I make Demon Heads out of paper.

• Some are masks (WARTHOG, GOAT, twisted SKULL.)

• Some are helmets with horns (RAM, SKULL, STEER.)

• Some are fantastical double- or triple-heads (CHIMERA, LION-SNAKE.)

• Some are heads-within-heads (OLD MAN, WOLF, BABOON, GARUDA.) These usually depict an angry animal head bursting forth from a more complacent human head, becoming intertwined and structurally interdependent, an inside warring with its outside.

All draw on multiple mask traditions and fantastical imagery to create symbols of resistance and inner strength, battle-wear for the current round of Culture Wars. For those of us finding our core values -even our very existence- under assault, they are meant as reminders to draw on all that negativity we’ve internalized and turn it into a force for good.

I employ both digital and manual techniques.

I model the heads in the computer using common architectural software, convert the fully organic forms into developable surfaces that I flatten into patterns and cut using a digital die cutter. I then assemble the hundreds of pieces of paper by hand, taping each edge-to-edge and gluing with a fine-tipped squeeze bottle. To help structure some of the larger heads (RAM, STEER,) I create a network of internal ribs. When I go still larger (CHIMERA, LION-SNAKE) I create an armature out of corrugated plastic sheet and attach subdivided sections using removable plastic rivets. The result is a tight, literally paper-thin shell that retains my hand at any scale.

Why demons, why heads, why paper?

I draw on the fantastical imagery of demons, horned masks, and armor as a way to access inner demons and investigate the tension between one’s roiling insides and the face presented to the outside world. It is a way for a nice guy to talk about the shame and anger he is often surprised to harbor. The more time I spend exploring this inner ugliness, the less I see it as something to be beaten down and more as a force to be drawn upon in the face of hostile or dispiriting circumstances. It is what can propel shy people to action.

I focus on heads as that is the place many of us live most fully. They can be both protector and prison. My forms are hollow so they can be imaginatively entered and explored, like caverns in an alien world. What lies within?

I’m drawn to the cleanliness and precision of paper, but also, to the challenge of taking a seemingly weak material and finding how to make it strong. I employ a number of structural strategies gleaned from studying bones, leaves, shells: interior trusses, curves upon curves, many pieces interconnected. The result is a thin shell construction strong as a wasp nest, tight as a cicada shell.

I’ve been focused on this exploration for the last 4 ½ years and look forward to going larger by laser cutting hardier materials and going smaller and even more complex through 3d printing.