Papier mâché artist’s works invoke poetry

Rhea Giffin is a multifaceted artist whose inner child is alive and kicking. Working mostly in papier mâché (French for chewed paper), she has taken the medium to a new level, creating stunning works of art.

“Papier mâché seems to have a universally visceral attraction for people of all ages and class. I think they are drawn to the organic and tactile imperfections that reflect our own perfectly flawed humanness, as well as some kind of primal childlike memory of the ideal artist we all once were,” she said.

“It can often bridge the gap to deeper concepts and emotion because it is unexpected and nonthreatening.”

She began her artistic journey in the third grade when she wrote and illustrated dozens of children’s books with a friend. Today, she incorporates poetry and stories into many of her pieces. “Words and language have become trite,” she said, “now, art tells the story.”

Her work aims to speak to the masses, and it speaks volumes. Her sculptures, small to life-sized, are figurative, humans or animals, with mystical qualities. Initially the medium is hard to decipher, some smooth, some textured and with raised designs.

The solidly built pieces are primarily paper and glue, and the stories they tell are recognizable with bold colors and childlike exaggerations of the human condition, perhaps referring to a time when we all believed anything was possible.

Her work is poetic because she thinks that way. “A ray of light through the clouds can stop me in my tracks,” she said. Magnetic words, formed into lines of poetry, cover a door in her Coeur d’Alene home. Shelves are filled with books, and color and art cover the walls.

Giffin says her earlier days don’t really matter; the idea of time is all just a blur. She has been living in Coeur d’Alene since the early 1980s. She had a desk job until she quit to pursue art in the early 1990s. She has studied at North Idaho College since 1983 and considers life an ongoing education. She also attends workshops, classes and seminars.

A book about the symbolism of bowls inspired her to create papier mâché “story bowls” which led to her larger works; vessels for her imagination.

Her résumé is long and includes dozens of exhibits in Washington and Idaho, publications, and places she has taught. Her affiliations include Citizen’s Council for the Arts, Women’s Caucus for Art, and the Northwest Papier Mâché Artists’ Guild.

Recently, her piece titled “Saving Grace” was one of 75 pieces accepted into the 19th International Exhibition on Animals in Art to be displayed at Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine.

Giffin’s work brings color to the world and urges a viewer to dream. Though unmoving, her sculptures dance, sing and speak.

She describes her work in her artist’s statement: “We are shape shifters, the words, dreams, thoughts, paper, life and I. We are recyclable, manipulable, transformable, destructible, salvageable. Something emerges. Something disappears. Layer upon layer. It is papier mâché in its finest form.”