This Artist Rolls!

Dans le train

Anastassia Elias is an artist and illustrator who lives in Paris.  Her preferred medium is paper collages and paintings.  She has illustrated two children's books, and has exhibited her paintings.  She is self-taught, and claims to be motivated by exploration and observing other artists.

Santé!

She enjoys finding ways to repurpose everyday materials.  One day she looked at an empty toilet paper roll and wondered what she could do with it.  Later, she had an idea.

Grand Nord. Chouette

She decided to make silhouettes inside the tubes, then display them with a simple light.  She cuts small paper shapes using paper that is very close to the thin cardboard that the rolls are made of.  She then uses tweezers to manipulate the figures into place.

L-R, top row:  Boxe; Football; Travaux.
L-R, bottom row:  Ecole; Pêche; Tango.

Because of the small scale of the project and the intricate cutting she does with the shapes, each finished piece takes two to three hours to complete.

Grand-mère

On account of their small size, cutting out shapes is difficult.  She often takes photos to work from, especially photos that are lit from behind.

Linge

The imagery in her work comes from everyday life.  She feels that the small events of life go unnoticed, and she wanted to show that the mundane things of life are not boring.

Neige

Clever, simple yet time-consuming, Ms. Elias' work is unique and garnering much attention.  Not only is she an excellent craftsman able to consumate her designs, but an ingenious designer as well.  One can only hope she will continue to experiment with new and unique projects.

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Images courtesy the artist's website.

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