The City

I know realize this didn't scan straight. Oh well. I drew this paper cutting while I was working, so pardon the lack of straight lines. This is a different paper than my other cuttings, its a bit thicker and holds up marvelously to thin lines. The really fine detail shows up poorly on the scan, but there are very thin lines in the clouds and in the triangular part of one of the buildings.

I had to go out and purchase a new exacto knife for this. I ran out of blades and the replacements I purchased were not the ones to the blade holder. That meant buying a new holder! Oh, that was fun being at the art store three days in a row. That was just a pain, especially since one of the days it was raining.

There won't be too many updates within the next few days. The quarter is wrapping up and I'm attempting to finish my thesis and my art project done along with these "one" hour drawings. This drawing took three, not one, but three. I can't wait until I can sleep in, in eight days!

Down by the Docks

I'm not going to lie, sometimes when I sit down to do paper cutting I simply have no idea what I want to put on paper. Then when I get something drawn I'm not too happy with it and end up winging things.

Well, I didn't particularly care for the docks when I drew the one. Then I started to get my detail in, and well it grew on me. I had to do a bit of taping because I cut something a bit too thin and it tore when I flipped things over. This was cut in white and when I scanned it into the computer I needed a different background, so the black appeared. I think I need to find some spray adhesive and get this attached so that nothing else breaks on this cutting.

Definitely my favorite so far. I can't wait until this quarter is over and I can actually frame a few of these. I would say I'd put them up around my apartment, but I'm moving out soon and there wouldn't be much of a point. For the next apartment though!

Camping is Intense

Lame joke, I know. But every time I see this paper cutting that's what comes to mind. The corny part of my brain wins out.

The reference for these tents was a platform tent from the camp I'm doing my thesis on. I really like this paper cutting, the amount of detail that I am able to get when I fold the paper over is simply delightful! I'm not too pleased with the color, but it's what I had on hand and the tent canvas is usually some ugly color. Not that this yellow is ugly, I just don't think it goes with the tent.

Bow Tie

I had a review again on Wednesday for these one hour drawings. That of course meant I was frantically working on these things all day on Tuesday. Maybe I should learn to manage my time a bit better? Well, I also scanned all of my drawings into my computer, yes scanned. I found out that I have 43 drawings! The three drawings I squeezed in on Tuesday, I did not actually need! 

I wish I would have know that before I lost feeling in my index finger. Nevertheless I really like this paper cutting. I was an architecture major in undergrad and we had a running joke that architects always wore bow ties, ALWAYS. It was required if you were to be a great architect, like Le Corbusier (one of our teachers adored him, so we were all very familiar with him and his bow tie). In light of those wonderful sleepless nights and the craziness that went on I came up with this, a glorified bow tie.

Beneath the Tree

This is another papercutting, in the ever lovely yellow paper. I had a lot of fun with this one and I have to say it turned out wonderfully.

The only thing I would have liked is to get some more detail into the figure at the bottom. I won't go back into this at the moment, but if I do another one I'm going to take more time for the person beneath the tree. This is probably my favorite paper cutting so far. I'm really liking how clean my new knife is cutting and how nice these bifolds come out.

Swirl Snowflake

I really like the design of this snowflake. It was pretty much just line work that worked out.

I drew this while I was chatting with my boyfriend the one day. I sometimes get antsy when I have to sit still for long periods of time and it helps when something is moving, like a foot or a hand. I just so happened to have a folded piece of paper next to me and here the result is. No... I did not cut this while chatting with the boy. I don't know how to get my phone on speaker and I need both of my hands to cut these.

Also, happy Lent for all of those who celebrate it. Yes, I am fully aware Lent is not supposed to be a happy, exciting time. I've decided that in these lovely 40 days before Easter I'm going to sew myself an Easter dress! I'm excited because it'll be the first garment in months that I have sewn! At least, that's the plan at the moment. I still have to dig through the patterns I have here to see what I have with me and if there's even a decent pattern to use for a dress. If not I'll have to go out and purchase a new pattern, oh darn!

We'll Meet Each Other There

I finally got away from just cutting out snowflakes! For this, I just folded a piece of paper in half and had fun. It's only yellow because I had extra of it and well, it needed to be used up somehow.

I decided to do an attempt with figures on this. They're not too bad, but there are definitely spots that could be a bit better, like the legs. I was very happy with how much detail I was able to get into this. Cutting through less paper seems to be key. Perhaps I'll actually get around to drawing on a single piece, then cutting. That's not looking promising.

Centered Off

I drew the pattern for this snowflake out a while ago. I had 30 of my lovely one hour drawings due on the 15th. So when did they all get done? Well... Most of them got done on the 14th, it was a lovely productive Valentines Day.

I tried to do something other than geometric designs with this snowflake. I'm quite happy with it, especially how the center turned out. I was originally going to have something else in the center but I accidentally cut out something important and this was just a result of that.

