Our Paper-Cut Art reader challenge generated an intriguing variety of colorful art. Monoprints, paint, text, collage, markers, and more, along with a variety of papers help highlight the intricate cutting. We hope you enjoy this selection and that you are inspired to give paper cutting a try.
Patricia Marques • Southbury, CT
“This project was cut from cardstock, including the flowers. The detail on the flowers was added with colored pencils and pastels. The ‘bark’ was cut and layered to give depth and texture to the piece.”
Renee Lasater • Memphis, TN
“My work evokes the calm, peaceful feeling of taking a walk through the woods. The girl is imaginary; she represents anyone who loves nature like I do.”
Heather Vaughn • Bellingham, MA
“This piece is a stream-of-conscience cutting. It is a single, unplanned, continuous cut from a hand-painted sheet of paper using scissors. Once the cutout was completed, it was coated (front and back) with matte medium and ironed onto a piece of cardstock, which was also treated with matte medium.”
Leah Wood Jewett • Baton Rouge, LA
“‘Transform’ was constructed with a paper bag painted with gold acrylic paint. Portions of my original watercolor paintings were cut into the botanical shapes. The printed words were trimmed from an old electrical handbook that belonged to my grandfather, and black paper, thread, and an old orange folder finish the piece. An avid gardener, I have been blessed by annual visits of a variety of butterfly species in my backyard. These few and tiny creatures, in the details of their transformation, are symbols of a larger, enigmatic, and endlessly fascinating process that continues to inspire.”
Lisa Ellen Evola • Almont, MI
“This book has seven hand-cut pages that layer to create a story of a soul’s journey. The pages are made from white cardstock and an old music book. Pops of color created from hand-cut colored cardstock adorn each page, focusing on the meaning of the text printed there. Only a glimpse of the story can be seen from the front page.”
Laurie Breakwell • Kilmarnock, VA
“My fondness for cicadas dates back to 1970, when our local brood of 17-year cicadas emerged. I was 10. Though I have vague memories of subsequent summers, it is the cicada years that I remember most. For ‘You Say Cicada, I Say… Yeah, Whatever,’ I used watercolor paper, oil pastels, vellum, markers, transparencies, metallic spray paint, and foam core. In addition to a lot of X-Acto® knife action, I incorporated some paper weaving and sewing.”
Kelly Ferguson • Marstons Mills, MA
“‘Under the Lily Pads’ was cut from black silhouette paper and adhered to a monotype that was created with acrylic paint on mixed-media paper.”
Indira Govindan • Summit, New Jersey
“I love using paper-cut techniques in creating botanical art. For ‘Saffron,’ the saffron bulb and the garden creatures were cut first, and then collaged onto a painted watercolor background.”
These Paper-Cut Art reader challenge results also appear in our March/April 2018 edition of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine. Check out our lookbook preview for a special look at the mixed-media art and projects inside this issue!
Want to enter our latest reader challenge? Click here for all the details!