Christmas Making in Paper

This week the Christmas-related making came into play when I decided to make a second advent calendar for our home. The one I made last year wasn’t large enough to accommodate two small gifts in each drawer, so I quickly threw together a simple one using small paper bags and envelopes. I gave each one a fancy number and then used string, thumb tacks, and tiny clothes pins to hang it all on the wall. We’re now onto day two of getting into the treats hidden inside.


Using coloured paper left over from the sonobe artwork, I started making origami ornaments for the Steamclock office. It’s the first time we’re decorating for Christmas at the office and I’m making things festive and colourful, while steering clear of the usual tacky decorations. I made two different styles of modular ornaments in turquoise with white, and bright blue with white.

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My co-worker Rach and I have been using these awesome chalk markers to draw on the office windows to also add a festive touch. I’ll share details of the office decor once it is all done next week.

Etsy Shop Update: Succulents and 3D Paper Art

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A update to my Etsy shop has been a long time coming, and now you can find six new pieces of recent work available for purchase. The update includes three framed paper succulents, and three framed pieces from the microcosm series that combine drawing and paper cutting. All of the work is framed and ready to hang.

Paper Succulents 9″ x 9″ framed

 

Microcosm series 9″ x 9″ framed

 

Microcosm series 9″ x 9″ framed

Visit my Etsy shop to view more of the work, and to make a purchase.

Work In Progress: Cutting At Six Times Regular Speed

Every once in awhile I take the time to shoot a hyperlapse of something I am working on. I’ve done this with paper cutting before, as well as drawing and stitching. The latest video I shared last week seemed to connect with a lot more people than usual and it went viral on Instagram, garnering over 24,000 views! I’ve never had that happen before, but it tells me people are much more interested in videos than they used to be on IG.

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I’ve since finished the paper cut design, but above is a photo of the work in progress. I took a break from paper cutting for awhile after completing the seven foot tyvek piece because I felt burnt out on it after that. I’m back to enjoying it again, and I’m happy to move on to creating new work.

Below is the video shot with Hyperlapse, which demonstrates my cutting process at six times the speed.

A video posted by Paper artist (@rachael_ashe) on

Post-Crawl Post Mortem

It’s a few days after the conclusion of Culture Crawl weekend and I am still sooooooooooo tired, and my brain doesn’t seem to be working very well. But I had a terrific weekend hanging out with the team at Propellor Design as a guest artist in their studio.

We had a busy weekend with over 1000 people dropping in to see us. Nik and I kept a tally of visitors on the studio chalkboard and it became a lovely piece of art all its own by the end of Sunday. It was great to see some familiar faces and introduce many new people to my work. I was pleased to have a selection of artwork find their forever homes, including the last of my laser cut pieces from a few years ago.

A video posted by Paper artist (@rachael_ashe) on

A huge thank you to Pam, Nik, and Toby of Propellor Design for hosting me in their studio. Watch the video above to see some of their lighting, work in progress, and materials of inspiration.

Visit their website or follow them on Instagram.

Scenes From A Visit to Victoria

Last weekend Boris and I took advantage of the long weekend and went over to Victoria to visit friends. It was a much needed getaway after a busy month, and a nice break before the craziness of Culture Crawl this weekend. We saw beautiful scenery on a day trip to Sooke and nearby beaches, as well as a walk around Beacon Hill Park. It was only my second time to Victoria in the twelve years I’ve lived in Vancouver.

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More photos, including ones taken at the Bug Zoo, on Flickr.

Recommended Artists to Visit During Culture Crawl Weekend

We’re a few short days away from the 20th Annual Eastside Culture Crawl, and everyone I know is in the midst of their last bit of preparation. The Crawl begins Thursday November 17th and continues until Sunday November 20th. It’s a terrific opportunity to see up close all of the amazing creators who live and work in East Vancouver.

This year you will find me as a guest artist in the studio of Propellor Design, at 1120 East Georgia Street which is location C5 on the Crawl map. I will be showing a mix of paper cut work, drawings, and a small selection of paper stitching. Come by and say hi!

Birch-Meridian light by Propellor Design

Birch-Meridian light by Propellor Design

With over 500 artists registered this year I’m sure it can feel overwhelming to decide where to go and who to visit during Culture Crawl. To make things a little easier I have put together a short list of people I recommend you visit this weekend:

1. Textile artists Michelle Sirios Silver and Stephanie Symns of Antipod Workshop located at 1610 Clark Drive or E19 on the Crawl map.

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Hooked rug by Michelle Sirois-Silver

 

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Pillow by Antipod Workshop

 

2. Mixed media artist Tristesse Seeliger in The Arts Factory located at 281 Industrial Avenue or D2 on the Crawl map.

Painting by Tristesse Seeliger

Painting by Tristesse Seeliger

 

3. Designer and sculptor Diane Espiritu of Espiritu Design Studio located 288 E Georgia Street or B16 on the Crawl map.

Ceramics by Espiritu Design Studio

Ceramics by Espiritu Design Studio

4. Mixed media jewellery artist Bridget Catchpole located in studio #315 at 1000 Parker Street Studios or D3 on the Crawl map.

