Paper Forest

MAY I Show You Some Paper Flowers?!

2012-05-02T23:21:00.000-07:00

Celebrate spring and the beginning of May, the traditional way, by making a paper flower bouquet to give to someone you love! Mine are being delivered by a wonderful letterpress insects, with obvious good manners.

I took my most mini (5/16") paper flower punch and popped out several layers from a mixture of papers, even some doublette crepe scraps. I used a soft scrap of neoprene to press the layers into with a stylus. This stacking order worked well; one punched flower with a drop of glue, a length of wire (painted green) for the stem atop the glue, then a couple more punched flowers set on top with more glue in between each. When layered just so, still wet, the whole paper sandwich gets pushed into the soft surface (anything soft would work) with the rounded end of a tool or anything not too sharp. Let dry. voilà! A tiny garden springs up quickly.

Stitch one or more of your petite sculptures onto a card by making holes with a needle close to the legs of whatever character you choose. These wasps were bought in a pack of 10 for $3.50 from Paper Source (they're not a sponsor, I'm just a customer there.) But any insect could be fun. An illustration cut out of an old dictionary... or wrapping paper... or something fun from your rubber stamp collection... Any character you could glue down onto a card.

Have fun and Happy May!

Carved Complexities, Show Opening in Los Angeles Tonight!

2012-02-04T09:05:00.000-08:00

Lucrezia Bieler, Rattle Race 20x20

Charles Clary, Radimafungle Transduction Movement #1
12x12

Beatrice Coron, Market Value 10x10

I have been a big fan of Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, California for some time. The space is great and the openings are always a good time. If you live in the Los Angeles area and are reading this blog, you really need to make a stop tonight for the Carved Complexities show!

Show Description:

For many, crafting with paper and scissors might be considered one of the earliest introductions to art. While some have ventured off to experiement other methods of artistry, a loyal few have indulged in their fascination with paper cut to produce works simple in context yet startlingly enigmatic in precision. Gallery Nucleus invites you to revisit the fundamental medium of paper and blade with "Carved Complexities," an exhibition featuring a select group of renowned paper cut artists who elevate the form of paper cutting to new heights of detail and imagination.

Exhibiting Artists Include:

Beatrice Coron
Charles Clary
Haruka
Hunter Stabler
Julene Harrison
Kevin Jay Stanton
Lucrezia Bieler
Matthew Shlian

Season's Greeting 2011: The Grand Advent-ture

2012-01-06T00:53:00.000-08:00

Holiday Greeting 2011--May Your Days Be Merry & Bright!

(Mini advent tree card shown opened and displayed on the built-in pop-up stand.)

It's that time of year, when we can share what we came up with for the holiday season's greeting. This year, I wanted to make a mini-advent calendar, just the last five days of December mind you. I'd have to have started in May to get a 100 of a full 25-day advent cards made. As it was I was starting even later than usual. And even though I strove to keep the design as simple as possible, I admit the cards whupped me. I was injured, unwell, exhausted, and cold, still struggling at 5am to get a stack of 50 cards out into the mail on the last possible day when an angel appeared. (Or at least someone with the spirit of Christmas---cards!)

But even before that, my traditional Christmas angel, my card creation partner, Mike Fullerton of Precision Graphic Systems*, Inc. (AKA; the wonderful friend with a laser cutter) worked overtime to get the dieline right and to produce the 100 laser cut cards for me and the 30 for himself. I learned so much on the project about what the laser cutting can do creatively and how to use Adobe Illustrator more proficiently from him. He is a master. Here's how they came together... and nearly didn't:

1. Once I got the card concept, I made a paper rough to size to develop how I might save time and make the cards using a laser only with no additional printing. I photographed the rough with my notes and emailed it to Mark in San Diego, California.

2. After creating the dieline for him in the most laborious way possible (created the art in Photoshop and then had to render it over again in Illustrator as the export of PS paths created far too many points for the laser.) I finally got Mark a workable file, going back and forth together. Even so, there were alterations to the perforations that Mark and to make on the fly when the uber thick paper I sent him down to use proved too substantial to work as planned. One specific to highlight Mark's cleverness, was that my initial perforations all around the advent windows wouldn't lift cleanly and open on such heavy stock. Mark changed the file to make the windows cut cleanly instead with merely two little "gaps" in the perforation which became perfect little "hinges" for the windows when opened. (You can see the precision up close in image 5 above.)

