Livestreaming art workshop with origami artist Linda Stephen 4/16 (+ recorded video)
ART TALK & WORKSHOP
Nationally award-winning paper artist Linda Stephen partners with the Minden Opera House for an online performance in “The Empty Opera House” series.
Origami artist Linda Stephen took over the Minden Opera House Facebook Page, LIVE on Thursday Apr. 16 at 3 p.m. (Central). The event was recorded for viewing later. Look under VIDEOS on www.facebook.com/MindenOperaHouse or www.facebook.com/LindaStephenOrigamiArt. Watch here.
A. ART DEMONSTRATION
Tune in as Linda introduces the materials, papers and processes in creating her intricate origami relief art (www.LindaStephen.com).
1) See some of the hundreds of handmade Japanese papers that are her medium. Linda has been collecting Japanese papers for more than 25 years.
2) See the process for creating her intricate, 3D bas relief paper fine art.
– Layering papers to look like watercolor for the background (Japanese paper art of chigiri-e)
– Choosing papers for color or texture
– Inventing and folding 3D origami sculptures
– Gluing elements piece by piece, plane by plane, from background to foreground to create dimension.
B. DO IT YOURSELF – There is beauty all around us. Let’s make some spring flower beauty out of paper! Linda will show guests how to make a simple origami artwork – flowers outside in the spring. She will show how to fold the origami flowers, tips for gluing, etc. RECOMMENDED MATERIALS. For making a 5″ x 7″ scene: cardstock or matboard for background, 3 squares of paper for flowers (at least 2″ x 2″), 1 square of 6″ paper for stems/leaves, glue or glue stick or double-sided adhesive. AGES: Best for ages 8+ (to/through adult). Will show 1 variation for younger.
There will also be time for questions.
Support artists & the arts from the safety and comfort of your own living room! The Minden Opera House set up a page for donations to individual artists or the opera house. Click the DONATE NOW button and designate the artist name (Linda Stephen) in the Comments box. All of Linda’s spring (paid) teaching events at schools and libraries have been cancelled. Any donations she receives will be used to provide her origami picture book “The Day We Went to the Park” to local schools and libraries. https://www.mindenoperahouse.com/calendar/the-empty-opera-house/
LINDA STEPHEN ART & THE MINDEN OPERA HOUSE
Three of Linda’s origami artworks are part of the public collection of the Minden Opera House. The “Our Band” marching band series in the lobby shows a parade in downtown Minden (all origami sculptures). Linda Stephen was featured in solo exhibits and as an artist in residence during the crane migration season at the Minden Opera House in 2011 and 2012. www.LindaStephen.com
LINDA STEPHEN BIO
Linda Stephen’s art is part of public and private collections around the world, from the Mayor’s Office in Omihachiman, Japan to the Minden Opera House in Minden, Nebraska. Her commissioned works range from animated TV commercials for “Tobacco Free Nebraska” to the JW Marriott Grand Rapids sister city collection.
Linda began making origami bas relief art in 2003 while working in New York City. Since then, her intricate paper landscapes have won national and regional art awards and have been featured in more than 150 juried exhibits across the country.
Linda has more than 25 years of experience in origami, the Japanese art of paper folding. Fluent in Japanese, Linda studied Japanese arts and worked for seven years as a teacher and translator in a castle town in Shiga, in western Japan.
A native of Michigan, Linda spent much of her youth outdoors in all seasons. She has also traveled and worked extensively across North America, Asia and Europe. Her art celebrates special moments and beauty in our everyday lives.
She speaks on Japanese paper arts, origami (paper folding), and origami’s connection to math and design to audiences of all ages at museums, arts centers, schools, universities and nonprofits across the U.S.
Her new origami picture book “The Day We Went to the Park” (Handersen Publishing, Feb. 2020) is inspired by walks around Holmes Lake Park in Lincoln. The art took six+ months to create and includes more than 1,000 origami sculptures: ladybugs, kayakers, pine trees, and prairie flowers.
A lifelong student of culture and language, Linda has worked as a writer or PR consultant for projects on five continents including United Nations’ agencies, international nonprofits, Fortune 500 companies, technology start-ups, and book publishers. After 9/11, when she was in New York, she left her corporate job to focus on inventing origami art that is a celebration of color and the moments that we have. She moved from New York to Nebraska in 2005 and now lives in Lincoln with her two children. See galleries, events and projects at www.LindaStephen.com and www.TheDayWeWenttothePark.com and www.UnfoldingCommunications.com.
LINDA STEPHEN ARTIST STATEMENT
I have lived and traveled around the world – from Osaka to London, Chicago to Oslo. There is beauty of place, and of spirit, all around us, though these are often overlooked. In my art, I aim to celebrate both the festive and the quiet moments in our everyday lives.
Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper into representational shapes. My origami collage constructions represent a new and unique approach to this ancient tradition.
I use a wide range of handcrafted papers, primarily those of Japanese origin, as my medium. Colors, patterns and textures found in the papers themselves, as well as those created through the folding process, are key design elements in my art. Hundreds of artisanal washi Japanese papers form my palette – from tissue-thin, transparent chigiri-e hand-dyed rice papers to wrinkled momigami papers to the vibrant silkscreened yuzen fabric papers.
For the background, I create a watercolor look through layering papers. I do not paint any of the papers, so my color choices are limited, not unlike the circumstances of life. After choosing key papers, I invent 3D origami paper sculptures that add shadow, give dimension and bring my work to life. This is an intricate process – both the folding of individual pieces and carefully gluing each piece in place, one layer at a time. Large, detailed works take months to complete. Although I may incorporate 1,000+ paper sculptures in dozens of patterns and colors, every item that is added must enhance the composition.
To me, origami is a metaphor for the potential that lies within each person, each neighborhood, each city, and each country in our world. One flat piece of paper, a seemingly simple material, through a multifaceted progression of paper-folds, can be transformed into almost anything. It can even be deconstructed – unfolded – in order to begin again. It is my hope that my art inspires viewers to appreciate the beauty in the details around them and to celebrate the world and their part in it!
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