The Art of Papercutting Cutting paper is a folk art as old as paper itself, practiced by cultures around the world. Paper is an inexpensive medium, and cutting designs requires little more than imagination. Unfortunately, paper doesn’t last forever, so many examples of papercut art are no doubt lost to time.

History Chinese—Probably the oldest form, dating back to the 6th century; also known as Jianzhi. Indian—A form called Sanjhi is used to make decorative religious objects called rangoli, which can also be made with other materials like rice and flour. Mexican—Papel picado is done by hammering designs into a stack of very thin paper, creating multiple pieces at once. Japanese—Kirie is papercutting done with washi paper, which is used in many Japanese paper art forms. German/Swiss—Cutting images with scissors, or Scherenshnitte. Jewish—Dating to the Middle Ages, papercutting was used for a variety of Jewish religious and cultural expressions, from prayer to superstition. More information is available at Wikipedia and other sources online. Continued… © 2012 Kim Phillips | www.kimcutsart.posterous.com | www.facebook.com/kimcutsart May be shared online (with link to source), used for educational purposes by nonprofit organizations; may not be reproduced for commercial use without written permission.

The Art of Papercutting, page 2

Techniques Papercut images can be simple or complex, one layer or many. They may be cut with scissors, scalpels, or X-acto knives. The designs may be symmetrical, or not, representative or abstract. A piece of paper may be folded in half and cut through, leaving a symmetrical image. Or, an image may be drawn on the back side of a piece of paper and cut through, in any sort of design. In traditional Mexican papel picado, designs are hammered into stacks of tissue-thin paper, rendering the same image in multiple pieces of paper at once. Images cut into paper may be made by subtracting the cuts of paper, leaving the image, or building up the image out of separately cut pieces of paper. While papercutting usually results in a rather flat, graphical kind of image, some papercut works can be quite painterly or three-dimensional.

Uses Papercutting is a form of artistic expression like any other, in that it can be used to convey nearly any sort of concept. From simple silhouettes to complex, layered illustrations to gigantic, architectural constructions, the accessibility and flexibility of paper make it an art form that is available to all.

Materials Paper—Any sort of paper may be used for papercutting. For art pieces, it’s recommended to use high-quality, acid-free papers from manufacturers like Canson, Strathmore and Arches. The best weight of paper depends on what can be cut by hand without too much trouble. Very soft and very lightweight papers may not hold up for intricate designs. Very stiff paper may be hard to cut by hand. Colors and textures are entirely up to the artist. Tyvek, while not strictly a paper, is favored by some papercut artists for its durability; it doesn’t tear, making it possible to cut very fine pieces. Knives/Blades—Some artists prefer scalpels for their sharpness and durability; others find that scalpel blades have too much “give.” A very popular tool is the X-acto knife with a #11 blade. Scissors may also be used. Cutting Mats—A good cutting mat is important, not only for protecting the work surface but for ease of cutting. The mat should be firm but not so hard as to break the knife-tips. It’s helpful to use a mat that has a ruler grid on it. Mats can also be made from artboard (but not corrugated board, as it is too soft) but these will not last. In the long run, it’s best to buy a good, self-healing cutting mat.

Stencils, Etc.—Most artists plan their papercuts and sketch them on the back of the paper as a guide for cutting. If freehand drawing isn’t possible, there are stencils available commercially. Other tools for transferring images are artist transfer paper (pricey) and carbon paper (hard to find, a bit messy). Transfer paper can be made with regular paper and graphite; just rub graphite all over the sheet, lay it down on the back of the paper to be cut, and lay the image to be transferred on top of all; trace the image and remove the transfer paper. Adhesives—Gluing paper can be tricky, as some adhesives will wrinkle the paper. Some artists use StudioTac® which comes in sheets and leaves virtually no residue, without the health concerns of spray adhesives. Sprays should be used in well-ventilated areas or outdoors. One adhesive designed especially for paper is Yes Stikflat.® If the artwork is to last for many years, acid-free, archival adhesives are called for. See the following sample project…

The Art of Papercutting, page 3 Sample Project This project is an example of subtractive papercutting. Let’s begin…

Assemble your tools: paper, cutting mat, pencil, kneaded eraser, adhesive, and sketch paper.

Flip your paper over on its face and draw or trace your image. Important: be sure that all the pieces that will be in your design attach to other pieces and/or to the border of the design. You’ll probably have to ruin a couple before this becomes second nature. Draw very lightly, so as not to leave an impression in the paper. If your design has words, you will need to draw or trace the image in the reverse (backwards). If you are tracing, there

are some ways to transfer a reversed image: make a transparency with a copy machine, or reverse the image in PhotoShop or another computer program, and print it out. If you are freehanding, draw the image on very thin paper with a black marker, turn it over, and eyeball it.

Once your image is on the back of the paper, you’re ready to cut. If your design will be more than one layer, it is helpful to plan out all the layers and colors in advance. The design in this example will have three layers of different colored papers. Keep your paper face down during cutting. Cut out everything that will NOT be in the top layer of paper in your design. Start in the middle and work outward. If the whole design comes out of the paper, do all the interior

cutting first, then cut around the outside of the design. continued…

Your design will look something like this:

Apply an adhesive to the back of your top layer, and carefully place the top layer glue-side-down on the front of the second layer of paper. Now you may flip your papercut over and work from the front. Cut out everything that will NOT be in the second layer of your design.

Apply adhesive to the back of the second layer and place it onto the front of the third layer of paper. You’re done!

Click here for examples of papercutting styles. © 2012 Kim Phillips | www.kimcutsart.posterous.com | www.facebook.com/kimcutsart May be shared online (with link to source), used for educational purposes by nonprofit organizations; may not be reproduced for commercial use without written permission.