Every month, Real Simple receives hundreds of letters from readers who can't seem to get enough of the paper sculptures that we feature in the magazine and that are the work of the talented Matthew Sporzynski. Recent comments have included "if he's not famous, he should be" and "PLEASE TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT MATTHEW SPORZYNSKI!!!!!" (Caps and exclamation points are not mine, by the way.)


Since you asked, here's a little behind-the-scenes look at Matthew's creation of the paper sculptures that appear every month in Real Simple:

Here's Matthew in the Real Simple photo studio in downtown Manhattan. He's working on the flag that appears on the U.S. Capitol on page 65 of the July issue. "I wasn't sure how to execute the flag," says Matthew. "I went on the Internet and got an image of a flag and worked from there."





Here's the photographer, Monica Buck, shooting the finished Capitol, with Matthew's assistant, Craig, overseeing things. They're lucky if they get about five good shots in one day of work.

Here are the makings of the "vegetables" and "meat" that fill the sandwich you can find on page 183. Matthew says he's "very proud" of the lettuce, which he insisted be shredded, not in whole leaves. Matthew says that New York Central Art Supply has the "best paper. It's a fantastic art-supply store, and they have a very good paper department. Lots of very well-respected fine artists buy their materials there."

Here's Craig putting the "sandwich" together. Matthew says he couldn't do what he does without Craig, who is "very good at getting personality out of food. This is the third or fourth sandwich we've collaborated on."


The art sculptures begin with preliminary ideas and sketches from the designer director, Ellene Wundrok, and her art director, Heath Brockwell. The ideas (and a color palette) are approved by the magazine's managing editor, Kristin van Ogtrop, and then sent to Matthew. Matthew usually has about two weeks to create his paper sculptures before they have to go in front of the camera, and he works until the very last minute, even while the sculptures are being shot. "You have to keep working on them until they don't look like garbage anymore!" says Matthew, admitting that his sculptures are "far better received than I perceive them myself. I see the flaws."