I received stacks of cards from Mark as he finished them. It was rewarding to see my concept quickly returned looking polished and professional, each shape and scoreline kissed by the laser as directed.

3. The card was designed to zig-zag fold three of the six panels in order to create a triple layer stack for the tree that embeds a hand-decorated layer in between the pre-cut windows and a backing.

I inked each window interior in various color combinations and added ultra fine glitter in contrasting color and let dry. This would be the only color on the cards and provide the cheerful contrast to the crisp white paper.

4. Before gluing the layers together, each laser cut letter in the card's holiday message was pulled out by the tip of a blade and put in a glass bowl (the reason at the end of the post).

5. Half of the time involved in crafting the cards was due to the careful gluing. I used two sizes of paint brushes to glue the backs of the window layer onto the color layer without getting any glue on the window doors themselves so they would be open-able once assembled. Then slathered on the back layer too. Alignment was managed by the scores. Some of the slot widths could have used adjusting to accommodate the heavy paper had I had the time to revise the dieline at all.

Once the advent trees were ready, each card got roll-folded into its own remaining three panels, with the last panel's tab inserting into a slot on panel 4, forming a self-mailer. Messages written on the inside of panel 5, sealed with a length of washi tape, stamped and addressed off Mark's 30 and my first 50 went as quickly as I could manage.

On the last mail day before Christmas, which was the last day an advent card would make much sense, I really thought I'd been beaten this year. It didn't look like I could make it until the phone rang. A friend, MunYin, offered to come by and help me finish sealing and addressing the mountain of cards and to take me to the post office to mail them. She even sent a little positive thought for each one she slipped into the mail slot.

With such acts of kindness involved in their making, I'm positive that the recipients felt some delight when their card finally arrived. I have heard from many that was so.

Each year we select a random Paper Forest reader from the comments to be included on our handmade card list. To be included next year, leave a guess at how many individual letters pulled from our 100 cards ended up in the glass bowl seen above in image 4!

(*Not a paid endorsement, we just like them.)

New Crop of Daisies

2012-01-05T21:55:00.000-08:00

Last years' thank you notes after the holidays were simple punch blooms with pineapple twine stems on scallop postcards from Paper Source* with brown bag A2 envelopes.

(*Not a paid endorsement, we just like them.)

Fresh as a Daisy Thanks

2012-01-05T21:51:00.001-08:00

Couple years back's thank you cards were white pom poms centers over embossed paper petals stitched onto hand cut cardboard flats with green thread.

The stems were kept simple, made of long thread stitches that a thumb cut tag could slide onto.

Matching kraft paper envelopes and using a green ink pen finish the quick-to-make set.

More Quick Thanks Ideas

2012-01-05T21:40:00.000-08:00

The first thing I do after the holidays, is to make about a dozen thank you cards for the generous friends and family that have gifted us that year.

Two year's back I found a sale at Paper Source on "so hideous--they're fabulous!" neon green vellum envelopes.

I paired them with plain kraft cardboard flats with large painted neon glitter flowers.

I tinted matte medium with florescent orange paint and loosely brushed on over-sized petals. Sprinkled them with no-sparkle matching glitter from Kit Kraft *in Sherman Oaks, CA (ridiculously huge selection of colors and textures offered there).

Bright and fresh for the new year and super quick to make a bunch at once.

(*Not a paid endorsement, we just like them.)

Thank You Season

2012-01-05T19:39:00.000-08:00

What's after the holidays? Thank you cards! I always look for something hand-crafted to make that is primarily quick enough to make a couple score at once as effortlessly as possible. And they should still convey our genuine appreciation to each person who receives one.

This year I chose hot fucsia, pink, and orange papers, hand cut into heart shapes, stitched in multiple layers by hand with bakers twine and then again by machine onto fine note cards with colored thread.

