by Joyce Aysta
(Los Angeles)

Artist Statement

I am a self-taught paper artist who creates realistic, rectilinear and monochromatic origami architecture greeting cards. I have now embarked on a new body of work ~ abstract, curvaceous and colorful curved creases.

For the past 21 years, I created origami architecture greeting cards of significant buildings. In this new work, I explore a magical process using paper folded in a curve. Each component is made from a single paper disc with a hole in the center, inviting a mystical marriage of form and space. I score the disc in concentric rings, and using these rings as a guide, I accordion fold from the center outward. As the folding and creasing progresses, the natural tensions in the paper cause the piece to transform and the piece takes on a whimsical, multi-dimensional saddle-like shape.

I take these shapes and twist them until they explode into a colorfully complex sculpture where the final shape is partly controlled by the relationship of the outer diameter of the disc and the diameter of the interior hole. Grain of the paper also plays a role in the fascinating process that determines the final shape.

As each component begins to form, the color deepens and becomes livelier. I am always surprised by the difference between the flat sheet I started with and final contorted twisted form. The colors seem totally different. I combine several shapes of varying colors to create the final pieces. Each piece becomes a symphony of form, color & undulating rhythm.

Joyce Aysta, artist

Blue/Ochre Fabriano

Red/Yellow Fabriano

Seabright/Orange Fabriano