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Jim Seffens Studio
Phone +1 212 246 1453
Contact jim@jimseffens.com
Visit the Flash version of the site.
I grew up in the village of Sebring, Ohio surrounded by people who made things. The village was a center of pottery-making. My family maintained the rural traditions of using the home-grown and the home-made. At home I learned to use many tools, and made my own gardens, furniture and canvas stretchers.
A scholarship took me to Ohio State University where I earned a degree in geology. Staying in Colombus, Ohio after graduation I opened my first workshop, repairing and refinishing antique furniture for a living.
After making arrangements to ship my tools, I boarded a bus for New York City in 1978. I have lived in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood ever since. Near my first Hell's Kitchen apartment was the Nicolás Cortés Gallery-Studio where Nicolás showed his artwork and produced custom-made sculpture for department store displays.
I began as his part-time assistant, carving wooden antlers for the papier-mâché reindeer which Saks Fifth Avenue had ordered for their Christmas windows. I became a full-time partner and learned to sculpt, mold, and make papier-mâché on the job.
In between the orders from Saks, Bloomingdales's, and other display clients Nicolás and I created papier-mâché sculpture to form the studio collections. We both pursued painting and one-of-a-kind projects as well.
Nicolás died in 1994 after two years of illness. Without any ceremony, the Nicolás Cortés Gallery-Studio became Jim Seffens Studio. Lacking enough finished work for the December 1994 Studio Sale I invited other artists and craftspeople from the neighborhood to show their work with mine. This impromptu group show began an annual tradition that continues to grow.
The work produced at my studio has changed direction over the past decade. There is less call for display sculpture, but still custom-work for designers in various fields. I have developed and continue to expand the mask collection while devoting more time to creating one-of-a-kind works.
Papier-mâché from my studio is used and sold in a number of craft galleries and specialty stores around the United States, and is also available at my studio.
In 2005 I appeared on the PBS program Antiques Roadshow, FYI. For a segment filmed in my studio I built a toy horse of papier-mâché and wood, using techniques and materials consistant with toy-making of the 1820's.
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I continue to work in an old 400 square foot storefront on 405 West 44th Street in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York. My late partner, Nicolás Cortés leased this space in 1979.
The shop has always had a distinct division between the front and the back. The front of the shop has been put to many different uses. At times it is a gallery, a sample showroom, a packing area, auxilliary studio space for large work, even an actual store selling crafts.
The back of the shop has always been the primary studio. The formica-topped bench used for papier-mâché work has not moved since 1979, even though the floor has worn out in front of it.
In recent years I have curated exhibitions of art and crafts which are shown in the front. The biggest event is an annual winter show with works from more than 30 artists, artisans, designers, poets and other talents, most of whom reside in the area.
During exhibitions the shop is open regular hours. Between events the shop is open by appointment or by chance.
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I took up the mask-making challenge in 1995. Trial and error lead to the development of a basic mask armature that made allowance for the shrinkage and warpage inherent in papier-mâché. Upon this armature I can build the mask pattern in clay with reasonable assurance that the final papier-mâché product will be wearable.
The mask collection continues to grow with new designs added every year. There are now more than 40 designs in the collection.
In addition to my own mask design work I provide custom mask-making services to costume designers for the special masks used in theatrical productions.
    
   
   
   
   
   
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The studio collection includes dozens of molds for papier-mâché millinery heads and other display heads. Most of these were the work of Nicolás Cortés, and some date back to the 1960's.
The heads shown here are entirely hand-made and hand-finished. The special finishes developed for these pieces are built up of multiple layers of casein and shellack, with repeated hand-sandings between coatings.
   
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Pâpier-mâché, in one form or another, has been produced for centuries. There are a number of distinctly different processes for forming objects out of paper and paste.
The particular process and the materials that I use can be directly linked to the methods used to make papier-mâché manniquins and forms in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Basic papier-mâché consists of paper, a binder, a sealant, and a finish. The specific materials that I use are bogus, card-middle, and red flex papers; dextrin paste; amber shellack to seal and harden; and casein based paints along with blonde shellack for finishing.
To create a new item in papier-mâché I first sculpt the shape in plasticene. From this model I make a specialized version of a plaster mold. The papier-mâché begins as large sheets of paper that are coated with paste. These sheets are torn into small pieces that are laid overlapping into the molds and pressed by hand into shape. Multiple layers are formed and all pressed tightly together. The papier-mâché is pulled from the mold while still wet and air dried on wire racks.
Finishing papier-mâché can be quite a long process. A number of different finishes have been developed at the studio, each requiring its own program. The coatings are laid in a particular order, their composition modified along the way. The finishing sequence is similar to the old wood-finishers' dictum of working "lean to fat".
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If you have questions or comments regarding my work, please email jim@jimseffens.com
If you would like to arrange a studio visit please call me at 212 246 1453
My studio location in Manhattan is near Times Square and the Port Authority Bus terminal. The nearest subway is the 42nd Street/Port Authority stop on the A, C, or E lines. The studio is a storefront at 405 West 44th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues. Get directions from the map.
I would be happy to receive information for my files from other papier-mâché artisans, or from anyone who would like to share material relating to the history of this medium. Please send regular mail to Jim Seffens Studio 405 W. 44th St. New York, NY 10036 USA
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