"The original sculptures made from concrete are like the bones of my artwork. The paper is its skin. In a sense, I provide the muscle as I create each piece."
- Terry Taube

From start to end, it takes approximately one month for Terry Taube to create a cast paper sculpture. He spends time on each piece, individualizing its shape, enhancing its colors, bringing it to life.

Color is the very staple of Taube's artwork, and as such, the process of coloring starts at the very beginning. Taube first dusts his molds, such as his signature turtle shape, or surfaces, including mats, leaves and lava, with metal and pearlescent powders. These powders create colors that only can be found in nature. They mix with and react to the pulp during the casting process, and the result is a unique sculpture every time.

The cast paper sculptures are made from two types of pulp, hemp and abaca. Taube blends the pulp himself and works it into an oatmeal-like consistency. This pulp mixture is sprayed onto the molds or surfaces using a texture sprayer. "It's a high-tech process, but it, like my art, mirrors a very primitive act in nature. Essentially, it's a version of what a wasp does when building its nest."

He sprays the pulp in layers, three to four times, allowing it to dry between each application.

After spraying each layer he hand-presses and massages the pulp into the molds. The spraying and drying process takes approximately two weeks.

Once the molds are cured, he separates each piece from the others and one-by-one, meticulously trims away the excess pulp and cleans up the edges.