My name is Lisa Lloyd and I am a paper artist based in the UK. Over the summer I created a life-sized bald eagle, with a 2 meter wingspan, made entirely out of paper. Due to the scale and fine details, he was my biggest challenge yet! Every feather was hand-cut and fringed or scored. It took me just over 3 and a half months to complete this commission but he is now settled in his new home over in the US.
I have always felt inspired by nature and love capturing movement in my pieces to really bring them to life. After much research, I settled on a shot of the Eagle, with his wings outstretched, but curved slightly to catch the wind, with his talons on full display like he is coming down to land safely. Unfortunately, I was not able to see this beautiful bird of prey in real life but I was able to see some similar breeds of eagle at my local natural history museum. This was a great resource in terms of seeing how their feathers sit and for my proportion awareness.
I am very lucky to have some very talented craftsmen in the adjoining studios so I asked them to construct a wooden base (that was 2 meters wide) and a frame for me to work off, with a plumb line so I could work within the measurements of the intended display case. I was able to capture the journey through time lapse videos and I hope you enjoy seeing him come to life as much as I have enjoyed making him!
I have been working with paper for about 8 years now, having over 20 years experience in the commercial industry through animation and being a live action director. Not only is my work sustainable but I love the versatility of working with paper and the range of papers that are available these days is incredible. My next project was on a totally different scale! It was a Hummingbird with really tiny feathers in a metallic finish. If you would like to see more then please check out my instagram page @lisa_lloydpaper