Posts Tagged ‘papercut’
Women’s Wisdom Project
Going into this year, I knew that I wanted a bigger project to work on. A couple of months ago I had made a few papercuts inspired by the Unsung Heroines Instagram account, run by Molly Schiot, author of Game Changers: The Unsung Heroines of Sports History. As I was working on those papercuts, going through an assortment of portrait photos and quotes for inspiration, I started thinking about all that the women of past and present have to offer. What insight do they have? What can they teach us?
I thought about a collection of papercuts, each done as a portrait of a woman, and paired with a quote of something that she had once written or said. The idea would be to compile the wisdom of many women through art.
And so the seed for the Women’s Wisdom Project was planted.
During the month of January, Kickstarter is running the Make 100 campaign, an initiative to focus on editions of 100. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to launch the Women’s Wisdom Project. Starting this month, I’m committing to making 100 papercuts this year, documenting a variety of amazing women and what we have to learn from them.
Over the course of the year, I am certain that the project will continue to develop (zine? book? calendar?) but this is a way for you to support in the initial stages, and if you are interested in doing so, you can check out the Kickstarter campaign here. There are limited edition cards and prints available as well as some other fun items.
Above is a papercut I made last week, in honor of Virginia Woolf’s birthday. “Once she knows how to read there’s only one thing you can teach her to believe in and that is herself,” Woolf wrote.
Women deserve to be heard, we deserve to have a voice. Hearing the voices of others also empowers us to find our own. This is why I want to create work to showcase women from around the world – and throughout history – and their wisdom.
Supporting this work means supporting the work of women throughout the ages and amplifying their voices. The project will honor women of the past and women of the present, and I would also like this project to inspire community support for women overall, encouraging people to support women’s work in their local communities.
Throughout the course of the project, I will highlight these stories and the artwork right here on my website, in my newsletter and on social media channels. You can check out #womenswisdomproject on Instagram.
I look forward to working on this project and to sharing it with all of you.
Downloadable Vote Poster in Support of Women’s Rights
I made this papercut, titled “Stars, Stripes and Uterus,” back in 2016 before the U.S. presidential election, but it’s as necessary today as it was then.
If you’re going out this coming weekend marching for the Women’s March 2.0, or if you simply want to show what you stand for, I’ve turned this papercut into a free downloadable poster that you can easily print at home. Hang it in a window, hold it above your head, print out a bunch and pass them out to friends. Stand up for women’s rights.
Florence Griffith Joyner
“When anyone tells me I can’t do anything, I’m just not listening any more.”
― Florence Griffith Joyner
This papercut is a part of a series that I am slowly working on called Women’s Wisdom, featuring women throughout history and what we can learn from them.
Have any ideas of women who should be featured? Let me know in the comments.
Words for Winter Solstice
A reminder to acknowledge the dark, and celebrate the light. Bring kindness into these dark days.
Kindness with no expectations, kindness given to someone else simply for wanting to put good into the world. Kindness to bring warmth to the coldest and darkest of moments. Kindness to keep us open, accepting. Because when we give kindness to others, we feel it in return.
One kind word to the postmaster who is dealing with the line of ten people, all trying to ship unruly boxes.
One kind word to the cashier working overtime.
One kind word to a friend who needs it.
One kind word to a stranger, because it could be the only one they receive today.
One kind word to a family member.
One kind word to yourself.
A print of this papercut is available here.
Welcoming the Darkness
It’s so easy to complain about the lack of light this time of year, particularly after we have set our clocks back and the afternoon succumbs to darkness even earlier. Yet with that darkness comes a beautiful quietness and stillness that’s hard to find at other times of year.
The Scandinavian way to enjoy this is to bring in lots of candlelight. I’ve been lighting candles both in the morning and the afternoon, a way to welcome the darkness instead of falling prey to it. In Finnish, “kaamos” is the world that refers to the time of year when the sun doesn’t even rise, yet there is still a magical lightness that covers the winter landscape. It doesn’t matter if you live in a place of pure winter darkness or not, candles and a pot of tea or a cup of coffee always help.
So in the coming weeks, invite a friend over and have fika by candlelight. (Here’s a recipe for sourdough cardamom buns, if you are in the mood for a little baking)
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A couple of Scandinavian classics featured in the papercut above: the Kivi candleholders from Iittala and a teapot and mug in the Unikko design from Marimekko. Kivi means “stone” in Finnish, and the candleholder is a gentle nod to the fact that so much of Scandinavian design is influenced by nature. The Marimekko Unniko design dates back all the way to 1964, when the company’s founder Armi Ratia declared that the company would never print a flower pattern again. Designer Maija Isola thought otherwise, and came up with this iconic poppy print that is still used today, over half a century later.
