RURAL ARTISAN
Using battered old paperbacks and muddied maps, Jennifer Collier crafts everything from teacups to typewriters
Jennifer Collier’s open studio in rural Staffordshire looks like a vintage emporium brimming with one-off collectibles that make you want to rummage like no one is watching. Look more closely and you realise that not all is what it seems. As a sculptor, Jennifer creates teacups and typewriters, lampshades and telephones – all out of paper and stitched together using needle and thread. “Don’t strike a key or pick up the receiver too keenly,” she teases. Jennifer has been fashioning true-to-scale models of household items for about 20 years. At university, she studied textiles, where she discovered she could put paper into her sewing machine. The secondhand Bernina she bought back then still whirrs with life.
CUT IT OUT
Jennifer’s collection comprises about 40 designs, with each object taking anything from half a day to a week. Like dressmaking, a new addition involves developing a flat pattern that’s assembled into a three-dimensional maquette. Amaster template can then be made using clear acetate so Jennifer can be sure it’s in the right position before making the first cut. The final work is made from old and recycled paper, which Jennifer often finds in flea markets and charity shops. “I can’t help but pick up a book that’s falling apart or a collection of recipes that’s splattered with food,” she says. “Lots of people would dismiss paper that’s yellowed, covered in tape marks or annotated, but the patina adds to an object’s narrative.” She also uses paper given to her by friends and strangers: “We’ve all got drawers of paper we never look at and shelves of books we never read. Making them into something you can have on display gives them a new purpose and meaning.”
For some commissions, the paper she uses is especially precious to the recipient. Jennifer’s work is popular as a first wedding anniversary present, as it’s traditional to give a paper gift. “It’s an honour when someone asks me to make something out of their precious papers, but it can be terrifying,” she says. She returns the offcuts or makes them into small items such as spoons: “I can’t bear waste, so nothing goes into the bin.”
Working out how to sew awkward shapes to make Jennifer’s intricate, often fragile sculptures has taken years of trial and error. She always uses the same stitch tension and type of needle, and, to prevent slicing the paper by mistake, puts the machine on a long stitch
