paper sculpture

These Amazing stunningly Pictures detailed ideas how to make paper sculptures may only be made from paper - but they are being techniques snapped up by art fans for tens of thousands of pounds.

The unique Eckman Method® of fine art cast paper sculpture calls for husband and wife team Allen and Patty Eckman place the paper pulp in clay moulds before pressurising it to remove the water.

The hard, lightweight pieces are then removed and the couple painstakingly add detailed finishings with a wide range of tools. The intricate creations can take up to 11 months to complete.

They have been making the creations since 1987 at their home studio, in South Dakota, America, and have racked up over three million pounds selling them.

The pieces depict traditional scenes from Native American history of Cherokees hunting and dancing. Their most expensive creation so far is called Prairie Edge Powwow which sold for £47,000.

Artists Allen says: 'We create Indians partly because my great, great grandmother was a Cherokee and my family on both sides admire the native Americans. I work on the men and animals and Patty does the women and children. I enjoy most doing the detail. The paper really lends itself to unlimited detail.'

'I'm really interested in the Indian's material, physical and spiritual culture and that whole period of our nation's history I find fascinating. From the western expansion, through the Civil War and beyond is of great interest to me.'

The couple, who have been together since college, ran a small advertising company together in the Los Angeles area while raising three children. When Allen saw some paper sculpture in a brochure that the agency was working on he was instantly hooked. Allen and Patty soon decided they had had enough of the stressful world of advertising and set themselves up in a workshop creating the paper artworks full time.

Allen added: 'It should not be confused with papier mache. The two mediums are completely different. I call what we do cast paper sculpture. Since we started we have become the foremost in the medium and are recognized world wide and have a registered trademark here in America.

We begin with the paper we make from our own acid free pulp. We make moulds of human figures and animals that we sculpt in scales that conform to each other in size. Some of them we create are lifesize and some we scale down to 1/6 lifesize. These sculptures are posed as standing nude figures and limited detailed animals with no ears, tails or hair.'

'We transform them by sculpting on top of them - creating detail with soft and hard paper we make in various thicknesses and textures. We have really enjoyed the development of our fine art techniques over the years and have created a process that is worth sharing. There are many artists and sculptors who we believe will enjoy this medium as much as we have.'

The couple's website offers not only finished £50,000 sculptures but also a DVD and starter kit giving step-by-step tutorial details for creating similar artworks yourself for a rather more recession-friendly £45