Artist Watch: Julie VonDerVellen

I came across Julie VonDerVellen’s work last year.  It really is amazing what one can do with paper.  VonDerVellen creates garments out of handmade paper (which is made out of recycled cotton clothing).

She says that “garments evoke memories; memories evoke garments” and she’s right. Her pieces are intricately woven and painstakingly put together to re-create garments. The paper also has the story of the specific memory printed on it thus binding the memory and the garment together. Check out more of her work here.

DIY Pop-Up: Optimus Prime Pop-Up Card

For this DIY Pop-Up you will need:

  • Cardstock or heavy construction paper
  • Scissors
  • Ruler
  • Paper clip, or ballpoint pen that has run out of ink, or a knitting needle
  • Crayons, colored pencils, markers

Autobots – roll out! Now you can make your very own Transformers pop-up of one of the heroic Autobot on Cybertron, the legendary Optimus Prime! Download the PDF templates and print out at 100% size (no scaling) on a heavy paper, such as cardstock.

Instructions

1 Using curved edge of a large paper clip along a ruler, trace all the dotted lines to create easy-to-fold lines.
2 Fold as directed in the diagram on the page.
3 Cut out all pieces along all solid black lines.

4 Glue tabs as directed and assemble as shown in the  diagrams on the page.
5 Color in with crayons, colored pencils or markers.
6 Voila! You’ve transformed mere paper into a pop-up Autobot hero!

DIY Pop-Up: Pull-Tab Autobot Bumblebee

For this DIY Pop-Up you will need:

  • Cardstock or heavy construction paper
  • Scissors
  • Ruler
  • Paper clip, or ballpoint pen that has run out of ink, or a knitting needle
  • Crayons, colored pencils, markers

Now you can make your very own Transformers pop-up of one of the most famous Autobots in the universe, Bumblebee! Download the PDF templates and print out at 100% size (no scaling) on a heavy paper, such as cardstock.

Instructions

1 Using curved edge of a large paper clip along a ruler, trace all the dotted lines to create easy-to-fold lines. Fold as directed in the diagram on the page.
2 Cut out all pieces along all solid black lines.
3 Glue tabs as directed and assemble as shown in the  diagrams on the page.

4 Color in with crayons, colored pencils or markers.
5 Voila! You’ve transformed mere paper into an Autobot hero!

Artist Watch: Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama

I wish I could have gone to Australia to see this exhibition (and maybe even partake in it!).  Yayoi Kusama (born 1929) created in installation at the Queensland Art Gallery in Australia that was a couple of “domestic-syle rooms” like a living room and kitchen.  But everything was painted white.  And once the exhibition opened, the children who visited the museum were given colored dot stickers to decorate the rooms!  How amazing is that?  Here are a few photos from the ‘Obliteration Room’ installation.

Artist Watch: Zim & Zou

We came across the work of two young artists, Lucie Thomas and Thimbault Zimmerman, and had to see more. They are the duo behind Zim & Zou, a studio based in Nancy, France. Their colorful, whimsical images are photographs of objects and paper sculpture. We hope you enjoy their work as much as we do!

Pop-Up Showcase: Every pop-up library needs…

…this book! We love it! Written by Don Compton, beautifully illustrated by Dave Ember, and wonderfully engineered by Bruce Foster, America’s National Parks, A Pop-Up Book brings our national parks to life. The publisher’s goal is to raise $100,000 to support the parks. You can buy your copy here or on Amazon. Happy travels!

Artist Watch: Paula Scher

Artist/graphic designer, Paula Scher, paints maps in a way nobody else can – bright, bold, and full of type!

Artist Watch: Vanishing Cultures Project

The Vanishing Cultures Project is a documentary project that is helping to create awareness of native tribes and preserve their way of life. Read more about this project.

Taylor Weidman and Nina Wegner team up for half the year and go out to document indigenous tribes. They have already finished their first project about Tibet in the Upper Mustang region. You can purchase prints and a book about Tibet.  Right now they are working on documenting the pastoral herders in Mongolia.

What I really love about the project is not only the preservation aspect, but the photographs. They are truly stunning.