Cut Paper Sketches

December 6, 2012

It’s that time of year again, not the Christmas season, but the coming of the closing of the year. A time when I always seem to run out of steam for coming up with content for my blog. But I have monthly goals around how many posts to write and it’s a good thing too because it forces me to meet them.

When it comes to art it is VERY important to work at something even when you don’t feel inspired, because there is no better way to find that inspiration. I’ve done some of my best and most surprising work under these circumstances. I think this also applies to blogging.

The visual portion of this entry is of two paper cut designs I created while sitting in the window at Bird on a Wire Creations a few weekends back. I was between projects and was uncertain about what I wanted to work on next. I brought small sheets of coloured paper with me and decided to cut in whatever way came to mind. I was not feeling inspired or compelled in any way to create and yet I came away with two lovely small sketches.

Inspiration doesn’t always doesn’t always appear on command, but she’ll show up if you will.

Interconnection: Commissioned Work for Vancity Credit Union

November 30, 20122 Comments

I’m thrilled to be able to publicly share the corporate art commission I created for Vancity Credit Union over the summer. It is on permanent display in the Community Stage room in their South Burnaby branch at 5064 Kingsway.

The piece is called, Interconnection: Altering the Landscape, and is created from repurposed topographic maps of Burnaby and surrounding areas.

Photo credit: Brady Dahmer http://bradydahmerdesign.com/

My work is one of four pieces of art commissioned by Vancity for this newly renovated bank branch. It hangs together with work by Robi Smith (left), and Christina Norberg (center).

The fourth commissioned piece (and largest) is located in the reception area of the branch, and catches the eye as soon as you walk in. It is a beautiful installation of upcycled plates by Jasna Sokolovic and Noel O’Connell of Dear Human.

If you’re interested in checking out the work in person, the artists are planning a reception for January 12th, 2013. Stay tuned for more details.

Infinite Possibilities: Math, Science, Book Arts at 23 Sandy Gallery

November 27, 2012

I am very pleased to be a part of this show, opening Thursday November 29th at 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland. The theme of math and science is explored through the lens of book arts, with the idea that art, math, and science are not as disparate as we are often led to believe.

From the 23 Sandy web site:

Infinite Possibilities shows us how math and science can be used as a source of artistic inspiration to book artists who are thinking creatively about such topics. Taking a wide range of approaches—from serious to humorous—participating artists explore mechanical and theoretical concepts extracted from a diverse range of scientific fields: from mathematics to medicine, space, architecture, engineering, physics, genetics, botany, biology, and more.

The piece I created for the show is titled, The Universe is Intricate. Read more about it here.

The show runs until December 29th, 2012, so there is plenty of time to see it. And for those who can’t make it in person, there is a catalogue of the work available to browse through online.

Infinite Possibilities: Math, Science, Book Arts
23 Sandy Gallery
Date: November 29th to December 29th
Location: 623 NE 23rd Avenue, Portland, OR

Paper Cut Work: New Work Available for Purchase

November 26, 2012

It was only after the Eastside Culture Crawl ended that I realized I hadn’t as yet properly documented some of my recent work. So while I was busy documenting the display I’d put together, I also spent some time photographing individual pieces. It’s so handy to be a photographer with lights, on top of everything else that I do.

These are five in a series of seven white paper cut designs I created through freehand paper cutting techniques. I do not draw anything beforehand. I have a spontaneous and iterative process using a repeating crescent shape to create slightly different overall forms for each piece. I have yet to give the series a name, but they bring to mind things like wind, waves, and even microscopic life forms.

Framed: 13″ x 16″ | $350

The work below are larger pieces than the white series and there are only two at the moment. I call these three-dimensional paper cutting because I cut and fold the shape upwards rather than removing it. Both are unframed on 19″ x 25″ Strathmore paper.

Unframed: 19″ x 25″ | SOLD

Unframed: 19″ x 25″ | $300

This new work was a big hit on Culture Crawl weekend, with many people wondering at my laser-like precision knife skills.

All work is available for sale, and enquiries by email are welcome.

Paper Engineering: Creating Musical Instruments from Paper

November 7, 2012

As mentioned in my blog post about the halloween costumes, I recently had a commercial paper engineering project on the go. I’d been contacted in early October by Giant Ant, a creative studio that tells stories through moving pictures and sound. They were working on a concept for a music video shoot for Victoria indie band Current Swell, and they were looking for someone to create life-size instruments from paper.

Paper Instruments - acoustic guitar detail

I’ve never done a project this large, nor did I have any previous experience creating paper props, but I said yes to the project. I felt strongly that it was something I could do, and knew I would learn a tonne of new skills in the process. The list of deliverables included: one drum set with drumsticks and cymbals, three acoustic guitars, two bass guitars, and one harmonica. The deadline was to get it all completed and ready for the shoot within a week and a half.

I worked my behind off and delivered the props with time to spare.

It was a pleasant surprise to tap into abilities I didn’t previously realize I possess. I am able to design three dimensional objects in my head with very little planning and then create them. It feels a bit like a new super power.

For the guitars I was given both an acoustic and a bass guitar to use as reference, but for the drums and harmonica I used photos to guide me. It’s incredibly helpful to have a real object to work with in creating three-dimensional props because then there is no guessing about size.

The video shoot happened last Thursday in Vancouver, and the finished version should be available in a few weeks time. The Current Swell shared a behind-the-scenes video of the set, and I was glad to hear they loved the paper instruments.

