meaning and life to my paper sculptures.
Inspiration is all around us…
Gorgeous, light purple wisteria flowers blossoming in spring and early summer. Long, delicate lavender petals with a touch of white, dangling off their stems that grow like braided stalks.
One wisteria plant growing up the tall cherry tree next to the patio, creating a beautiful, peaceful, sweet-smelling sanctuary to relax in.
Another wisteria, standing on its own, growing in the side yard, reaching out and bending and twisting its vines growing in every direction, creating a picturesque backdrop for a photo shoot on a warm spring day.
Planting my favorite new wisteria at the base of the wood fence along the stream, paving the walkway with a beautiful view of lavender blossoms from the kitchen door, lining the path as you walk up to greet me at my home.
Memories often lead to the inspiration for many works of art. I know this is true about my own work. I find this is especially true with flowers. Creating an enriched, enchanted, idyllic scene like the ones I described above help me capture movement and beauty in every day moments.
Bringing those imagined memories to “life” with paper will never of course beat the beauty of mother nature, but honoring the distant memories I find in these simple yet beautiful flowers adds more meaning and life to my paper sculptures. Wisteria flowers just happen to be one of my favorites.
These wisteria flowers, crafted from paper and paint, will feature prominently in my upcoming art installation, “Charming Victorian Country Garden Retreat,” at The Mansion at Strathmore in 2020.