I wrote "thank you" in crisp pencil lead under each finished heart and mailed them in matching square Fabriano Medioevalis Stationery* envelopes.

Happy New Year!

(*Not a paid endorsement, we just like them.)

The Great Viking Holiday Giveaway!

2011-12-14T06:53:00.001-08:00

Jared Andrew Schorr is an amazing illustrator and paper artist with an Esty shop called Super Cool Spy Club and a website designed from his charming paper cut art at www.jaredandrewschorr.com . He’s also one of the thirty artists included in PUSH Paper !

Lark Books is hosting a giveaway of:

* Jared’s original papercut Viking artwork.

* A copy of PUSH Paper, featuring Jared and 29 other extraordinary paper artists

* An adorable pocket mirror with a print of one of Jared’s papercuts

Read more and enter the contest by clicking here.

Brooklyn 5 and 10 Paper Pulp Novel Giveaway

2011-12-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

This plantable paper novel from Brooklyn5and10 is a fun little stocking stuffer. Inside the 'pulp novel' jacket are sheets of plantable paper pages. Planting the paper is easy: lay on soil, lightly cover and water. Fun.

And you lovely Paper Forest readers might win this item by leaving a comment listing another favorite stocking stuffer you might like to receive from the Brooklyn5and10 shop.

Loomi Light Kickstarter Project

2011-12-05T05:45:00.001-08:00

Here is a fun little Kickstarter Project. The Loomi is a crafty little light by David Sosnow made of paper modules that can be customized by your artistic talents. There are many configurations and because it is made of paper there are all kinds of options to finish it however you like. Take a look at the video and support the project here.

Give Me Mora!

2011-12-02T23:02:00.001-08:00

In case you don't know her, multi-talented, muti-media, multi-nationed (Cuban-American) admirable artist and person, Elsa (Elsita) Mora, has a special way with paper cuts. It's one of the many types of materials she uses to create her tiny treasures. Today, I'd like to share with you a hybrid she's just made, she's always inventing ingenious new things. She's taken paper silhouette, the size of which may too small to consider, and smashed the arrangement into rolled out polymer clay, baked it, and then once cured, hit the surface relief with a white patina to terrific effect. She said she plans to embellish it further with beads for a cameo, but I like the minimal state it's in as well. Keep her on your Etsy like list. She occasionally posts some of her darling wearable art pieces for sale there. UPDATE:: It is even more clever of her than I thought! Elsa just spilled the beans today that it isn't the cut pieces of paper you see composed up there on the clay. No. She has smartly taken rather the NEGATIVE space of the cut and rolled it onto the surface of the clay. Her step-by-step, sweetly answering all our questions is here.

Inside the Storybook Cupboard

2011-12-02T14:09:00.001-08:00

Supreme paper artist Helen Musselwhite has done it again! This time she's taken her charming storybook style of paper cut outs and installed them into a simple old-fashioned cupboard, completed with marvelous light effects. She has a touch with layers and sense of space that bring me right into the world she's made. Brava! to Helen.

He Bugs Me

2011-11-21T08:58:00.000-08:00

Direct from his apartment in Maine to his Etsy shop Paper Cuts by Joe paper artist, Joe Bagley, makes original works, each cut by hand. No lasers, dies, or prints. He has many dazzling examples of the paper cutting art, but one of my favorites of his is the Big Black Beetle. He also has many charmingly romantic pieces, already framed and ready to give, that would make touching first wedding anniversary gifts. You know, because first anniversaries are traditionally symbolized with PAPER--what what!?

7 foot paper Gundam

2011-11-20T19:09:00.000-08:00

You can make this 7 foot paper Gundam too! You just need 720 pieces of paper and a bazillion spare hours. Instructable here.

"7FT Gundam" - Ultimate Papercraft from Taras Lesko on Vimeo.

