Paper Sculpture
These 3d historic fashion sculptures in 1/2 and 1/8 scale are made primarily from books, maps, photos and some paper currency. The pieces are arranged according to the show they were created for. All pieces not sold are available for purchase. Please contact the site for shipping estimates, local free delivery available.
All photos courtesy of Susan Wolfe. shirkwolfe.myportfolio.com/
A VIEW FROM HERE
Lincoln Art Center
Lincoln, KS 2022
Sonja's Skates
This winter skating coat is made from USGS topo maps of Kansas. The skates are from cardboard and ribbon and the fur is made from finely cut tissue paper
$400
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A VIEW FROM HERE
Lincoln Art Center
Lincoln, KS 2022
Field of Dreams
Dorothy's dress is made of USGS topo maps of Kansas and her blouse is made from pages of the Wizard of Oz. The dress also features handmade poppies, gold leaf, embroidered edges and vintage buttons.
$400
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A VIEW FROM HERE
Lincoln Art Center
Lincoln, KS 2022
London Interbellum
Made with maps of London, Wales, and Scotland. The trim is made with hundreds of sequins and embroidery on handmade paper. Paper rosettes and ribbon complete the piece which was designed as an homage to the fashion between the two great wars.
$400
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A VIEW FROM HERE
Lincoln Art Center
Lincoln, KS 2022
Kansas Pioneer
This 19th Century dress is made with USGS topo maps of Kansas, road atlas maps, pages from the 1883 History of Kansas, paper lace, embroidery and velvet ribbon. The bustle features three life sized paper and embroidery sunflowers.
$400
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A VIEW FROM HERE
Lincoln Art Center
Lincoln, KS 2022
Dorothia's Butterflies
This sassy sleeveless number was made with Kansas topo maps, handmade paper, print ephemera, and paper butterflies
$400
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A VIEW FROM HERE
Lincoln Art Center
Lincoln, KS 2022
Marie a vivanier
This Robe a l'Anglaise was made from notated and embroidered musical pages from the Daughter of the Regiment opera. Painted, stitched and covered with song birds, this piece includes paper lace ruffles and satin ribbon rosettes over the entire surface.
$500
Photo by Susan Wolfe
DANCE FOR A SMALL PLANET
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs, NM 2022
A Beehive in my Heart
This three foot tall paper dress is decorated with traditional Ukranian Pysanky designs and has a paper behive floating among the stars in the torso. Inspired by the poem: Last Night as I lay Sleeping by Antonio Machado. Small lights illuminate the Hubble Telescope images on the inside of the dress.
$400
Photo by Susan Wolfe
DANCE FOR A SMALL PLANET
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs, NM 2022
Who makes these changes?
This three foot tall paper dress is fashioned as a historic Nomadic Ukranian. The dress, skirt and blouse are made from the Ukraninan National Anthem sheet music. The piece was inspired by the poem: Who makes these changes? by Jalal al-Din Rumi. The beads are made of rolled paper, the "fur" is cut tissue paper and the bow is made of cardboard and ribbon.
$400
Photo by Susan Wolfe
DANCE FOR A SMALL PLANET
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs, NM 2022
The cool light of the moon
This three foot tall paper dress is made of hundreds of full moon images. Snippets of moon poems peek out on the ribbons. The back bustle is made of handmade silver paper.
$400
Photo by Susan Wolfe
DANCE FOR A SMALL PLANET
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs, NM 2022
Winged Victory
This three foot tall paper dress is made of tissue paper Sunflowers and Corn flowers - the national flowers of the Ukraine. The skirt and bodice are made from maps of the Ukraine.
$400
Photo by Susan Wolfe
DANCE FOR A SMALL PLANET
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs, NM 2022
32E Merci
Doll-sized dress made of Paris street maps, embroidery, velvet ribbon and a memorable receipt for two bottles of wine.
NFS
Photo by Susan Wolfe
DANCE FOR A SMALL PLANET
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs, NM 2022
Cafe de Floret
Doll-sized dress made of Paris street maps, velvet ribbon, Bakelite button and vintage cafe photographs.
$120
Photo by Susan Wolfe
DANCE FOR A SMALL PLANET
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs, NM 2022
Samedi apres midi
Doll-sized dress made of Paris street maps, paper lace and vintage Paris street scene photographs.
Sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
DANCE FOR A SMALL PLANET
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs, NM 2022
Between the Alps
Doll-sized dress made of a vintage Paris street scene photograph, embroidery, French maps and organza ribbon.
Sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
WORDS WITH WINGS
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs NM, 2021
Jemez Hummingbird
This 3 foot tall dress was made from stenciled maps of New Mexico, maps of the ocean, ribbon and a metal fencing armature.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
WORDS WITH WINGS
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs NM, 2021
Space Crow
This 3 foot tall dress with a cape was made of embroidered rocket ship imagery, crow brads and feathers made from Hubble Telescope images. The cape clasp is made from a Bakelite buckle and costume jewelry
$400
Photo by Susan Wolfe
WORDS WITH WINGS
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs NM, 2021
Interbellum Butterfly
This 3 foot tall dress with adjustable butterfly accessories was made with sheet music, dictionary pages, beads, wire and a metal fencing armature.
$400
Photo by Susan Wolfe
WORDS WITH WINGS
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs NM, 2021
Horsewoman of the Apocalypse; War
This four foot tall dress with adjustable wings is made from prop and foreign currency. It is decoreated with historic weapons and maps of historic battle fields. red threads adorn every surface, indicating the bloodshed of war.
$600
Photo by Susan Wolfe
WORDS WITH WINGS
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs NM, 2021
Summer Clouds
Child-sized dress made with embroidered maps of New Mexico
Sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
WORDS WITH WINGS
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs NM, 2021
Robis on the Mesa
Child-sized dress made with embroidered maps of New Mexico. Appliqued robins and vintage buttons complete the dress.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
WORDS WITH WINGS
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs NM, 2021
Elsie Loves the Bodhi
Child-sized dress made with embroidered and painted maps of New Mexico. Donated to the 2021 Bodhi Manda Zen Center benefit auction.
donated
Photo by Susan Wolfe
WORDS WITH WINGS
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs NM, 2021
My Heart Belongs in the Jemez
Child-sized dress made with embroidered maps of New Mexico. Trimmed with ribbon and embossed wax paper. Donated to the 2022 New Mexico Library Foundation benefit fundraiser.
donated
Photo by Susan Wolfe
WORDS WITH WINGS
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs NM, 2021
Elsie loves the Library
Child-sized dress made with embroidered maps of New Mexico. Trimmed with paper skeletons in organza skirts reading tiny books. Donated to the Jemez Springs Public Library 2022 fundraising raffle.
donated
Photo by Susan Wolfe
WORDS WITH WINGS
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery
Jemez Springs NM, 2021
Walking in the Valley
Child-sized dress made with embroidered maps of New Mexico.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
COLLECTED STORIES
Theatre Lawrence
Lawrence, KS 2022
Ruth's Recollections
This child-sized dress made from the play script pages of Collected Stories by Donald Margulies, gouache, glitter, and jewels.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
COLLECTED STORIES
Theatre Lawrence
Lawrence, KS 2022
Roxanne's Decision
Delicately painted and embroidered child-sized dress made from the play script pages of Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand.
$160
Photo by Susan Wolfe
COLLECTED STORIES
Theatre Lawrence
Lawrence, KS 2022
Terry Stands Up
Child-sized overalls made with play script pages from On the Waterfront by Budd Schulberg. Decorated with embroidery, hand painted decorations and photographic stills from the movie.
$160
Photo by Susan Wolfe
COLLECTED STORIES
Theatre Lawrence
Lawrence, KS 2022
Torvald's World
Child-sized jacket with a gouache painted and embroidered plaid made from pages of A Doll's House by Henrick Ibsen.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
COLLECTED STORIES
Theatre Lawrence
Lawrence, KS 2022
Pop Seeks Justice
Child-sized overalls made with gouache painted and embroidered play script pages from On the Waterfront by Budd Schulberg.
$160
Photo by Susan Wolfe
COLLECTED STORIES
Theatre Lawrence
Lawrence, KS 2022
Nora Decides
Child-sized jacket decorated with embroidery and delicate pointilist dots. Made from gouache painted play script pages of A Doll's House by Henrick Ibsen.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
COLLECTED STORIES
Theatre Lawrence
Lawrence, KS 2022
Natasha Takes Charge
Child-sized cape made with the play script pages of the Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov. The cape has been painted in gouache with a herringbone pattern and trimmed with tissue paper "fur".
$160
Photo by Susan Wolfe
COLLECTED STORIES
Theatre Lawrence
Lawrence, KS 2022
Lyuba = Love
Child-sized cape made with the play script pages of The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov. The pattern has been painted on with gouache and black and white inks. The hem and collars have been extensively embroidered. The pom poms are made with tissue paper.
$160
Photo by Susan Wolfe
COLLECTED STORIES
Theatre Lawrence
Lawrence, KS 2022
Violetta Shines Bright
Child-sized cape made with the play script pages of the opera La Traviata by Verdi. Decorated with embroidery, feathers and handmade tassles.
