SWEET PAPER FLORA & FAUNA CURIOSITIES

WOODLUCKER

Delicate, fragile, ephemeral butterfly wings, feathers, and paper all share a similar kind of beauty. Paper art works, created by Ann Wood and Dean Lucker, of Woodlucker, “combines a love for illustrated paper art and forgotten histories into engaging objects full of sentiment and longing.”

Natural motifs, with their fleeting beauty, mirrors the impermanence of paper.

“I came to nature as a subject because it is universal,” Wood explains. “We pause to look at a flower, pick up a feather, touch a leaf or comment to a companion about a particular specimen. Nature’s beauty is fleeting and ever changing in it’s magnificence.”

“My work speaks to the notion that everything is temporary.”

Wood relies on botanical prints and identification guides for reference. She collects photographs of flora and fauna for inspiration. She doesn’t aim for absolute realism. Rather she uses reality as a point of creative departure, amplifying natural beauty. “I try to capture the variety and essence of the real but with the outcome being a heightened reality where the viewers stops to take a second glance,” she explains.

While many of Wood’s works are made entirely of handmade paper, her feathers are constructed with wire armatures.

“I enjoy creating with paper because it is pliable and comes in a variety of textures, from soft to crisp. I often use the reverse side of printed paper, allowing the ink patterns to show through,” explains Wood. She cuts her paper with small, sharp embroidery scissors, using a unique technique. She calls it “drawing with scissors,” where the cuts are like the lines of a drawing in 3-D.

Color and pattern are added with paint and pencils. Once fully rendered, the paper creations are then arranged together and hand sewn on to wool and velvet backgrounds then framed in vintage frame stock. The delicate hand and meticulous craftsmanship add to the old-world feel.

The assemblages are housed within framed collection boxes, created by Lucker. “The frames house the delicacy and care I put into each item, creating a permanent home for my arrangements,” Wood explains.

Woodlucker’s works have a sweet vintage feel. The antique-like illustrations and paper specimen shadow box assemblages feel like they belong in cabinets of curiosities.

Wood and Lucker met while they were students at Minneapolis College of Art and Design.  Shortly after they graduated, the became partners in their studio. They have been both visual, professional, and personal partners for decades.

Both Wood and Lucker have won the notable individual artist fellowship from the Bush Foundation and have won numerous best in show awards.

You can follow Woodlucker on Instagram and see more of their paper works in their online portfolio. And check out Lucker’s beautiful kinetic sculptures.

Read more about Beautiful Paper in Beautiful Lace in Papercut Artworks, Giant Gorgeous Paper Flowers Are So Surreal, Bad News Turns Into Great Art: Awesome Newspaper Sculptures and Mesmerizing Paper Sculptures Are Engineering Art.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Mind/Body, Soul/Impact, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Arts/Design, and Place/Time, Daily Fix posts.

Want more stories like this? Sign up for our weekly BN Newsletter, Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr. Join our BeautifulNow Community and connect with the most beautiful things happening in the world right now!

IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: Courtesy of Woodlucker. Collection of colorful painted paper butterflies. Paper craft by Ann Wood.
2. Image: Courtesy of Woodlucker. Paper craft by Ann Wood.
3. Image: Courtesy of Woodlucker. Paper craft by Ann Wood.
4. Image: Courtesy of Woodlucker. Paper feathers. Paper craft by Ann Wood.
5. Image: Courtesy of Woodlucker. Three paper moths. Paper craft by Ann Wood.
6. Image: Courtesy of Woodlucker. Paper pansy wreath with paper leaves. Paper craft by Ann Wood.
7. Image: Courtesy of Woodlucker. Shadow box with paper feather collection. Paper craft by Ann Wood. Shadow box by Dean Lucker.
8. Image: Courtesy of Woodlucker. Magnificent paper butterfly with paper feathers. Paper craft by Ann Wood.
9. Image: Courtesy of Woodlucker. Blue & white paper moth with paper feathers and paper leaf. Paper craft by Ann Wood.
10. Image: Courtesy of Woodlucker. Assemblage of paper butterfly, paper flowers, paper rabbits and butterfly torsos. Paper craft by Ann Wood.
11. Image: Courtesy of Woodlucker. Assemblage of paper butterfly and paper feathers. Paper craft by Ann Wood.
12. Image: by BN App - Download now!
13. Image: Courtesy of Woodlucker. Collection of paper butterflies and moths. Paper craft by Ann Wood.