2018 Desk Calendar with Papercut Illustrations
I have always loved calendars. In fact this year, I’ve had three different calendars hanging in my office. Not because I need multiple reminders of what day it is, but because they all feature different artwork that I wanted to surround myself with as I work. Good daily inspiration.
When I was younger, I used to make calendars for Christmas presents, drawing a grid for the days of the week and separate illustration for each month. My parents would take me to Kinko’s to get color copies made so that I could give them away to all my family members.
This year I decided to revive the tradition (but with the help of a professional printer). But I wanted to do something just a little different.
Over the course of the years, I have found that with calendars that I like, I’ve often cut off the month/days once the year is over so that I can use the artwork, either to frame it or send to a friend. Why not have a calendar that’s made to be used in this way?
That’s what my 2018 desk calendar is. After the month is over, you’re intended to cut along the line on the back and turn it into a postcard. I’m hoping it inspires some handwritten notes, because who doesn’t like getting mail?
The calendars are 5×7″ and feature one of my original papercut illustrations every month. They are printed on recycled paper in Seattle, Washington. Each calendar is handwrapped, making it easy to give as a gift.
You can order a calendar here.
Witch Fika
“…to be a witch is to be a woman with power in a world where women are often otherwise powerless.”
– Annie Theriault, The Real Reason Women Love Witches
I read a few articles this week about witches (like this one), and it inspired this Witch Fika papercut. Gather up your coven and get together for a coffee break. You’ll be a more productive and efficient witch.
Comestible on Shortlist for Stack Awards 2017 ‘Best Use of Illustration’
Ever since I read about a writer’s goal for 100 rejections a year, I have been trying harder to do more submissions, whether they are for writing, for residencies, for awards, etc. The idea of course is that if you aim for 100 rejections in a year, somewhere along the way, you’re going to get a response that says “yes” instead of “no.”
I decided to submit my indie food zine Comestible to the Stack Awards 2017, a selection of awards for independent magazines. These days, the indie mag scene is strong, and every time I go into the bookstore I am amazed (perhaps slightly overwhelmed as well) at the high caliber of content and editorial vision that is out there.
I submitted Comestible to the Best Use of Illustration category, since I think that’s a large part of what makes the publication different. The food media space is inundated with gorgeous food photography, and when I started Comestible I wanted something different. Every issue has featured my own papercut illustrations as well as drawn illustrations by some of my favorite illustrators, Jessie Kanelos Weiner for the issues in 2016 and Molly Reeder for the issues in 2017.
How shocked was I when I learned that Comestible had made it onto the shortlist of magazines for the award? Quite shocked! I am honored to have it be a part of a group of such incredible publications with creative and unique artwork. Check out the full list here.
Yet another reminder that it’s always worth it to put your work out there.
Image: Stack Magazines
‘I Look Like a Fisherman’ Greeting Cards
In honor and support of the women who fish our seas, I teamed up with Salmon Sisters to make a limited edition of benefit greeting cards. They were inspired by the I Look Like a Farmer cards I did last fall.
The result is five different cards featuring papercuts of mine. The series is titled ‘I Look Like a Fisherman’ and 50% of proceeds will be donated to sponsoring a promising young female fishermen to attend the 2017 Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit in Anchorage, Alaska.
The Summit takes place December 6-8, 2017, and is an incredible resource for fishermen getting started in the industry. Each set of five cards comes with five envelopes. The 5×7″ greeting cards are printed on 100 lb. cover Desert Storm Neenah Environment paper, FSC certified and 30% post consumer. The cards are printed in Seattle, Washington by women-owned printing company Girlie Press.
I love working on projects like these that highlight (and also support) the hard work of our food producers. You can buy a set of cards on the Salmon Sisters website or on my site.
“Stand With A Million” Buttons
These 2.25″ buttons are being made in honor of the Women’s March on Washington, taking place in Washington D.C., and at other locations all around the country, on January 21, 2017. Buttons are currently in production and will be shipped out Monday January 16, 2017. Buttons are printed by One Inch Round in Portland, Oregon with 65% recycled steel and 100% recycled, FSC-certified paper.
$1 of each sale goes to Planned Parenthood. You can buy one here.
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