$160
Photo by Susan Wolfe
COLLECTED STORIES
Theatre Lawrence
Lawrence, KS 2022
Beatrice's Sprezzatura
Child-sized winter coat and mittens made with play script pages of Much Ado about Nothing by Shakespeare. Decorated with embroidery and gouache patterns.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
COLLECTED STORIES
Theatre Lawrence
Lawrence, KS 2022
Ivan's Farce
Child-sized overalls made with play script pages of The Inspector General by Nikolai Gogot. Decorated with stamps, embroidery and copic markers.
$160
Photo by Susan Wolfe
COLLECTED STORIES
Theatre Lawrence
Lawrence, KS 2022
Flora's Full Moon
Child-sized dress made with play script pages of La Traviata by Verdi. Decorated with gouache, paper lace and satin and grossgrain ribbon
$160
Photo by Susan Wolfe
COLLECTED STORIES
Theatre Lawrence
Lawrence, KS 2022
Cleopatra Remembers
Child-sized double cape made with play script pages of Caesar and Cleopatra by George Bernard Shaw. Decorated with gouache, embroidery and sewing pattern paper fringe.
$160
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Clarina Makes Way for Justice
Doll-sized dress made from aeronautical maps of Kansas, embroidery and beads.
Clarina Nichols first gained national recognition in the early 1850s for her newspaper editorials supporting women’s rights and the abolitionist party in the Kansas Territory. She traveled throughout the progressive territory giving lectures and gathering signatures on petitions, which motivated delegates to the Wyandotte constitutional convention in 1859 to ask her to address the all-male assembly.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Eva Sings
Doll-sized dress made from maps of Kansas City, embroidery, velvet ribbon, embossed waxed paper and song birds.
Named for: Eva Jessye (1895-1992) was born in Coffeyville, KS and earned international praise as a choral director. Jessye is known as "the grand dame of Black music in America," and was the choral trainer for George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. She also marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Hattie in the Spring
Child-sized dress made from embroidered maps of Kansas.
Named for: Hattie Anderson Elliott, one of the founders of Lawrence and wife to Robert Gaston Elliott, publisher of the Kansas Free State paper. Strong abolitionists, they helped Kansas transition from territory to state.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Butterfly Annie
Child-sized dress made from embroidered and gouache-painted maps of Kansas.
Annie LaPorte Diggs was a Kansas poet, author, newspaperwoman, temperance worker and Populist advocate. Diggs wrote articles for several newspapers, including the Topeka Commonwealth, the Lawrence Journal, and the Westminster Review, a British publication. Over a 20 year period she lectured extensively on the People's Party, prohibition, and women’s suffrage in nearly every state in the union. Diggs also served as Kansas State Librarian from 1898 to 1902.
Donated
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Springtime for Annie
Child-sized dress made from embroidered, illustrated and gouache-painted maps of Kansas. This dress is also decorated with beads and organza ribbon.
Langston Hughes was raised mainly in Lawrence, Kansas, by his maternal grandmother, Mary Patterson Langston. Through the black American oral tradition and drawing from the activist experiences of her generation, Mary Langston instilled in her grandson a lasting sense of racial pride.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Travels with Susan
Child-sized dress made from embroidered maps of Kansas.
Susan Shelby Magoffin was Only 18 years old when she traveled the Santa Fe Trail in 1846, she was one of the first American women to travel the trail and she also kept one of the most detailed journals of daily experience on the trail. Magoffin is remarkable both for traveling the difficult journey and for the journal she kept. Her journal is a valuable resource for information along the trail. Unlike many male accounts, she takes note of domestic issues and offers insight as to what women’s lives were like during the expansion period. Magoffin’s reports of the prairie and its creatures offer information about Kansas prior to white settlement.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Sara's Birthday
Child-sized dress made from embroidered and beaded maps of Kansas.
Sara T. L. Robinson was a US writer and historian. She served as the inaugural First Lady of Kansas and is most notable for her book, Kansas: its interior and exterior life; including a full view of its settlement, political history, social life, climate soil, productions, scenery, etc. (1856) during which time, her house was plundered and burned. The book was considered "epoch making" for its time.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Meg Gives
Child-sized dress made from embroidered and beaded maps of Kansas. The dress is trimmed with gouache painted paper lace.
Although the Ladybird Diner closed March 14, 2020, Meg Heriford and a small number of staff haven’t stopped working ever since. The Ladybird has offered free bagged lunches for anyone who needs them throughout this long year+. Heriford writes about her pandemic efforts and much more in Ladybird, Collected, a book of essays released last fall. Purchase a copy from Lawrence’s Raven Book Store and 100 percent of proceeds go to the diner’s community meal program, with each book purchase funding four meals.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Midwestern Childhood
Child-sized dress made from embroidered and painted maps of Kansas. The center panel is smocked.
