Paperiaarre

If you're sufficiently au fait with your Finnish vocabulary, then you'll know that paperiaarre 

is Finnish for "paper treasure".... Now, I don't know about you, but I'm already totally 

charmed by the fact that there is a single word for paper treasures in this language :)

These particular paperiaarre are the work of Finnish bookbinder Kaija Rantakari and I've 

just spent ages scrolling through this amazing collection of matchboxes and choosing a 

tiny selection below. You can see them all by visiting her blog here. 

There's something so exquisite about these tiny worlds and they have a real sense of the

 'found object' about them, as if you have just happened upon a secret or precious 

keepsake, and this feeling of portable treasure is intensified by their matchbox size.

You can find the Paperiaarre blog here and the Etsy shop here.

via 

Paper Bag Trees

In all the oeuvre of recycled paper artistry, I think the most palpable links between 

paper products and their heritage can be seen in the work of artist Yuken Teruya.

By literally cutting trees out of paper bags and toilet rolls and other everyday paper 

products, Teruya effectively (and exquisitely) reminds us exactly where they've 

originated from... a gentle reminder of consumerism and consumption.

Such an arresting method too... who could ignore these breathtaking sculptures or fail 

to acknowledge link between the meticulous and intricate tree and the paper bag, 

whether that be a McDonald's takeaway bag or Dior packaging :)

You can see more of Yuken Teruya's work here.

Paper gods

Meg Hitchcock is a collage artist who uses tiny bits of text on paper, in much the 

same way as a painter may layer brush strokes or make marks, to build meaning.

In a twist on traditional visual arts, however, the meaning is not expressed through the 

form of her pieces, that is, the finished shape or the sum of its parts.... it is the parts 

themselves that *pop* with meaning to inform the whole.

Each of her works are comprised of text from the Bible, Torah and the Koran - cut out, 

re-arranged and recreated into a piece about spiritually that is beyond religion, but at

the same time showing the universality of religious belief.

I may cut letters from the Bible and reassemble them as a passage from the Koran, 

or use letters cut from the Torah to recreate an ancient Tantric text. The individual 

letters are glued to the paper in a continuous line of type, without spaces or 

punctuation, in order to discourage a literal reading of the text. By bringing together 

the sacred writings of diverse traditions, I create a visual tapestry of inspired writings, 

all pointing beyond specifics to the universal need for connection with something 

greater than oneself ~ Meg Hitchcock

You can find out more about Meg Hitchcock's work on her website.

Paper Living

Fabulous cartoon installation by Don Lucho.

See more here.

Paper World

Such a wonderful piece constructed by The Makerie (pretty cool name too!).

The Makerie is the amazing design studio of Julie Wilkinson and Joyanne 

Horscroft who create bespoke paper sculptures. This piece is a globe puzzle 

created for international law firm Freshfields and their 2012 ad campaign.

Each piece in the puzzle slots together to form the globe, with each section 

supporting a country... Very cool :) 

Photography by Andrew Barter.

via 

Paper Pop

Loving this clip from French band Ödland. 

You can listen to the clip here (I had to take the embedded version off 
the page because it kept starting up whenever the page opened!)
See more of their work and read their story here. 

Paper Landscapes

At first glance, the works of Montreal artist, Guy Laramée, have a quaint representational 

quality to them... Does that sound snobby? Well, probably because it is ;) 

Thankfully, I read up on his work a bit more and discovered this 'quaint' is quite intentional.

"I have come to question our cult of innovation and sought 

to reconcile myself with what we call 'tradition' (for lack of 

a better word)."

Positioning himself somewhat within the Romanticism movement, Laramée uses the 
themes of isolation, spirituality and nature to trigger reactions that go beyond what he
calls 'the mundane', the physical representation of what we see before us. 







In fact, his central tenet seems to be about transcendence and 'going beyond'.

Even the books he uses are insignificant in themselves, rather they are merely a 
symbol of ideas and thinking. As Laramée said: 
"I want to shift our focus from 'What we think' to 'THAT we think'."






His works are fashioned with wood carving tools and he sees it as an important part 
of the process that the hand (rather than computer technology) has interacted with 
the form... and that each form is an invitation to "enter and lose oneself in the spectacle."









You can see more of Guy Laramée's work on his website.

via