Mother and daughter create life from paper and paste

NORTON Kan. -- Norton artists Ruby Meyer and Melissa Nelson have mastered the art of using newsprint and glue to put a comical spin on life.

"I don't know which came first, birth or art," Nelson said about being part of a mother-daughter artist duo.

The two women have spent much of their adult lives creating larger-than-life characters out of papier-mache at the Painted Paper art studio in Norton.

"Papier-mache has been a part of our lives since Mom created a Hereford cow out of a box for my sister's 4-H project in 1961," Nelson said. "After that, the first big project was a holiday scene of us kids in the front yard holding a huge Christmas card."

According to Meyer, the holiday scene was a quality test regarding her artistic ability.

"I made the kids and put them out in the front yard as a test to see if the school bus driver thought they were real. I passed the test," she said, noting the driver had waved the children toward the bus only to find out the figures were made of paper and glue.

It was from those figures that Meyer created her first life-sized Nativity scene.

Although a hobby for many years, creating papier-mache art became a business for Meyer in 1986. That same year, Nelson began working with her mother, and the two now are commissioned artists known throughout Kansas.

Their work includes a 16-piece Nativity scene for the city of El Dorado, a child-sized creation for a private garden in the Kansas City area and several larger pieces -- such as the comical, personified three-ring Bungling Brothers Circus. These are among various pieces available for rent by the public.

Artistry comes alive

Currently, Meyer is in the process of restoring her original Nativity scene, and Nelson is working on an exhibit of dinosaurs that she calls "The Wizard of Oz."

"This is Dorothyosaurus and down here is Totodactol," she said, pointing to a basket on the floor.

Other pieces of the set include a 7-foot creation Nelson refers to as Tinmanosaurus, along with two others that will become the lion and the scarecrow from the famed Kansas tale.

In the Painted Paper studio, Meyer and Nelson's world of make believe comes alive, and a casual observer easily can be caught off guard by the lifelike art.

Both women admit to being perfectionists, and they both strive to make their artwork as accurate as possible.

Both women agree that working together five days a week has been good for their relationship. They joke about being together too much.