This smocked dress made with maps of Kansas was made to benefit to the Lawrence Percolator arts space. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Percolator
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Lucinda Leads the Way
Doll-sized dress made from embroidered and crocheted maps of Kansas. The dress is trimmed with organza lace.
Forced to give up her teaching career because she married, Lucinda Todd turned her focus toward advocacy, serving as the secretary of the Topeka Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) beginning in 1948. Todd fought to advance educational opportunities for African American students and played a key role in the Brown v. Board of Education lawsuit, which resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down school segregation.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Mamie Teaches Us
Child-sized dress made from embroidered maps of Old West Lawrence Kansas. The dress is trimmed with lace.
Lawrence native born in 1874, throughout her career Mary J. “Mamie” Dillard was an African American educator, clubwoman and suffragist who was involved in promoting rights and votes for women and civil rights and leadership for African Americans. She taught and encouraged a young Langston Hughes and continued to support him in his career. She remained active throughout her life in numerous women’s organizations that focused on leadership, suffrage, and literature.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Lucy's Long Summer
Child-sized dress made from embroidered and gouache painted maps of Kansas. The dress is trimmed with vintage ribbon and milliner flowers.
Lucy Hobbs Taylor was an American school teacher and a dentist, known for being the first woman to graduate from dental school in 1866. She moved with her husband to Lawrence in 1867 and trained him in the dental arts. They had a successful practice and after her husband's death, Taylor became more active in politics, campaigning for greater women's rights. In her time as a dentist, Lucy Hobbs Taylor opened up brand new doors to many women in the future, especially the medical field doors. She believed that her journey was complete by "making it possible for women to be recognized in the dental profession on equal terms with men”.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Hanna's River
Child-sized dress made from embroidered and guoache painted maps of Kansas.
Increasingly interested in the abolitionist movement and the westward expansion, Hannah H. Ropes and her daughter moved to Lawrence Kansas in 1855. During this period she was increasingly politically active and well connected. She wrote a novel, Cranston House and also published Six Months in Kansas. Later she served as a nurse in the Civil War beside Louisa May Alcott.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Lutie's Rose Garden
Child-sized dress made from embroidered and gouache painted maps of Kansas. This dress is trimmed with velvet ribbon and jewels.
Luie Lytle was the first African American to be admitted to the Kansas bar. After attending college in Nashville, TN she returned to Topeka in 1897 to practice law.
"I conceived the idea of studying law in a printing office where I worked for years as a compositor," Lutie said during an interview 1897. "I read the newspaper exchanges a great deal and became impressed with the knowledge of the fact that my own people especially were the victims of legal ignorance. I resolved to fathom its depths and penetrate its mysteries and intricacies in hopes of being a benefit to my people."
$160
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Nanon Puts on a PPlay
Child-sized die-cut maps of the ocean and maps of Kansas.
Nanon Lee Herren, born in Lawrence in 1879, was the only female instructor, out of 600, at Beaune University, an American University located south of Dijon, France.
After the war, she had her own theater/studio in Topeka to give instruction in drama. She created the Legal News, of which she was the initiator, owner and publisher. She received first prize from Kansas Press Women for her play to promote the sale of war bonds.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Helen's Neighborhood
Doll-sized dress made of maps of Old West Lawrence, Kansas and trimmed with lace and milliner flowers
Helen Rhoda Hoopes was the first woman to edit the University Daily Kansan in 1914. After she received her master’s degree Hoopes taught English at KU until 1947. During her time at KU Hoopes helped establish the Gamma Phi Beta sorority chapter, the KU Quill Club, Pi Lambda Theta–a national teacher’s honorary society, and Theta Sigma Phi–a women’s journalism society.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021
Kathryn Forges Ahead
Doll-sized dress made of maps of Kansas and oceanic currents. This dress is embroidered and trimmed with fringe.
Kathryn O’Loughlin McCarthy was the first woman from Kansas in the U.S. House of Representatives. Born and raised in Hays, KS, Kathryn obtained her law degree from the University of Chicago and passed the Kansas bar in 1929.
During her campaign for Congress in 1932 she defeated eight men in the Democratic primary, traveled approximately 30,000 miles, and gave as many as 12 speeches per day. As congresswoman, McCarthy was active in influencing New Deal agricultural policy. O'Loughlin continued to help others after her political career ended. She paid tuition at Fort Hays State University and housed many low-income African American students. She also advocated for better treatment of women in the state's prisons.
sold
Photo by Susan Wolfe
A KANSAS CHILDHOOD
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, KS 2021