The character of the White Rabbit is what started this series late last year so until recently I wasn’t interested in making yet another bunny. But it’s an animal well suited to the abstract background of circles.
Tomorrow I will share The Turtle paper cut I made at the same time.
Previous work from the series -> (Mouse, Fox, Snail, Owl, Crow, Koi)
I’m jumping ahead a bit in sharing new work for the Circles and Animals series. I actually completed The Mouse after two other pieces in the series I have yet to share. This was commissioned by a client who was looking for new artwork to hand in their new Gastown offices.
I shared a few options for paper cutting work with the client and he decided to go with a circle cut layered piece featuring a mouse. He’s pretty darn cute, and I’m surprised I didn’t think of this animal sooner for the series.
One thing of note about this piece is, I went back and re-did the tail after the pieces were already assembled and glued. It was a bit of tricky business to cut away the original tail from the mouse and reattach the new one, all without wrecking the piece in the process.
As of last week, The Mouse hangs in its new home in The Jibe offices in Gastown. Check out more work from the Circles and Animals series I’ve shared previously -> (Fox, Snail, Owl, Crow, Koi)
This Sunday September 15th my work and I will be amongst a collection of artists representing Hot Art Wet City gallery in a booth at the Autumn Shift Festival. Look for us in the parking lot at Main and 7th Avenue, on the north-west corner.
The Autumn Shift Festival takes over Main Street between Broadway and 7th (including the Laneway one block west of Main Street), and brings all the local businesses out into the street for one big party. There will be a BBQ competition, a fashion show by Blim, booths from Science World, and the Vancouver Aquarium, live music and more.
Representing the Hot Art Wet City booth will be artists, Alice Vogelaar, Andrea Hooge, Sean Karemaker, Josue Menjivar, Russell Alton, Drew Young, and me.
This coming Saturday I will be on location at Opus Art Supplies Hastings Street location giving an in-store demo of paper cutting techniques. The demo is FREE but you must register by phone (604‑678‑5889) to reserve a spot as space is limited.
Full details about the demo can be found on the Opus website.
Freeform Paper Cutting Techniques
Opus Downtown
Date: Saturday, September 14th, 2013
Time: 2pm to 4pm
Location: 207 West Hastings Street
Our September speaker for Hot Talks @ Hot Art Wet City is Vivienne McMaster. She is a Vancouver photographer specializing in self portraits, and is a facilitator of a series of online courses helping people tap into self-love and self-reflection through photography.
Self Portraiture…More Than Just Selfies
I’m so looking forward to speaking with you about the transformative and healing possibilities of self-portraiture, sharing some of my story of finding my way back to myself through the art of self-portraiture.
Read the full description of Vivienne’s talk here.
Come listen to Vivienne speak on Tuesday September 24th at 7pm. Get your tickets through eventbrite soon because they usually sell out.
Hot Talks: Vivienne McMaster
Hot Art Wet City
Date: September 24th, 2013
Time: Doors 6:30, talk 7pm
Address: 2206 Main Street, Vancouver
If you happen to be in St. Petersburg Florida in the next while, I have a few pieces in “Cut, Fold, Shred” at Florida Craftsmen Gallery. The show opens tomorrow evening and runs until October 19th, 2013.
Florida Craftsmen presents a showcase of paper art from beautiful carved, folded, cut out paper objects and realistic 3D paper sculptures to altered books.
Roam through “Falling Leaves”, an installation created by members of the community using decorative papers created by Jackie Peters Cully.
Participating Artists: Rachael Ashe, Marsha Bard, Lucrezia Bieler, Sarah Butz, Jeff Henriquez, Cindy Mason, Dennis Meloy, Mark Noll, Aida Sheets, Michael Velliquette, and Elise Wehle.
September 6th – October 19, 2013
Opening Reception: Friday, September 6th, 5:30-8:30pm
Location: 501 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg, Florida
Earlier this year (which feels like eons ago) I bought a small sketchbook with the intention of getting into drawing again. I’d intended to do it at least once a day but quickly discovered I didn’t really have the time to dedicate to it regularly. Last week I took a break (one where I just allowed myself free time to do whatever I wanted) and managed to pick things up again.
I think of these as doodles rather than drawings, mostly because they are not “for” anything other than the process of creation. They suit my obsessive nature as an artist, and I think of them as meditative drawings. I was curious to discover this is actually a thing.
It is very calming to draw without intention. I often start with a very loud mind and slowly it will quiet the more I draw. I have the same experience when I cut paper.
These are just a few of the doodles I created last week. I’m hoping to maintain doing these types of drawings as part of my practice going forward.
I’m taking a bit of a break this week, and since I haven’t yet had the chance to document some recent works of my own I’ve decided to share a few interesting pieces by other artists. The theme to my selection is paper sculpture.
Valeria Burgoa creates large installation work from tea bags. She has more lovely work on Flickr.
Sarah Bridgland creates intricate three dimensional assemblages from vintage papers. View more work on her website.
Matemaatika by Sarah Bridgland
Etiquettes Adhesives by Sarah Bridgland
Joell Baxter creates large scale woven sculptures from screen printed paper. Visit his website to view more of his work.
Untitled (Rolled) by Joell Baxter
Reclining Figure by Joell Baxter
For more inspiring work in paper, check out my Paper Inspiration board on Pinterest.
As a thank you to those who support my art and follow my progress on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Flickr, I’ve decided to do a giveaway contest. I’ve put together a collection of some of the small items I sell on Etsy, and all you have to do to win it is leave a comment on this blog post.
The prize package includes:
A 5″ x 7″ portfolio of recent paper cut work.
Two postcard sets; one of the Imaginary Girl series, and one of the Collage postcards.
One 6″ x 6″ bird collage made from recycled paper.
If you’d like to win, please leave a comment and include your email address. That’s all you have to do.
The contest closes on Monday August 25th at 10am. I will do a random draw to choose the winner from amongst the comments. Good luck!
Over the summer months I’ve gotten into sewing, purely out of a desire to spruce up our apartment. I’ve had a few little projects in mind for ages but until recently I didn’t have my own sewing machine.
For home improvement project number one I wanted to make new slip covers for the throw pillows that came with our couch. I’ve always disliked the fabric, but rather than buying new pillows I decided to sew covers and choose a fabric to add more colour to the room. Dressew was my source for the bold yellow fabric I came away with.
I sewed them without a pattern but found some ideas online to use as reference. Anne advised and assisted me with the sewing as it’s been a really long time since I’ve used a sewing machine. We finished them in about an hour and a half.
The slip covers were the gateway project that led me to buying a sewing machine of my own, because I knew I wanted to make more things. I went with the tiny and inexpensive SY sewing machine from Ikea because I’d read a review that recommended it as a good starter machine.
And the next thing I knew I was sewing curtains for the bedroom, once again using fabric sourced from Dressew. As with the pillow cases I did not use a pattern. I kept things simple with minimal detail, and sewed together the patterned fabric with a white backing to block out light. My hanging solution was to purchase curtain rings to clip to the top and not have to fuss about with something more complicated.
I still have so much to learn about sewing, but at least I am learning as I go. I have another project in mind, still sticking with simple straight lines, but eventually I hope to tackle making my own clothes.