Leafing About

Sorry I haven't posted anything in two weeks! I had midterms, multiple art assignments due, and I finished the rough draft of my thesis. Needless to say it's been just a wee bit busy. Luckily for me things have calmed down just a bit and I've managed to get some one-hour drawings completed.

I'm still working on my lovely snowflakes, although I have branched out a bit. I was playing around with design and pattern on this one. I'm not very fond of the center but I do like how it looks as it goes out. Reminds me of looking at the top of a tree, a very symmetrical tree.

Please pardon the dinginess of my cutting board. My last project dealt with clear vinyl which I drew on with permanent marker. Well the permanent marker did NOT want to come off the material after I cut out the shapes and it got all over my cutting board in the process. Once I get around to taking my camera out to my studio I should be able to get a picture of my actual projects at some point.

Hearted

Happy Groundhog's Day! I hope the little rodent predicts spring is going to come soon. Who am I kidding?! The little stinker always sees his shadow and we get six more weeks of winter.

Today's paper cutting was a product of a few days before hand. I'm very pleased with the finished product here. There are a few places where I accidentally cut through the paper, but some of them you can't see.

I noticed as I was cutting this out that my shapes, which I had based off a spiked pattern were starting to look like hearts. Apparently I'm subconsciously starting to think about Singles Awareness Day -er I mean Valentines Day... I think I may play around with this and yesterdays flakes for one of my larger art projects. But we shall see how that all works out. All I know is I won't be able to feel my finger again after I finish project two, it's going to be larger then four 17.5 inch snowflakes which means more cutting... yay....

Bursted

Yet another paper cutting. Aren't ya'll just getting bored of these yet? Well I'm not getting bored of making them! My finger was recovered enough that I could attack some paper today, and attack I did.

When I started this snowflake off  was a bit worried because of all the curve in it. Luckily those curves didn't do quite the number I thought they were going to on my finger. Don't get me wrong, it still hurts because I went ahead and started experimenting with different materials (baaaaaad idea). I have to say I really like this design.

I'm definitely enjoying this paper cutting but my sewing machine is starting to get jealous of my exact knife. Unfortunately, I won't be sewing anything for myself, with the exception of embroidery, until after my thesis is finished. Although, I may get adventurous when my rough draft is finished. We shall see. Until then, I hope you all are enjoying what I've been working on!

Smaller but Sturdier

Yet another snowflake. Don't worry, there are sewing projects coming. It's just quicker to doodle and cut a piece of paper than laying everything out to embroider. This snowflake I'm quite proud of. It's on thicker paper, which I finally went out and purchased. This means cutting is more difficult but the end result is a much sturdier final product.

This was another doodle and cut piece. I really like the center. I had planned for more detail but with my dulling exacto knife that wasn't possible. Once I find where I can order more blades I will snap that sucker off and enjoy the new blade. Or I'm going to figure out how to sharpen the sucker.

Doodles and Trees

Snowflakes, again. These two finish up the first batch of one hour projects. I was unfortunately sick on Wednesday when I was supposed to be peer reviewed, which would have helped greatly. My professor did encourage me to keep working on these and my embroidery. So you'll be seeing more of these and hopefully more embroidery!

The snowflake above was another one I doodled on then cut out. You can see here I decided to play around more with shapes and curves. Curves are very difficult to do on printer paper, yes that's the paper I've been using. I manage to do a fair job with them, but my exacto knife is getting dull and I don't want to break off the end because I don't know where I can buy more blades... The problems I face.

This one was a snowflake I did, thinking I needed something quick and easy. Draw this took more time than previous ones did as it's a tree. I like the trunk because of the detail and it kind of looks like bark, but I'm not overly fond of the leaves. Maybe I'll get around to cutting another one and improving upon the tree look, but we shall see.

The Third Snowflake, Day 9

I got bored in class after I finished up the last embroidery so I decided to doodle on a piece of paper and see if I could create another snowflake. Well here it is.

I challenged myself with curves and circles. Cutting the circles out with an exacto knife is a huge pain. There are eight layers of paper I have to cut through. Most of the time I open up the snowflake so I can get at the other layers.

Unlike the other two flakes this one did not get finished perfectly. The spokes around the center aren't  perfect. One of said spokes was a casualty. I accidentally tore it off while I was cutting. If I had noticed (or really cared) then I would have taped it back together so no one would have noticed. But as we can see that did not happen.

All and all, this turned out quite well. Once I get a hold of some colored paper I should have fun decorating behind this.

Day 6

Another paper cutting today. This one was inspired by the Gothic rose windows. I took a class all about Gothic art and architecture last year. It was a bit cut and dry but I still admire the details on many of the Gothic cathedrals I had to study, including the windows.

I would simply love to get my hands on some colored paper and place it behind this to add a bit more to it. But I still fall into the category of "poor college student" so no fancy colored paper for me. I did manage to impress myself by completing all of the circles without going crazy. There are so many circles I thought I would be working on this for a week.