“Using the five senses, perceiving the natural qualities of the materials, I found that I am concerned less about the end, and more about “doing”. The process of creating is equally as important as the finished work.” Noriko Ambe

A Piece of Flat Globe Vol.9, Yupo, acrylic medium
6 11/16″ x 8″ x 3 9/16″

Drawing with an Exacto knife, Japan’s Noriko Ambe laboriously alters thick stacks of Yupo, a white paper made in Japan.  The resulting sculptures, rife with snaking curves and rippling lines, are meant to evoke not only the peaks and valleys of the earth’s landscape, but also the wrinkles and folds of the human landscape.

A Piece of Flat Globe Vol.6 (detail)

A Piece of Flat Globe Vol.4, Yupo
6 1/8″ x 8 5/8″ x 6 1/2“

Ambe’s art evolved from two dimensional drawings and etchings when she began to stack paper and work in three dimensions, eventually embracing the Yupo, a synthetic, translucent paper with an organic quality that makes it feel almost like skin. She also cuts books and catalogs from art exhibits as she reflects on the concept ‘what is art?’

Attention to Detail! 12 1/4″ x 14 1/2″ x 11 1/2″
Cut on catalogues of “Attention to Detail - Curated by Chack Close”
Flag Art Foundation

“When I am drawing or cutting lines, I am interested in observing the power of the changing growing shape. This dynamic shape becomes an entity in itself, “Another geography.” In a sense, the empty space is myself, and the materials represent the present world. Cutting book work is like collaboration for me. And it is important to choose the materials carefully because printed matter conveys a message automatically. The relationship between the linear actions and the materials is like the relationship between human beings and their restricted environment, a connection that is interested in me, too.” Noriko Ambe

Splintered Block, cast, cut lead glass, fused steel

Stance, cast, cut lead glass, fused steel

Compression, cast, cut lead glass, fused steel

Eventually Bernstein found his way back to the glass world, studying under Czech artist František Janák, and obtaining an M.F.A. in glass sculpture from the School for American Crafts at Rochester Institute of Technology. His website showcases an extensive portfolio - each luminous sculpture more exciting than the last.

Flesh Bridge, cast, cut lead glass, fused steel

Detail, glass

An explorer at heart, Bernstein describes his work in an artist statement found at Patrajdas Contemporary Art:

“I feel as if I am an explorer. With each piece I make I prepare for a journey, I have a general idea where I want to go, but I never know where the path will lead me. Each piece I work on I set out in the hopes of discovering something new and exciting. As any explorer my journeys are filed with ups and downs, disappointments and breakthroughs, however with each piece I am sure to gain knowledge and insight which is the excitement that brings me to my studio every day.” Alex Bernstein

New art material? If you try it let me know how it turns out!

Test sheets of bioplastic hanging to dry

via Shapeways

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was within me an invincible summer.” Albert Camus

Invincible Summer on Flickr

Somehow this busy artist finds the time to travel around the world teaching workshops (the Magnetic Pendant Focal Clasp workshop caught my eye). Look at the sketch above to see how she takes the seed of an idea and fleshes it out.

Thanks to Lorrene Baum Davis for the link.

The Great Wave, partially glazed stoneware, 9″ x 6″ x 5″

Inspired by the print, The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, by Kastushika Hokusai

Sarah Palin

In 2007 I wrote about Simpson’s Abundant Beauty collection of clay sculpture portraits. She just keeps getting better. You can find her whole portfolio - which includes figurative clay sculptures that range from operatic characters to ballroom and tango dancers in addition to her handcrafted artist books - on her website.

Marie Antoinette, partially glazed stoneware, 11″ x 6″ x 6″

“Imagining myself, as the whim touches my imagination…from history, fantasy, art and style.” Alice Simpson

Oh, what a wonderful imagination - now I want to see Simpson make a self portrait for her Hip Hop series - figures from the New York Hip Hop scene.

via carrotbox

Kinetic Energy, terra cotta, 41″x21″x3″ as seen on Flicker here

Damage, terra cotta, 41″x22″x4.5″

“The tension between order and emotion, the rational and the organic intrigues me. I find beauty in both natural and manufactured detail. My pods grow out of my fascination with nature’s instinctive drive towards growth and change.” Claudia Poser

Contained Energy, terra cotta and monotype, 12″x12″x2″

Bounce, terra cotta, 48″x24″x3″

Holy, terra cotta, photographs, hardware, and finished wood, 9″ x 22″ x 1.5″, 2009

See more of her most recent mixed media work like Holy [pictured above] here.

“My sculptures evolve from a glimpsed shape, a scrap of clay or a half-remembered dream. I’m motivated by those moments of fusion with the clay when time and judgment drop away and there is only touch and shape, light, shadow, and the beguiling chocolate texture of wet terra cotta.” Claudia Poser