The Manifesto
Art shouldn't be gatekept.
Walk into a gallery and ask the price of an original. Watch what happens to the number when they figure out you're “just looking.”
Original fine art has a velvet rope around it. Four-figure minimums. Five if it's framed. Names you're supposed to already know. A whole vocabulary designed to make you feel like an outsider in a room you paid to enter.
I think that's broken.
Here's what I make.
Original, one-of-a-kind paper sculptures. Designed by me. Cut with precision. Hand-assembled and glued in my studio in Bellingham, Washington. Every piece is a real, physical object. Never a print. Never a reproduction. Never run off in batches.
Each one starts with the mathematics of nature. The same patterns that shape a nautilus shell, a sunflower's seed head, a fern's spiral, a river delta branching to the sea. I work with these forms, the geometries that have been quietly running the natural world for millions of years, and I translate them into compositions you can hang on a wall.
Once a design is finished, a laser cuts the paper. Then I take over. Every layer gets placed by hand. Every piece gets glued, stacked, aligned, and finished in my studio. The laser is a tool, like a chisel or a brush. The art is in the design and the building.
The math is the seed. The hands are the work. The result is yours.
Here's what they cost.
Less than you think. Way less.
Not because they're worth less. Because I decided who they're for.
A real, original, signed work of fine art should not cost more than a weekend trip. It shouldn't require a financial advisor's blessing. It should be something a teacher can hang in their living room. Something a young couple can buy for their first apartment. Something a kid can save up for.
If you can afford a nice dinner out, you can afford original art in your home. That's the whole idea.
What I won't do.
- I won't print editions of 500 and call them “limited.”
- I won't reproduce a piece once it's sold.
- I won't raise the prices when the work gets noticed.
- I won't make you feel small for asking what something costs.
What I will do.
- Design every piece myself.
- Hand-assemble every piece in my studio.
- Sign and number every piece.
- Keep the prices where real people can reach them.
- Donate 26 originals every year to charity galas and fundraisers.
- Keep showing up at the studio.
If this resonates with you, welcome. Pick a piece. Hang it somewhere you'll see it every day. Tell someone where you got it.
That's how this works.
Shawn
Bellingham, WA