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Videos / April 26, 2016

Paper Hearts: In the Studio with Lizz Aston

Canadian artist Lizz Aston makes remarkable, often sculptural, works out of delicate materials—namely, papers, dyes and doilies. See how in this video.

Canadian artist Lizz Aston makes remarkable, often sculptural, works out of delicate materials—namely, papers and dyes.

“In my work I try to bridge the gaps between traditional textile practice and contemporary art and design,” Aston says.

Paper is a great material to work with because “it holds a lot of memory, it’s very transformative, you can do a lot of things with it sculpturally,” Aston tells us in our latest in-studio video by Karly McCloskey.

Sometimes as tall as two storeys, Aston’s paper sculptures are often based on the design of a single, small doily.

Aston uses Photoshop to morph the doily pattern, then uses laser-cutters and other devices to create the final work.

“I’m interested in looking at and manipulating a pattern in as many ways as possible in order to abstract it.”

Canadian Art’s newest video takes us inside Aston’s live-work studio in east-end Toronto for a closer look at her process.

Leah Sandals

Leah Sandals is a writer and editor based in Toronto. Her arts journalism has appeared in the Toronto Star, National Post and Globe and Mail, among other publications, and her creative work has been published in Prism, Room and Freefall. She can be reached via leahsandals.ca.