Jewellery by Bridget Catchpole

Jewellery by Bridget Catchpole

5. Chopstick upcycling manufacturing company ChopValue at The Arts Factory located at 281 Industrial Avenue or D2 on the Crawl map.

Tiles and shelves by ChopValue

Tiles and shelves by ChopValue

 

6. New media painter and sculptor Trevor Van den Eijnden in Acme Studios located at 112 East Hastings Street or B17 on the Crawl map.

Painting by Trevor Van den Eijnden

Painting by Trevor Van den Eijnden

Visit the Eastside Culture Crawl website to see the full list of incredible artists to visit this weekend. You can also view the Crawl program online here.

See you there!

Pattern Inspiration By Sarah Pike

I came across the beautiful work of Sarah Pike a few months ago on instagram. When I recently learned she’d be having a show in Vancouver I jumped at the chance to purchase one of her pieces. The mug is what I came away with after doing a super quick drive-by visit to her opening last week. Many pieces were sold within five minutes of the start of the show, which is amazing.

Sarah Pike pottery

I love to have handmade things in my home as much as possible, and mugs are at the top of that list. This Japanese textile pattern is a favourite of mine and use it in my own work – paper and stitching both – so it’s pretty special to have this mug.

Sarah’s teapots are also pretty spectacular pieces of art with their hand stamped patterns and elegant shapes. One day I hope to acquire one of her teapots to go along with my lovely mug.

Sarah Pike pottery

Sarah Pike pottery

Visit Sarah Pike‘s show at the BC Gallery of Ceramics on Granville Island until November 26th.

French Knots in Paper Too

I did not do as thorough a job of documenting this piece as I did with the first one. I chose to create a less elaborate design with this piece, and work with larger circles in a slightly different way. I can’t decide whether or not I like this french knot composition as much as the others because it feels too simple, as if it needs more to make it complete.

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In the photo above you can see the holes punched in the paper before stitching. I love this part of the process because it has a satisfying feeling and sound when the needle go through the paper.

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This is the second of three french knots in paper works I decided to create for the Eastside Culture Crawl. I do plan on making more because I have fallen in love with the process.

Drawing with Thread Workshop

I was excited to take the Drawing with Thread workshop taught by my friend Amanda Wood at Collage Collage last weekend. She is a textile artist working in weaving and stitching, and I was curious to see what I could take away to apply to my recent stitch and embroidery explorations.

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Collage supplies at Collage Collage

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Linen painting with fabric paint

We started things off with a warm up exercise working with collage and colour, and then transitioned into our stitching projects by creating a base to work with. Using fabric inks we painted pieces of linen, and I chose crazy bright colours. I am not a good painter, and was not happy where I ended up with the painted surface but I wasn’t going to worry about it in a workshop where I’m suppose to play and explore.

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Amanda brought piles of beautiful thread for us to use, and it became really hard to choose colours to work with. She did a quick demo of different types of stitches to try and then gave us time to work. I did a bunch of french knots as a warm up, and then explored the seed stitch. It is now a new favourite of mine.

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Stitching demo by Amanda Wood

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The piece above is what I was able to accomplish by the end of class. I like the piece so much more than I thought I would because of the mark making of the stitches. I plan to work on this a bit more over time and see where it ends up.

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

As the guiding principle for what I wanted to express in my artist talk last weekend for the Talking Art speaker series I posed the question, “What are the stories you tell yourself?”.

There are stories we tell ourselves about what we can and cannot do, and these are the things that keep us from reaching our full potential. For the longest time I thought I wasn’t capable of creative work other than photography. When I gave myself permission to step outside of the little box I’d put myself into it’s led me to be good at many things I had wrongly assumed I could never do.


The key for me has been learning by doing. If I want to know how to do something or understand a material or process, then I go figure it out. This means doing hands-on research, reading books, looking at information on the internet, talking with other artists, or taking a workshop. But it’s all centred around exploring with my hands that thing I want to know. Explore, experiment, and learn. Making leads to more making because all of our skills are interconnected.

Paper cutting opened the doors to other process for me because it refined my fine motor skills. For years I’d told myself the story that I couldn’t draw, but paper cutting helped me relearn the ability. I’ve always wanted to learn needle work and embroidery, and told myself the story that it was beyond me. But here I am finally learning those things I’ve long wanted to know and creating beautiful work in the process.

We are all capable of so much more than we allow ourselves to believe. It’s up to us to change the story we tell ourselves. Maybe the time has come to tell yourself a new one.