I realize as I work on these structural paper cut pieces that I am exploring two very different things and trying to make them work together. It’s one thing to make a paper cut design that will be displayed as flat and in a frame, and quite another to translate it into a free-standing sculpture. I’m also trying to work out how to make interesting structures from paper that can support themselves when most of the material has been removed.

With this latest piece I was trying to take a slightly different approach than the previous work I finished last week, but I ended up creating the same structure, just with a different paper cut design.

The variation I attempted with this was to score the bottom and sides to create folds in the paper. I don’t quite have enough understanding about how to do this, so my folds didn’t work the way I thought they should. I was also going to taper the structure at the top and attach it together but threw that idea out the window as well.

I want to play around with structural explorations on their own without doing all the work of cutting paper, just to properly educate myself. But the paper cutting makes a big difference to the integrity of the piece, how it holds together, and its ability to stand.

Just in case you’re wondering, the finished size for this one is 8″ high, 6″ wide, and 3″ long. I hope I can eventually make something even larger.

After I finished the paper cut pyramid last week I began to work on a second piece with a different approach to making something three dimensional. Instead of creating the structure from a single sheet I used scraps of paper cut into triangles of different sizes, two as sides, and one as a bottom piece. I wanted to cut the design first and then attach the paper together afterwards.

I spent a lot of time cutting paper and not so much on determining the structure, but I wanted to see how well pieces of paper can support themselves when most of the material is cut away. It sags of course, especially on the sides that are unattached. I would need to include more structural support if translated into a larger scale.

It’s a lovely piece, and I think the shadows are an integral part of it.

For the next prototype I will do less with paper cutting and focus more on structure just to see where this will take me. Stay tuned.

My paper cutting demo at Opus went very well on the weekend. The people who attended were very interested, and most seemed to get a lot out of it. I wasn’t sure how well I could share how I do this work, but I did just fine thanks to careful preparation.

It was inspiring to me to talk about this work, and was just the thing I needed to get back producing in the studio again. I’m trying to think ahead to possible upcoming shows which could happen up to two years from now (if my proposal is accepted). I’ve never worked this way before and I’m unsure how to project so far ahead because my work is constantly evolving in ways I don’t foresee.

Rather than getting bogged down with this I decided to experiment and build further on the paper cutting work I’ve been doing. I was intrigued with the idea of creating something three-dimensional. I chose to create a pyramid-like box and cut three of the sides with the usual intertwining crescent shapes. I wanted to see how this would work, and not focus too much on specific details.

The finished prototype is rough and imperfect, but a really good starting point for figuring out more three dimensional pieces. It plays wonderfully with direct light too. I’m trying to imagine it larger, but it makes my hand sore just thinking about it.