Phoenix —
by Francene Levinson

Description:

This modular direct paper sculpture is part of a bird-life series."Phoenix" is inspired by the mythology of a great bird's re-generation.This sculpture shows a light blush of the beginning of the flames that consumed the bird. The egg is gently offered as new life. It is constructed only of hand cut, hand folded, archival color, inkjet paper modules and Ph neutral glue. There are approximately 3000 triangular double-pocket, double point modules of paper linked together. This is an ancient Chinese paper folding technique called "Zhe Zhi." The architecture of folded, linked and glued paper units creates a very strong and durable sculpture medium which permits direct paper sculpting. The science of topology dictates the slope and curve of the surface by the number of points linked in a circumference. Archival paper is acid-free, color stable, and generally used as legal substrate for documentation and suitable to last a minimum of 100 years.