Shelby Meyerhoff
Paper Playroom
When the coronavirus arrived in the Boston area, my toddler Moxie and I began spending our days at home together. One afternoon, we painted with washable paints and cheap printer paper, which crumpled as it dried. Looking at the peaks and valleys, illuminated by the sunlight streaming into the playroom, I was inspired to create sculptures out of ordinary paper products. I set these sculptures by a window and revisited them throughout the day to photograph while Moxie ate her snacks, napped, or played on the floor.
Paper has turned out to be an ideal medium. It is readily available and nontoxic. It is not fragile; these sculptures can fall on the floor and be picked up again. And it is recyclable and biodegradable, pluses for me as an environmentalist.
Over time, my passion for the paper sculptures has grown. They take on lives of their own, forming surprising shapes and becoming lively creatures. Just as Moxie has found wonder in simple toys, I have found joy in twisting, folding, and photographing paper. She and I, each in our own ways, have turned the confines of our home into a place of imagination and growth.
Artist Bio
Shelby Meyerhoff is a multidisciplinary artist based in Winchester, Massachusetts. She works with a variety of media, including photography, painting, sculpture, and body art, often combining multiple techniques to create her images.
Meyerhoff’s work has been exhibited in venues across the country, including the Griffin Museum of Photography (MA), the Mosesian Center for the Arts (MA), the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (GA), and the LH Horton Jr. Gallery at San Joaquin Delta College (CA). Her photographs have also been featured in UU World, the national magazine of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
She has studied visual arts at the Griffin Museum of Photography, the New England School of Photography, and MassArt. Before becoming a fine artist, Meyerhoff worked in nonprofit communications.
Contact Shelby Meyerhoff