Feb 27th, 2017: Paper Dollys

[xoxoxoBruce]

Patty and Allen Eckman make highly detailed sculptures of people, animals, flowers, and commissions. They’re very beautiful,
although I think they belong under glass because they’d be a bitch to dust, and no smoking, because they’re made of paper.



Allen and Patty met in college where each studied art. After working in advertising for a number of years, they moved from
California to the Black Hills of South Dakota where they have focused on a process Allen developed of molding acid-free paper
under pressure.



They’ve have been creating large-scale masterpieces using just handmade, acid-free paper since 1988. Cast paper sculptures
sound like something very difficult to do, and that is what makes their results all the more amazing.



Much of their work features Native American Indian history which is of great interest to Allen, whose great-great grandmother
was a Cherokee. Patty is especially interested in wildlife, birds, and flowers.



To me, this is one of those how it hell do-dey-do-dat things. On their website they sell DVDs showing the process, but I suspect
they're not giving up all their secrets and it would be a steep learning curve.

link