Sadly, all but two of the guitars were destroyed, as this was part of the concept of the video.

Paper Engineered Halloween Costumes

October 31, 20122 Comments

Out of some crazy desire to try my hand at paper engineering in three dimensions, a few weeks ago I decided to make Halloween costumes for Boris and myself. The idea was somewhat driven by a commercial project that came my way and would involve making life-sized props from paper. Just the thought of working on these had my mind whirling with ideas so I decided to channel some of these into making the costumes while I waited to hear confirmation about the project.

For Boris I made a two foot high giraffe costume from yellow poster paper. It fits over his own head with a window in the neck for his face to peek through. It was nothing short of hilarious to have him continually try it on and all the silly antics that ensued. Boris painted the brown spots himself, which was the one thing I was willing to hand off to him.

Why a giraffe you might ask? It was something we’d joked about the previous year and I decided we needed to make it happen.

For my own costume I decided to make antlers, which is something I’ve always wanted to have, but with the whimsical twist of adding red leaves. I think of them as “tree branch antlers”.

As with the giraffe, I made these from poster paper. The trickiest part was figuring out how to attach them both to something and have them balance on my head. I used a black headband with elastic as the fitted strap that goes around the back of my head. They seem to balance just fine.

I finished the costumes the day before I began the more commercial project of making paper props for a video shoot. More about this in another post. Both projects have been a terrific learning experience, and made me tap into additional skills I wasn’t previously aware of.

Irving Harper: Paper Is A Versatile Medium

October 26, 2012

Irving Harper is a well-known industrial designer, and a design director at Herman Miller agency. For the past fifty years he’s been creating paper sculptures in his spare time as a way to relieve stress. This video gives a tour through his home and shares the amazing variety of work he’s created from paper.

It’s very timely to come across this right now as I’ve been working on a large paper engineering project this week. Thank you to Kirsti for sharing it with me.

Check out more videos in the Why Design series.

Cut Paper: The Ripple Effect

October 18, 2012

A last minute call for artists came my way at the end of last week, requesting work on a theme of The Circle for an upcoming show. I didn’t have any existing work available that would be a good fit, but I started having all sorts of ideas about creating circular paper cut work. I’m always looking for opportunities to continue building on existing work, and what I came up with fits nicely into the paper cut designs of late, but with a different presentation.

I began by cutting a piece of white paper into a circle, using a mixing bowl as my guide. My choice of bowl size was based upon how well its circumference would fit into the cradle panel I would be using to mount the finished piece. I marked a quarter inch border on the backside of the paper to remind myself not to cut too close to the edges of the circle, and then freehand cut a repeating simple crescent shape.

The experimental part of this piece was to turn the flat paper cut design into a three-dimensional shape. I added strips of paper to the back that follow the curve of the circle and it give it the appearance of a drum. The whole thing hovers inside the square and is attached to the back of the cradle frame by two smaller pieces of paper glued to the sides of the circle.

The frame is painted a blue-grey and the background is the same white paper as the artwork rather than paint because I wanted the whites to match. I love how the circle floats within the square of the frame.

I’ve chosen “Ripple Effect” as the title of the piece. It’s available for sale and will be on display during the Eastside Culture Crawl in November.

Commissioned Work: Paper Anniversary

October 16, 20127 Comments

I’ve been holding back recently on sharing a few commissioned projects, because I’ve had to wait on clients making them public first. This particular paper cut piece was commissioned by a dear friend as a secret anniversary gift to his wife. Since the gift is now in her hands, I can share it with you.

Paper being the traditional theme for gifts given in celebration of a first wedding anniversary, I was the perfect person to come up with a unique token of affection. My starting point was to create something from paper and take inspiration from the family Coat of Arms the couple had created for their wedding last year.

I chose to create an abstract composition with layers and textures of paper, and minimal colour. The shield with intertwined letters (representing both their last names) was taken directly from the Coat of Arms. I used a print out of this as the template to cut out the letters, which I then backed with black card stock to help the S and T stand out boldly against the white.

The background is a three-dimensional design freehand cut from a single sheet of card stock and backed with black paper. The crest is attached to float on top. The foreground part of the work is also one sheet of white card stock, but for this one I drew out the leaves before cutting. I almost never pre-draw a paper cut design but in this instance I needed to plan it out first and then cut.

Once each piece of the composition was completed I mounted them into a wood cradle panel painted with a light wash of white acrylic paint, and it was ready to hang in its new home.

Happy Anniversary to my dear friends James and Monique. May there be many happy years to come…

Taking Form in Paper

October 11, 2012

I am very pleased with how well my show at Port Moody Arts Centre came together within the Cabinet of Curiosity when I installed it last week. I’d been struggling a bit with envisioning how my selection of folded altered books, paper cut work, three dimensional paper constructs, and more, were going to hang together. But it works rather well. Unfortunately I have yet to take proper photos of the whole installation to share with you.

What I do have to share are the two snap shots I took during the opening. This loopy paper form is constructed from strips of topographic maps rolled, folded, and taped together into one long strip. I decided to make it the day before we installed the show because I wanted to include one more three dimensional piece.

I was inspired by a tutorial I found on a craft blog because I am always looking for fresh ideas of working with paper. I feel like I still have a staggering amount to learn.

Canvas to the Imagination

Rachael Ashe – Art | Craft | Life

Category: Paper