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Workshop: Judith+Rolfe
made in the USA
Introducing
Nice to meet you Judith & Rolfe. Who are you?
We are JUDiTH+ROLFE, 30-something creative types who happen to be married.
We are both designers / architects who originally met in New York, but are currently living in Saint Paul, Minnesota. We like modern, simple design and enjoy making things, the current material of choice being paper. Judith creates all of the contemporary paper-art, while Rolfe is the problem-solver, providing constructive criticism and brainstorming new ideas. We are still experimenting with the medium, trying out different ideas, and obviously don’t take ourselves too seriously.
When Judith isn’t playing with paper, you can find her baking in the kitchen. Judith has a wicked sweet tooth; Rolfe has a wicked sense of humour. Strangers on the street often stop Rolfe, mistaking him for someone famous (which he is not).
Hello!
“Our home office / studio space is in a quiet residential neighbourhood. Looking out the window, we currently see icicles and lots of snow!”
MAKE A WISH
If you could change one thing in the world.
One. What would it be?
World peace. *rolls eyes* And all baked goods would be slightly under-baked, says Rolfe.
PRUNUS SERRULATA [Cherry Blossom], quilling paper, unmounted.
RISING STARS
How did you start your adventure with paper architecture?
We first started making art for our friends and family. Thoughtful and personalized baby gifts are hard to come by, so Judith decided to hand-make custom name pieces out of paper. Why paper? Because it is a material that is readily available and easy to work with. Those early works were primarily made out of tightly rolled coils of quilling paper, and Judith realized she really enjoyed the meditative process of rolling paper, and thus a passion was born. We got a really positive response when we put our stuff out there for the world (via Instagram and Pinterest), and so decided to keep going!
YOUR FAVORITE PIECE(S)
Introduce us to your favourite artwork, why is it so special?
Having to pick a favourite piece is like asking someone to choose their favourite child, it’s impossible to do.
They each have their merits (and faults), and are special in their own way. The creation of each piece is always a learning experience, and more ideas are continually being generated.
“Rolfe likes the flowers and constellation pieces the best, if forced to choose.
He’s admittedly obsessed with anything space related.”
PAREIDOLIA II, quilling paper on cardstock.
Behind the scene
Walk us through one of your artworks: the snowflake!
Tools required: Cutting mat, sharp hobby blade, ruler, glue, and tweezers.
Optional but highly recommended: Patience, and your beverage of choice (a cup of tea is Judith’s preference).
Step #1: Decide which one of the beautiful wrapping papers to use. Since the design was to be a snowflake, we chose a wrap with a mostly white background and pops of colour (Before the Pixels by Elizabeth Olwen).
Step #1
Step #2: Cut the wrapping paper into strips, score and fold in half lengthwise, then glue the back sides together to create double-sided strips.
Step #2
Step #3: Carefully measure out each segment of the triangle shape, cut and/or fold and glue. Tweezers are handy for this step, since it can be finicky to work with such small pieces of paper.
Step #3
Step #4: Using a sharp blade, cut the geometric pattern out of white cardstock.
Step #4
Step #5: Adhere each triangle piece to the cardstock, et voilà, a completed snowflake.
Step #5
Want more?
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