July 30-Year of Ox/TX Longhorn

2009 is the Chinese Year of the Ox. This paper cut was
reprised for a University of TX longhorn custom card.
It was used as a congrats card for a freshman from his mum.

July 29-more character study paper cuts

Looking out the front window of his California bungalow, he and his cat can admire their pink flamingo. Why did this plastic bird along with a metal ball on a pedestal and deer grouping become so popular as lawn ornaments? ...those random "decorations" for an expanse of grass.

July 27-monday, Paris by way of stripes

cartoon paper cut couple with an awkwardness that flows. Parisian only because of the stripes, short skirt and beret. Most of my day disappeared fiddling with files, paper and tasks.
This image begs a story. The paper cut scanned a little blockier than I likes so I selected the paper, shrunk the form in by three pixels and filled with white then refilled with black.

July 24-diving into the stream of conscious

After I finished my undergrad degree, with no particular plans but a strong desire to study further and with several months of grant money I went to Japan. It seems naiive and adventurous to me now. I enrolled at an art university that offered a printmaking seminar under the auspices of its oil painting department. Oil painting in Japan is a relatively new medium. Printmaking, though a longstanding form of visual communication and expression, was not held in very high esteem and thus relegated to seminar status. There were four students in the class. The interesting thing to me was that two of us worked in a stream of conscious way-drawing, erasing, creating and destroying until in that process of experimentation, we arrived at a satisfactory composition. The process of the other two students was markedly different. They would draw what they envisioned and change very little if anything from the initial concept.

My process of working has not changed so much. Today's paper cut and some of my more successful compositions have been born out of a scribbled line. Reminiscent of Rohrschach's inkblots, there is a puddle of ink, a scribbled line or a scrap of paper suggesting a form that yields a graphic.

wikipedia says that "...Rorschach's use of inkblots may have been inspired by German doctor Justinius Kerne, who published a book of poems, each of which was inspired by an accidental inkblot; and the French psychologist, Binet had also experimented with inkblots as a creativity test." Today's paper cut similarly to Fish Dreaming emerged from a scrap of paper cut away from another larger composition. I will post more of these "Rohrschach" paper cuts. The big hunks of paper are odd shapes but too large to throw out. I like the idea of using these odds and ends; it helps me to loosen up, be more fluid, less judgemental in my process and produces workable image. These paper cuts prompted this blog. The dailies are sort of like my version of a short story or rather there is a narrative with these that does not exist in say my botanical images. Today's image reminded me of the (fool)hardy fellows who go swimming in icy waters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHbFRp1OtI8&feature=related

July 21-tuesday and fish dreaming

This image was done on fragment of paper, the outline of the original square incorporated into the design. Some elements are awkward but overall it hangs together. -makes me think of someone daydreaming about being underwater.

July 22-wednesday's lily

Calla or Arum lily a la paper cut, which looks a bit art deco-"ish" possibly because of the treatment of the leaf.

It is originally native of Africa. The genus name is Zantedeschia, a tribute to Italian botanist Giovanni Zantedeschi. All parts of the plant are very poisonous.

July 20-paper cut kit

Right-click the image and save it to your desktop, print it out on any decorative paper that has a white back. You can maintain the black frame around the paper cut or once you've cut out both pink and green areas, cut it away from the sides to float or back it onto another decorative paper. You can play with collaging different patterns and colors of paper once you have the basic outline of the paper. I often use black origami paper to give a flat, bold outline. Let me know how this works for you.