Alexis has been working on a massive paper cutting project, which we will share the details of next week. Luckily she was able to use a laser cutting machine, which made quick work of cutting hundreds of tiny shapes, but Alexis and I have commiserated on the sore hands that come with endless scissor work, and we have such great admiration for artists who hand-cut their designs. Coincidentally, I think I’ve found my new favorite papercut artist this week: Sarah Louise Matthews.
Reminiscent of navajo blanket designs, Sarah’s pieces use negative space in clever ways. The patterns are partially made up of the shadows and the exposed undersides of the cut paper, which bring in subtle pops of color and depth. The subtle inconsistencies that occur from her handmade cuts are so beautiful, and I love the effect of the bent pieces. Like many papercut works, these expand beyond the two dimensionality of the paper plane: if you don’t study them from all angles, you miss out on some of the delightful details. You can purchase these pieces through Sarah’s Etsy shop—if I don’t snatch them all up first.
{All images from Sarah Louise Matthews}
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
These are really really gorgeous – I love the precision in the cut and the design, and the 3D aspect of the work to make the pattern is really clever. I wish I had one of these on my walls – I would stare at it in wonder and admiration alllll day long! :)
Great work, thanks for sharing this.
Katie. xxx
I love the addition of the orangey-y pink in that second piece. Especially with the cream and grey. These are all ingenious though. That’s a lot of love for something to cut that all by hand.
Thank you so much for featuring my work on your beautiful blog! I appreciate it so much, and feel very honoured :) x
Hi! I was so excited when I first saw my work featured on your blog that I skim-read it and didn’t realise that it said my work was hand cut… Although I spent my years at college and university producing hand-cut work, the work I sell now is die-cut, and I certainly don’t want to mis-lead anybody! Im so sorry for any confusion caused! Thanks again for featuring my work :) x
{ 2 trackbacks }