HOW ARE THEY MADE?
Since I'm a papercutter, when asked this question most people assume that the cutting stage is most of the work involved. This could not be further from the truth.
STAGE #1
Every design begins
as a pen drawing
in a sketchbook
STAGE #2
Over a thousand
paper swatches are
narrowed down to
refine the palette
STAGE #3
I trace each layer
of my design on
a tablet to
create the templates
STAGE #4
The originals are cut
with an Xacto knife;
editions with my laser
STAGE #5
Each layer is
stacked into the
finished sculpture
To create an artwork, a painter will likely begin the process with:
-
brainstorming
-
composition thumbnails
-
rough sketches
-
a final sketch
-
value studies
-
color studies
I do all these as well, but with some additional challenges...
​
For one, unlike a painter I can't mix whatever colors I choose. Instead I have swatches of colored papers that I must work with, so putting together a palette is much more difficult/complicated and can take days or even weeks.
Also unlike a two-dimensional painting, I have to do the structural engineering of how the design can become a reality. Precision alignment is needed to create the desired illusion.
Only once I have accomplished all of the above, can I prep each paper layer (sometimes up to 100 of them!) for its corresponding template and begin cutting.
After each layer has been individually cut, I must stack them all together in the proper order and bind them to complete the sculpture. Regardless of whether they are hand-cut or laser-cut, the journey of each artwork is an epic one.
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