Fairy Tale
Really pleased with how the cards have turned out. We had them printed by 'Pennybatch Gallery' who also packaged them in tissue paper.
Thank you #pennybatchgallery for wonderful, efficient, personalised service.
They will be for sale on our 'Folksy' shop soon. https://folksy.com/shops/thewrenandthewritingdesk
Karen Jerzyk is a self-taught, internationally published photographer from the Greater Boston area. After many years of photographing promotional shoots and stage portraits for bands she decided to shift her focus to people, portraying them in elaborate scenes. Jerzyk discovers abandoned spaces, seeing them as the ideal location for her dark fairy tale images and uses them to produce the intriguing dark fairy tales.
The turning point for Jerzyk’s dark fairy tales came after her father’s unexpected death.
“They [the photos] displayed stories and purpose and a sense of beautiful dismay, which was a direct mirror of how I felt on the inside. I poured all of my feelings and struggles into my work.”
Her trademark of shooting elaborate scenes in abandoned buildings involves a laborious process of cleaning and restoration, with attention paid to even the smallest of details. The peeling paint, sunken walls, and dusty debris become their own character alongside the humans.
“I strive to produce photos that tell a story that connects with the viewer on a personal level. I like to find locations that were abandoned before any sort of technological age, typically locations with relics left in them from 1980 and earlier (the older, the better), to capture a feeling of "future-past." I ultimately strive to present my photos as ‘readable images.’ There is no right answer to the ultimate meaning of any one of my photos, as each viewer can read the scene differently.”
“She danced and must dance”
(The Red Shoes 2)
Wire - frame, mixed media (paper and plaster), rust oxidisation paint finish.
“On and on she danced, for dance she must, straight out into the gloomy wood.”
The Red Shoes – Hans Christian Andersen
I found Susan Cutts’ work about a year ago and think they are beautiful and thought provoking. They look so delicate and striking but are also poignant.
Cutts is a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors and a member of the Society of Designer Craftsmen as well as IAPMA and UK based Paperweight. She has been exhibiting nationally and internationally since 1991 in solo, group and touring exhibitions including Sotheby’s New York Gallery (USA) Roche Court Sculpture Park (UK) and the Holland Paper Biennale. Work in various Public Collections as well as private collections.
“I work as a sculptor, handmade paper is my material, and our relationship with clothing, my inspiration.”
'SUR LA POINTE'
2012
Cutts works with her own handmade paper to make her ‘sculptures’. The paper is made from fibres such as abaca, hemp, cotton, which she processes in the traditional way using a hollander beater. The complex structure of the fibres and by using the fine paper sheets while they are wet, enables her to create sculptural pieces without the use of glue, stitching or armatures. She uses the image of ‘dress’ frequently in her work as she says its perception, both historical and contemporary, intrigue her.
“The empty shoe is a familiar image, so I work in multiples to emphasize the dialogue each piece suggests. Our feet shape the shoe – by the way we walk the way we stand – making it as individual as a thumbprint and like a thumbprint it can expose and betray. To make my shoes in paper is an indulgence – these shoes will never be worn they are as fragile as the hopes, dream, secrets and memories they evoke.”
'WHO KNOWS WHERE THE TIME GOES'
2012
Paper is said to have a memory, the creases, wrinkles and folds hold words unspoken or forgotten. In 'Who knows where the time goes' the absence of the dancer gives the paper the power to evoke physical and emotional memories.
'NURSERY RHYME'
2005
'FAIRY TALE'
2006
“Fairy Tales as we know them are safe, respectable and moral. In the original versions they looked unflinchingly at the darker side of people’s lives, particularly that of women, the poor and the disenfranchised.
If life is a ‘fairy tale’ the paper dresses reflect the fragility of the ‘happy ending’.”
