Papercutting

I have always loved paper cutting although it is a technique I haven't revisited for a while. It can create some really lovely silhouettes and layering that could work with my paper collages and textures, and if done right can be lit to create some really atmospheric shadows and a sense of perspective and setting. I am ill at the moment with a chest infection and being an asthmatic i'm making a nice nest in the sofa at the moment that I don't plan on moving from for a while and paper cutting requires patience and persistence that I can commit to in this position!

I went through my book quotes again and found one that particularly stuck out to me as having unusual imagery that could look good in paper silhouettes. It refers to a clock in the clock maker Herr Thiessen's workshop:

"A large, round cage set on a wooden base that has been carved into swirling white flames. Within, there are overlapping metal hoops marked with numbers and symbols suspended from the top, hanging amongst the visible gears and a series of stars falling from the filigree cap at the top...it tracks astronomical movement...Everything within the cage rotates slowly, the silver stars sparkling as they catch the light."

(The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern)

First draft cage drawing

I also got my clock parts the other day so it seemed like a good opportunity to use to them in my imagery in a different way. I planned out my first composition on black paper but made the mistake of drawing the interior workings first and the cage after which meant the cage bars distorted and covered up some of my original imagery. It also made it difficult for me to define where to cut as the lines overlapped each other and I quickly cut through a wrong part in an irrepairable way so I began again.

This time I went for more of a spherical shape and drew the cage first in pencil on thick white paper and then added in the moving parts inside, rubbing out overlapping lines as I went to have a final silhouette to cut out.I am much happier with this design as it is less clumsy and more intricate and I spent a lot of time observing bird cages and intertwined hoops to get my perspective as believable and realistic as possible. As the cage was so intricate and the hoops so small I didn't have space to put the symbols actually on the hoops so I put them in the border around the edge which took forever! I'm really happy with it thought and I think by being in the border it looks like a secret language and stops the hoops looking like engraved bracelets.

Finished paper-cut

I am really happy with finished piece and I want to continue with my paper cutting technique and play around with layering textures in front and behind and possibly including real cog parts. It has taken me to best part of 2 days to plan and create this piece which makes it a doable possibility for my final pieces, so I just need to keep experimenting with my composition and layering and start working towards some final piece ideas and bringing everything together; I might try and get a tutorial to get a bit of guidance on incorporating and moving forward with my ideas.