Progress on this piece has been much slower than I would have liked but I managed to put the finishing touches on it yesterday. The actual size is 19.5″ x 19.5″ hand cut from 98lb Canson Mi-Teintes paper. I think this is the largest 3D paper cut piece I have created to date.

I drew an outline of two curves spiralling into one another and filled both in with tiny delicate leaf shapes that lift away from the surface. About half way through the work I decided to draw a fuller curve for each shape to give the composition a stronger sense of flow.

My intention is to frame the work with the 3D bits as the back of the piece instead of the front surface as I normally would. The picture above shows what this looks like when the paper is backlit, and the photo below is a closeup detail of the surface. It has a wonderful textured.

I like the piece but looking at it makes me think about all the things I wish I could go back and do differently. I guess that is why my process is iterative. I always have the opportunity to do it again a slightly different way.

Before starting another 3D paper cut piece last week I decided to do a few small sketches to work out an idea I’ve had in my head for the last while. I wanted to make two half circles slightly offset at the centre, and cut these with 3D leaf shapes.

I drew outlines on a scrap piece of paper and did two different sketches, one working from the centre outwards and the other moving from one side to the other. I didn’t actually like the results (which made me so glad I’d decided to sketch this idea first), because it felt clunky and stiff.

I decided the outer shape needed to be curved and graceful to guide the flow of the cutting, so I roughed out a third sketch and only partially finished it because it felt right at last. I moved onto working with a large piece of paper, and will shared progress on it another time.

One of the things I’m hoping to do with the finished piece that has come out of this sketching is frame it with the 3D bits hidden. What is usually the back of these will be displayed as the front. It looks something like the backlit example I have included here (but it won’t have light within the frame).

I’m glad paper cut sketching is becoming an important part of my process once again.

I want to take my paper cutting work in a new direction incorporating different shapes because the usual ones are starting to feel stale. I’ve been working with them for five years now, and it is time to expand my repertoire of shapes. I brought out the sketchbook I use for brainstorming paper cutting ideas and did a bit of testing. Some of the shapes are variations of the lovely crescent I use in much of my work, and I guess it’s because I love cutting a curve over a straight line.

I haven’t yet settled on an idea yet to go forward with because I have more sketchbook play ahead of me.

It’s hard to be in this place of not knowing what to do next, but I’ve been here enough times to know I need to give myself time and space to explore. It’ll lead somewhere eventually.

I started working on a fourth French knots in paper piece during Culture Crawl weekend to keep myself occupied during the slow times, and also to demonstrate process to visitors. There are so many people who did not realize the framed embroidery pieces were made with thread, so it was perfect to have something on the go to show them how it’s done. I didn’t get very far with it during the Crawl because I can’t talk and stitch at the same time, but I decided to finish it in the following weeks.

With this piece I chose blue thread rather than grey as with the previous ones, but continued using Strathmore 90lb mixed media paper as the canvas. I went with a design where I alternated solid circles with dots. I really like making knots close together so there is a dense amount of thread, but it makes it tricky not to tear the paper while sewing. When this happens my solution to repair it is to use archival document repair tape as I do in paper cutting.

This may be the last of these thread and paper works for awhile as it’s time to get back to concentrating on paper cutting work!