allaboutPapercutting

Featured Artist @ www.artistaday.com Yay!!!

Yay my friend! 

I am so happy because today I am the featured artist at www.artistaday.com 

I invite you to stop over the site so you can rate my work using the little bar on the right and also I invite you to leave a little comment :)

Thank you!!!! And have a great day!

Elsita :)

Papercut Tutorial

INTRODUCING 

MY FIRST PAPERCUT PATTERNS 

ON ETSY

Dear friend,

Since I started this blog last year I have gotten several requests about offering papercut patterns on my Etsy store and today I am so excited to announce that I after many tests I finally put together the first four patterns for you to cut with your very own hands! Yay!!!! You can click on all the pictures bellow to see the larger versions.

This first series of 4 patterns includes:1 Red Riding Hood, 1 Alice in Wonderland, 1 Peter Rabbit and 1 Pinocchio. When finished, they will beautifully fit into 5"x7" frames or larger. You don't need to transfer or draw these patterns on any surface or anything like that because they are already printed on the exact professional paper that I use for my papercut pieces. This is a beautiful archival paper, 100% cotton, acid-free and the color is ivory. The pink color that you see in the pictures is the part that has been printed on the paper and that's exactly the part that we will need to cut out from the design. It couldn't get any easier :)

All you will need is a knife (I recommend an X-Acto knife with the #11 blade because they're the sharpest ones) and a self-healing cutting mat (they come in different colors and sizes). This is a great opportunity for you to give papercutting a try and right here I am going to guide you through the process of how you can cut these pieces all by yourself. These four pieces won't only make great gifts but they will also be a therapeutic activity for you. From my personal experience I can say that papercutting is one of the most relaxing things that I have done in my 38 years of life (and many more to come!)

Let's  start by taking a look at this pattern featuring Peter Rabbit, this piece will be our example. Do you see the little numbers on it? Each number is a little "island" within the general design and we are basically going to cut out these little islands one at a time, following the numerical order. The little black broken lines that you notice here are just a way to turn large spaces into islands.

Before you start working on your first pattern I HIGHLY RECOMMEND to take a piece of paper and make some cuts on it, just to let your hand "warm up" a little bit. Hold the knife in the position that is most comfortable for you. I do it in the same way that I hold a pen. Below you will find a practice sheet that I designed specially for you to exercise a little bit your hand before you start cutting your actual pieces. You can download this sheet, and print it out on regular office paper: 

Download Practice Sheet in JPG format

Download Practice Sheet in PDF format

 

Here you can see how I just cut out the island #1. You will be doing this with your knife and my number one advice is: enjoy the process and relax. Imagine that you're a surgeon and you are doing an exciting "operation" in order to bring your pattern to life :) While making the cuts, hold the paper with your other hand for more control and rotate it whenever is needed.

Here I just cut island #2, one cut at a time.

And so on...The key is to relax and enjoy the process :) 

After all the islands have been cut we will have some smaller details to work on, I didn't number them, we just need to cut them out after you're done with the islands. Here I want to tell you a little secret about how to cut the eye: instead of doing a circular cut make short straight cuts, one next to the other around the edge of the circle. In this picture you can see how I did it.

 

When you look at the piece your eye will see a nice little circle :) The little straight cuts won't be visible. You see them in this picture because this is a close up.

 

So, after the inner part of the design has been cut out we are now ready to cut the outer silhouette of the apple. And this is very easy too.

An in order to do that I illustrated another little secret for you: how to cut curves. In order to cut curved lines without accidents all you need is to do it gradually, don't try to cut a looooong line because it is very possible to go wrong and ruin the design. See the example above and notice how I made my first little cut. 

 

Then I looked through the window to see the flowers :) I took a nice breath and then I made the second little cut. Oh, I am so relaxed!

Then the third cut (I looked at the flowers again...) And before I realized I was already done cutting my Petter Rabbit piece. Yay!!!

