Typhoon Tales

Here's the newest piece from my recent show. Entitled 'Typhoon tales' it is cut into a 2m long silk paper scroll and displayed on a black paper background. Photographing such a strong red is frustratingly difficult so the photos don’t show the real colour.

As an expat living in Taiwan two things I'm aware of are the abundance of motorbikes and the annual typhoons. Local TV news crews rush out to the windiest, stormiest point and foolish reporters try to file their live reports. They stand in the howling wind and rain, clinging to some inanimate object while holding a microphone. Their reports always state the obvious, “It’s windy here and the rain is heavy.”

The other thing news crews do is to film other people out in the storm and they’ll always manage to find motorcyclists battling the winds and inevitably being blown off or getting stuck in floods. My question is why go out in such bloody awful weather on a motorbike?

In this silk paper cut my dancing boys fear no storm, but even they are beaten by the mighty typhoon as they get swept along in the wind, rain and flood.

Here's one of the preliminary sketches. I spent a long, long time on the design process making sure that everything would hang together and not collapse. Papercutting is as much about the ‘architecture’ of the piece as well as the image.

The Angel of Christmas

First of all, Merry Xmas and a prosperous new year to all of you who visit my blog. It's always good to know there's someone out there looking at my work while I'm hidden away in my little studio!

Recent work

A friend, who has decided to devote herself to rediscovering her spiritual self, commissioned this silk paper cut, entitled ‘Angel’. Influenced by Shamanism she asked for very specific images to be included in the work.

Here, she is wearing traditional Chinese clothes which are richly embroidered with symbolic imagery. On the front is a stylized rose which represents loving with courage.

As the Angel rises into the sky, she is surrounded by four ducks, which are her ‘Power animal’. These birds inhabit land, water and air and are her soul guides.

As she rises up the sun provides the warmth and energy thst will protect and empower her on her journey.

On another note I'd like to say thanks to the Online Graphic Design Degree for honouring me (along with a select group of other origami and paper cutting artists) the...

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Doodling!

After I finish cutting a silk paper cut I’m always left with thousands of beautifully shaped pieces of silk.

I collect and keep them - boxes and boxes of beautiful scraps, the result of years of paper cutting.

Every now and then I start gluing them onto coloured paper, sketch books, wooden bowls, in fact anything I can get my hands on.

I just let the scraps determine the shapes thus the title ‘Doodling’.

But now I look at them I see all manner of images. What can you see?

'Butterfly Flow' show

My new show, ‘Butterfly Flow’ is starting next week (Aug 31^st – Sept 19^th) at the Piao Piao Gallery at 63-1, Yong Kang St. Taipei. This gallery is in the heart of a vibrant district of eateries, bars, antique shops and galleries. I love this area! For more info on the gallery and the address in Chinese go here.

If you’re in town on Sept 4^th please come along to the opening party starting at 7pm. Hope to see you there!

One of the newer silk paper cuts on display is the latest in my series of circular works entitled ‘Jagged Waves’.

Waves crash against defiantly jagged rocks creating a rugged razor sharp surface. Higher up in the rocks plants and flowers cling to the surface immune to the salty spray around them.

The waves twisting and turning

The swirls and eddies of water

Some flowers

Waves

I grew up next to the ocean with all its moods, textures and colors. I’m sure its restless energy is in all my work somewhere, so I decided to cut a piece about it.

This silk paper cut, called Wave, is the fourth in a series of large circular works. It started from a tiny sketch in my sketchbook and I instantly liked its movement and the flow of the lines.

Here are some pictures of the work in process.

Referencing Japanese wave imagery I created two large drawings (this is the second, more refined one).

Once happy I traced the finished design onto the back of two layers of silk and cut it. Here's the work half cut.

Then I played around with the lighting. Here the work is lit from the front creating shadows.

Here's a detail showing the two layers of silk

I haven’t decided on how or if to colour the piece.

Lit from the back the different layers of silk and the luminescence create interesting effects.

When I’ve decided how to colour, mount and light the work it’ll be exhibited in my upcoming show in September.

Nice Surprises!

A good friend came over one day, saw this, my second butterfly lamp design, and promptly bought it for his recording studio. Let’s hope the fluttering butterflies inspire some great music!

I used an existing Ikea floor lamp and fixed my silk paper cut design inside it. This is the second butterfly design for this type of lamp. Nice 'n' moody.

Then along came a commission from a wonderful lady who gave me just two words to work with – Purple & Dolphins. I’ve never used dolphins in my repertoire of imagery and I’ve never used purple before. Therefore the design and cut took much longer than I thought. Despite being late the lady loved it and promised that it’ll go with her to the grave!! (Don't worry she has a looong time to go yet!)

I layered several colors together to create a sense of movement and depth. Doing commissions such as this really do stretch me in a very good way.

News: I have a solo show coming up at the end of August til mid September. Details nearer the time. The gallery is situated in a cool district of Taipei full of interesting shops, galleries cafes and restaurants. I am really looking forward to it.

Daniel and Tyger

Here’s another silk paper cut that was given away as a gift at Chinese New Year. It comes from a new story I’m working on which involves my child character, Daniel, meeting a rather self important ‘Tyger’ in the forest. This silk cut shows Daniel and Tyger at the end of the story. As and when the story is finished I shall show more.

I plan to make the shadows an integral part of the story.

The Cut Line workshops

With my current show I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to hold several workshops in Starts gallery in downtown Taipei. One was for adults and one for children. Both workshops were great fun, the participants were keen and during the short time they were there they worked really hard and produced some beautiful work.

With the adults I focused on cutting butterflies using craft knives. This allowed us to explore symmetry and the numerous effects different cut marks can make.

The kids cut out symmetrical tiger faces using scissors (it'll soon be the year of the tiger.). They also decorated masks using scrap silk paper bits (the left overs from my paper cutting). It was a great way to use up some of my huge store of silk paper scraps, which I never throw away! The results were impressive. I just wish we had more time to completely finish them.

Butterfly Creation

October was a month of upheaval as I moved my art studio out the apartment to a bigger place. Of course all kinds of complications arise and, as I sit here in the new studio, I realize that the tool I really need is still at home!

Adding to the confusion is a lack of internet access which means I haven’t been able to blog for quite a while.

Despite all that I've still managed a bit of silk paper cutting. Here is the latest piece called ‘Butterfly Creation’ (diameter 65cm). This first picture is of the work in progress - half cut. It took several weeks to cut as I could only work a couple of hours a day to avoid permanent damage to my eyes.

Here's the finished work hanging in an open space. At 65cm diameter it's pretty big. A giant swirl of butterflies swarm together riding thermals of air or clinging to each other. They seem unsure as to where to go next.

Why butterflies you ask? