An accurately constructed model without a personal language is merely anonymous. This isn’t a matter of discarding technique, but of allowing technique to be guided by intent. Your personal language of sculpture evolves over time, the result of innumerable small decisions: what you choose to depict, the type of paper you prefer, how structure communicates your ideas as much as it supports a form.
Your personal sculptural language starts to become apparent when you are aware of the forms that are easy for you to build, the rhythms you tend to use, the types of structural solutions that seem obvious. These aren’t restrictions, but identifiers. As you are more aware of them, you can refine them into a visual language that recurs from piece to piece. Over time this means that your sculptures will be related even if they differ greatly in size and complexity.
Working within certain restrictions is a good way to develop your personal sculptural language. If you restrict yourself to a certain number of techniques, materials, or structural methods, you will delve deeper into their possibilities rather than constantly seeking something new. Restrictions force you to pay more attention to the possibilities that are already available to you rather than being overwhelmed by too many options. Paper is a sensitive enough material that small changes can make large differences, so this type of attention can be very useful. A small change in angle, or tension, or layering can result in a significantly different emotional effect. A sculpture can evoke a sense of rigidity or softness, order or gentle movement.
The way you approach the construction process also influences your personal language. If you work in a very methodical way, you will tend to create forms that are strong and simple. If you approach the process more intuitively, you will tend to create forms that have more variation and organic complexity. One isn’t better than the other, but consistency is important. When your process matches your intent, the resulting form will feel complete. When your process is inconsistent, the result will tend to have mixed messages within the same sculpture. Structure and expression will fight rather than support each other.
Your language of paper sculpture is something that will evolve over time. As you create each piece, you will learn more about what is essential to your expression, and what you can do without. You will allow technique to facilitate rather than dominate your ideas. In this balance of control and freedom, paper sculpture becomes more than a technique or a craft. It becomes a personal mode of expression.