It feels great when you see your little piece in front of you ready to frame :) You feel proud of yourself for having done the whole thing from the beginning to the end and then you feel that you can go out there in real life and do all the things that you need to do in the same way: one "cut" at a time, enjoying the process.

 

Now you understand why I haven't been able to stop making papercuts. Once you make one with the right state of mind then you will want to make more complicated ones. Stay tuned because I will be designing new ones. I am going from basic to advanced level. Yay!!!!

I wish you all my best in your papercutting adventure!!

Elsita :)

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note: If you have any question, any recommendation about what other patterns I should design...just leave me a comment here in this post :)

Book Review!

Paper: Tear, Fold, Rip, Crease, Cut is a wonderful new book that I was sooo happy to receive recently! Nothing makes me more excited than a new book about paper and this one is really special. 

Paper: Tear, Fold, Rip, Crease, Cut focuses on all aspects of paper manipulation. The book covers a wide range of techniques including drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, paper folding, cut-out, pop-up, and installation. 

Paper is one of the world's oldest materials and still one of the most widely used and this book celebrates paper in all its glory, providing an analogue remedy to the digital world. Paper profiles over 50 artists and designers who work with the medium, including Robert Ryan and Rachel Whiteread. 

Paper also offers a history of the material, from the ancient process of paper manufacture in Ancient China, to the most recent technological advances. From the traditional arts of origami, bookmaking, the humble paper aeroplane and paper plates to recent, groundbreaking product design Paper is a critical look at how paper is used today. 

 

Paper: Tear, Fold, Rip, Crease, Cut is an interactive, intelligent and comprehensive look at paper today.

I highly recommend this book to you, you will love it in person!

Elsita :)

(And tomorrow, I have something nice to announce here in this blog, Yay!!!!)

Frida Kahlo Necklace.

 

To see myself wearing the necklace you can click here. 

Bird Return

Hello my friend!

This is the first piece of a group that I will be sharing with you in this blog, I am still taking pictures :)

They are all for my solo show at Couturier Gallery here in Los Angeles in Sept 2009. 

Is there any idea that comes to your mind about the meaning of this piece? I would love to hear what you think :)

Mary Had a Little Lamb, la la la :)

The nursery rhyme was first published as an original poem by Sarah Josepha Hale on May 24, 1830, and was inspired by an actual incident.

 

As a girl, Mary Sawyer (later Mrs. Mary Tyler) kept a pet lamb, which she took to school one day at the suggestion of her brother...

You can read the whole story HERE.

Isn't it amazing how such a simple story became a song and how such a simple song became so famous? 

I just had to create my own version or Mary and her little lamb in a papercut. I had the most fun creating the little lamb. Should we find a name for it? I think that the little lamb deserves a good name :) This original piece, the same one that you see in the picture, is available now on my Etsy store. I promise to make new versions soon! I have also listed the black and white print of it in the 4"x6" format.

La la la la..

Have a great day my friend!

Elsita :)

Lost in the Forest.

Brain and Heart.

This is one of the last papercuts that I made in 2008 and it turns around a theme that I revisit over and over:

The balance between brain and heart.

I think that most of us are looking for that balance all the time.

But in the end that ideal place is hard to reach.

 

Because human nature tends to go to the extremes.

I think that what really matters in the end is the constant intention to find the center and not the center itself. It is the exercise of thinking and feeling what keeps us going. Let's leave our heart and brain have their own particular dynamic because together they are good at keeping us motivated and alive. 

All these thoughts came from talking with my Mom, she is finally here from Florida giving me a hand. I am so happy to have her around, she always brings that sense of comfort that every daughter/son needs once in a while. 

I wish you a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!

Elsita :)

New Original Papercuts on Etsy :)

Available here right now :)

They look sooo cute in person and also they ready to frame in a 5x7 frame, these pieces make great presents!

Have a wonderful day!

Elsita :)

Old Soul Girls.

Old Soul Girls a series of papercuts.