Eccentric Misfits and Uncommon Characters - New Paper Sculptures by Patty Grazini

Sculptures created by artist Patty Grazini never fail to amaze... each autumn she delights us with photos of figures she has spent the past year fashioning entirely from paper. While her 2013 collection featured famous artists' muses, this time Patty focuses on women with quirky stories - similar, yet different from 2012's cast of crime-committing characters.

Runaway Bride - a daughter tricks her expectant groom and runs off with another suitor.

Take a moment to marvel at every garment, accessory, and prop. I'm determined to visit Seattle with the express purpose of seeing these creatures in person one day.

Why does Patty create animal heads instead of human features? She explained it is because of the curiosity they arouse in the viewer.

 Poet - a Wall Street beggar was taken to court for vagrancy and pan handling. She went before the judge and recited a poem. The judge agreed she was indeed a poet and released her without any fine.

Two Years in the Forest - a beautiful young woman was deserted by a suitor and expelled from her father's house. When found, she was wearing the same clothes as the day she disappeared and carried a pair of scissors.

I asked Patty to tell us about her process of finding and fabricating these eccentrics.

"All my work is inspired by the lives of real people from history. For this new show, I researched New York Times articles from 1880–1910 and found myself drawn to the peculiarity of certain women and their fleeting narratives and lives."

Opera Singer - a young woman was taken to Bellevue Hospital because she claimed to be a distinguished opera singer. She couldn't sing.

"From these articles, and my other research of New York City at the turn of the century, I tried to reconstruct the aesthetic of the period and each woman's personal and historical circumstances. My upcoming show is titled "Eccentric Misfits and Uncommon Characters,” and each piece is accompanied with a copy of the article from which it was conceived."

Lost in the Woods -  a young girl lost her way while picking huckleberries.

"The average height of each character is about 15 inches. They are completely made of paper that I have dyed, painted, and manipulated to look authentic. I also selected a color palette to reflect the historical period, in hopes of bringing the viewer back into the streets, houses, tenements, and storefronts that these characters inhabited."

Cricket Performance - a young lady artist thought life would be unbearable without the musical insects. She hosted a cricket concert.

Eccentric Misfits and Uncommon Characters opens this Saturday, November 22, 7:00 PM at Curtis Steiner 5349 Ballard Avenue NW in Seattle, Washington.