Making a Statement

2011-11-20T08:48:00.000-08:00

Jessica Jones of How about Orange reports that Punched Out is a free font that allows you to type letters, print, cut, fold, and glue to make 3D forms. Created by Tobias Sommer, it's available for download at Fontstruct "Punched Out" link above. She gave it a try while watching TV and said it was a little tedious to do, but perhaps it will only be only FUN for the Paper Forest crew though?! The results look incredible! So many cool possibilities...

Spinning Your Wheels

2011-11-18T08:41:00.001-08:00

Making a wall of wheels, or paper rosettes, is a great way to make a HUGE impact at a party without a lot of fuss or cost, from just a pack of paper and some doilies – that’s it! Here’s a link to Ali P's basic tutorial from her blog Sprinkles of Charm on how to make this great back drop. I think it would also work with circles/disks instead of the dollies for a modern version, especially if made with interesting color stories.

Take Your Place

2011-11-18T08:24:00.001-08:00

Designer Heather Moore of South Africa's brand Skinny LaMinx,has put her clever pop-up lasercut Garland placeholders into her Etsy shop. These little guys are perfect for adding a little bit of sweetness to a table setting, no matter how simple. They’re sold in sets of eight. Make a purchase through her Etsy shop, and you’ll get ELEVEN percent off your purchase by inserting the coupon code 11ELEVEN11 at the Etsy checkout through November 22. And right now she's giving away three sets of eleven to randomly drawn numbers from the comments on the post about them. Try your luck! Giveaway entries close at 6pm Cape Town time on Sunday evening. Please remember to leave her your contact details with your comment.

Paper + Typograpghy = Inspiring ABC's

2011-11-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

I saw these wonderfully detailed paper letter forms on Sabeena Karnik's (an artist and designer from Mumbai, India) Portfolio on Behance and was smitten with her beauteous way with curls. See the whole alphabet at the link.

Pacaderm Pirate Panash

2011-11-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

Racky Road How disarmingly endearing is this Pirate Elephant from delightful mixed media artist, Kristin Batsel, from Marietta, Georgia, who loves working with "paper, doodads, and bits and bobs". Her blog, junk&stuff, Her Etsy She's on Craftsterwhich is where I first saw her work (via Pinterest) and a designer for Alpha Stamps.

If you are feeling inspired by her work, why not get a hold of a papier maché blank of whatever strikes your fancy and have a go?!

Leaves for the Table

2011-11-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

Paper adds infinite charm to everything, even the Thanksgiving table. Such a simple shape, cut from simple plain colored paper, strewn under platters, plates, and mixed in with your centerpiece, can make a holiday table so creative, inviting, and cheerful. Get ready>>> cut! Instructions From the Martha Stewart Crafts Department: Paper-Leaf How-To Add these leaves to bowls of gourds, or lay a few along a tablecloth. We used light-green paper, but you can use any color you like. 1. Trace or print the leaf template

onto the back of a piece of decorative paper, and cut out as many leaves as you want. 2. To give the leaves more dimension, fold them outward at notches and inward along lobes. 3. Use a length of paper-covered wire for a stem, and use hot glue to affix it to the center back of the leaf. Let dry. 4. Coil the wire stem around the handle of a wooden spoon or a pencil; slip off.

Stable and Wearable Paper Jewels

2011-11-11T08:34:00.000-08:00

Artist Lydia Hirte makes lovely miniature paper sculpture pieces that are worn as jewelry.

[photos: Jürgen Kossatz]

She writes about her techniques: forming and fixation under strong pressure
"On account of applying my different methods and techniques I am able to generate strong tension within the cardboard. These I use to create self supporting structures. The resulting objects are stable and resilient. These is the reason why I need not apply the standard paper handling techniques - gluing, folding, nesting - and why I need not use additional reinforcements such as metal, bars, other rivets or other support within the spatial structure. So my technique allows both to overcome the well known restrictions of working with paper and to make use of the advantages of this material. To my knowledge I generally extend through this technique the possibilities of working with paper in the arts. So far I came neither across works in jewellery nor in paper arts in which tension is used in such an intensive and essential way.

With my recent group “One week in May – or seven possibilities to move my hands” I have enriched my knowledge on and my possibilities to apply my hands for creating pressure and indirectly forming the material. This provides me with a wider scope for using my hands in subsequent works. Combining this with other techniques further developed enables me to use the material in a less restrictive way and to extend the spatiality in my works."

A New Paper Forest is coming soon!

2011-09-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

It is undeniably true that Paper Forest has been taking a bit of a hiatus. Posts have been few and far-between. I have been busy with personal art projects and teaching and raising a pre-schooler, but also reassessing the future of Paper Forest.

I started this blog back in 2005, when no one I knew was talking about mechanical paper toys, and there were no awesome books of paper monsters to buy and cut and assemble. I was searching Japanese sites for anything paper-related I could find and cataloguing it, mostly just for myself. Now it seems there is paper inspiration everywhere, and it can actually be a bit overwhelming to keep track of it all.

With the launch of Push Paper, (the gorgeous little volume I was lucky enough to curate through Lark Books) there was such a positive response from the community that I thought a lot about what I should do with Paper Forest. It was time to decide whether I should drop it or make it better. After much consideration, I have decided to relaunch the site with a lovely new look (similar to the mock-up above) and a more dynamic and useful format.

Paper Forest will be back in full-force soon, and it will be more active and useful than ever. You'll hear from familiar and trusted voices as well as a number of new and exciting contributors. You'll hear from us more often, with more beautiful art, inspiration, giveaways, book reviews, and exclusive downloads! You'll be able to search and browse old posts more easily by category, and uncover a library of paper inspiration.

Please subscribe to the blog and join our Twitter feed for updates and announcements. We don't have a launch date yet, but are working on it now, and look forward to facilitating a more useful and inspired community celebrating the art of paper!

Push Paper is Here!

2011-09-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

Push Paper officially hits the shelves today! I had the opportunity to Jury this title (I got to pick the artists from a long list of Paper Forest favorites, pick favorite works and interview these guys) and it was a great experience. Kathleen McCafferty , editor and author, at Lark Books was great to work with, and the title came out better than I could have imagined. Read more about this new series of books (Push Stitchery comes out today as well!) here: http://tinyurl.com/3mndtvz

Paper Toy II

2011-06-10T16:14:00.000-07:00

Hey, Paper Foresters in the Minneapolis area make sure to stop by Pink Hobo this Saturday June 11 for the opening of Paper Toy II. It's gonna be a great show featuring some great papertoy artist. More info at Pink Hobo!

Brooklyn5and10 and Paperforest Giveaway: Two Pathfinders Wooden Automata!

2011-05-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn5and10 and Paperforest Giveaway: Two Pathfinders Wooden Automata!

Brooklyn5and10 and Paperforest are giving two winners their choice of a Running Horse or Flying Pig Pathfinders Wooden Automaton.

This Automata giveaway is in honor of the "Crazy 8 Deals" at Brooklyn5and10.com from now until June 30. They have set up 8 great deals for $8. Pricing is up to off 75% retail.

To win: Two winners will be chosen at random by Paperforest. Take a look at the Crazy 8 Deals over at Brooklyn5and10.com, and tell us which deal is your favorite and why.

Crazy 8 Deals at Brooklyn5and10.com

about Pathfinders Wooden Automata:

Pathfinders Flying Pig and Running Horse Automata are mechanical toys that move with cams, levers and linkages. The Pathfinders Flying Pig and Running Horse are engineered using a minimum number of parts yet produces dramatic movement. Turn the crank – the horse gallops and the pig does indeed fly (rather flaps its wings in vain. Yes, “when pigs fly” indeed)!. The kits stimulate imaginations of kids of all ages and teach mechanics. The Pathfinders Automata kits are made with natural, untreated pine and easy to assemble. They can be painted or decorated and will last for many years. Assembled, the horse and pig both stand 10” tall. Nose to tall the horse is 9” and the pig’s wingspan is 9”. Package is 7 3/8” L x 5 1/4” W x 2 1/2” D. The Pathfinders Automata come with complete instructions and are recommended for ages 9 and up, requiring only white glue, scissors and a ruler for assembly. Personalize the Running Horse or Flying Pig Automata with a bit of your own paint if you like!