Artist Introduction: Tom Fletcher
I have always been intrigued with toys. When I was a student, my teachers always told me my sculptures looked like toys, and as time went by I began designing toys. I have been influenced by the circus and puppet theater, but I think it is obvious from looking at my work that I do not always see the sweet side of a child's world.
I began making large paper heads after my first visit to Central America, where I have taught toy design and construction in a small village for a number of years. One year I taught some of the local artists to make large paper heads for a street fair. The people of the village reacted strongly to the spectacle of huge heads floating around the streets. We began to call the heads, “moons,” and when I returned home I made more heads. I have continued to make these paper heads because it is a way to keep some contact with a place I have developed affection for. Perhaps the faces are imagined portraits of the people I miss, or maybe they represent people I know at home. Many nights, as I work late, I find myself talking to the faces as they come alive under my hands.
- The paper material is very strong and light, so the heads are easily suspended from a cord.
- They vary in size from a foot in diameter to three feet in diameter.
- I use nontoxic materials, so they are “child safe” should a child find it necessary to try to eat one.
- If you have questions about the “moons” or their construction please feel free to contact me.
It is a form of therapy, I suppose, but the heads keep their secrets. They sometimes have the same effect on other people with active imaginations.