March 8, 2013

ALL I CAN SAY IS . . . OH MY

I live fairly close to the world-renowned (Leigh Yawkey) Woodson Art Museum. One of their current exhibits features the work of Canadian paper artist, Calvin Nicholls. I have been a
fan of Mr. Nicholls' work for a long time. In fact, I have one of my favorite pieces of his
pinned on Pinterest. http://pinterest.com/pin/81979655687132545/

This is a link to his website: http://calvinnicholls.com/

Calvin Nicholls is currently the Artist in Residence for a few days, and last night the museum thrilled his fans by presenting Mr. Nicholls in all his personal glory. He gave a brief talk ex-
plaining his slide show, did a demonstration of his methods, hosted a brief Q&A, and then . . .



 . . . we were all invited into a work room where the supplies were all ready for us to create
a la Calvin Nicholls! Our project was to build a much-simplified owl that he had designed.
Four sheets of paper contained the pieces to cut out, step-by-step assembly instructions,
as well as a drawing of what the completed owl should look like. He was there to guide us
through any problems we may have encountered.


It didn't take very long before we had a beautiful little piece of Nicholls-esque art to take 
home with us. This is my finished version.


I had some trouble with the lighting in trying to portray the dimension and beauty of this 
simple piece, but this is the best I could come up with after much trial and error. I am proud 
that I created this, and in some way, have a little piece of Calvin Nicholls' work in my possession.

The following two photos show detail from two of the pieces that are on exhibit at the Woodson Art Museum.



This is work that is definitely enjoyed best up close and personal. Only by examining how he creates each little feather and piece of fur, as well as the poses and personality of his subject matter, can you appreciate how much time and work go into creating just one square inch of 
one of his pieces.

Since this is a Stampin' Up! blog, I thought I'd add a little bit of creativity a la Stampin' Up!


Obviously, this is a completely different style of art, but wondrous and precious in its 
own right.

This bag topper was created with the Top Note die in my Big Shot. And the eyes and beak 
were created with punches. Note the eye shadow and the eyes popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals to create depth and "drama". OK. Maybe not so much drama, but I love him 
anyway!

Sorry for the digression from my usual Paper Seedlings posts. But, being a big fan of paper cutting -- please note my propensity for paper piecing in past posts -- I was so thrilled to be 
able to witness something as special as I did last night.

Smiles.





38 comments:

  1. following from GYB hop, thanks for linking w/ us http://www.callmepmc.com/2013/03/grow-your-blog-link-party-call-me-pmc.html#more

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  2. followed from Sincerely, Paula. I love your site!

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    1. Also, I tried to follow you on Pinterest but when I clicked on the button and it gave me a Pinterest 404 Page Could Not Be Found message. :(

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  3. Wow what a treat. I'd love to see his art in person. Your little bag topper is so cute, The owl is precious.

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  4. Beautiful !
    Saw you on Diana Rambles pin link party !
    Have a nice weekend.
    Anna

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  5. You're right about his art work - absolutely lovely! Although I love your little owl too :)

    Thanks for linking up!

    Sarah @ A Cat-Like Curiosity

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    1. I LOVE his work! I'm glad you appreciate it also. :>)

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  6. That is so cool! I hadn't heard of him before, but his work is amazing. And I love both of your owls! (I'm a big owl fan!)

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    1. Julie, it was such an honor to meet him in person after admiring his work from afar for so long! :>)

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  7. Wow - those are cool! I like you owl, too!
    I found you today at Sumo's Sweet Stuff's Linky. I hope you can stop by my blog and leave a comment, too!
    ~ Megin of VMg206
    www.vmg206.blogspot.com

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  8. That is so amazing and beautiful!

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  9. Beautiful! Love the Owl :-) Thank you for linking to the ALL MY BLOGGY FRIENDS party !

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    1. Thank you, Linda, for the nice compliment and for allowing me to link up! :>)

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  10. Wow, gorgeous art with paper, thanks for sharing with us at "In and Out of the Kitchen Link Up Party"

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  11. You're right, it is different, and it's fantastic! I'm visiting today from Thursday's Favorite Things. :)

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  12. The owl goodie topper is adorable. We are all about owls right now :) I recently started a Thursday link-up party (yes, today:), and I would really love to see this post and/or any others you would like to include. I am at allthingswithpurpose.com. Hope to see you there and for many more Thursday's to come!!

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    1. Thanks, Julia, for the nice compliment and for the invite. I am linking up every Thursday! Good luck with your link-up party! Hope it continues for a long, long time! :>)

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  13. OH HOW PRETTY!!! What a wonderful inspiration to have an artist you admire so much actually give you a real up close and personal tutorial on how to make paperart like that!!! Did he sign yours???
    Well, I'm impressed with that monkey sculpture! He must go through hundreds of pairs of scissors for a project!! And his fingers probably hurt....oh my...the more I think about all that cutting I just get tired!
    But I'm so excited for you that you got to attend....and share your fun with US!! Have a great week and get busy cutting!!!
    Smiles and hugs,
    Doni

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    1. Aw, thanks! Smiles and hugs right back to you, Doni! :>)

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  14. Cool photos! Love the artwork :) Thanks for sharing this on The Creative HomeAcre Hop! Hope to see you this Sunday at:
    http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/03/the-creative-homeacre-hop-7.html

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  15. he is so talented! Love the owl bag too Thank you for sharing your lovely blog at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop xo

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    1. I agree, Katherine! Thanks for letting me continue to join you each week! :>)

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  16. Wow that work is amazing. Paper art form. Very cool. Thanks for sharing.
    p

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  17. Wow, he is incredible!! I love your adorable owl. It is so cute. Thank you so much for sharing at A Bouquet of Talent last week. So sorry I am late visiting this week. Hope you are having a great weekend.
    Hugs
    Kathy

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kathy! I'm glad to find others think he's as incredible as I think he is! :>)

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  18. Wow, that is really cool! What a talent! Thanks for linking this up at my Thursday link party! I hope to see you back again this week!

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  19. Wow he is amazing! Great post! Thanks for linking up last week on Made in a Day!
    Kim

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