“Gaea”- Using Quilled Paper Pieces to Create Dimension in Art

This piece has taken me a very long time to finish, so I’m very excited that I finally get to share it!  I’ve decided to call it Gaea, after the Greek goddess of earth- the mother of Zeus.  When I first had the idea of this piece, I wanted to create a kind of earth, with continents and seas, and though this obviously looks very alien compared to our own earth, I think the idea of a world rich with life is conveyed rather successfully.  At least, to my own eyes.

One of the reasons this piece took me so long is because of it’s size.  At 36″ by 48″, it’s the largest canvas I’ve ever done.  I covered the entire canvas with wrinkled tissue paper to add some texture and dimension.  Then I used plastic wrap to add the yellow and orange color.  That part was fun.  I got paint everywhere and made a big mess, but that’s ok, right?  :)
Of course, that was the easy part.  I had to roll each of my quilled paper pieces individually, and this is what took the most time.  I knew I was going to need a lot, with a large variety of colors and forms, so night after night I worked on the couch while my husband and I watched home remodeling shows.  Some of these pieces are made from three separate strips, and so you can imagine the length of time I needed to make thousands of these little guys…

But, I got there in the end!!  I used paper clay to create my islands and continents and embedded my paper pieces in the clay while it was still wet.  I had to work fast, because it hardens rather quickly even though it takes days for the clay to dry completely.  I used a small coffee straw to add most of my red paint- blowing it across the tissue surfaced created fun little rivers, currents and deltas.  Then, of course, I had to add a few splatters to each island.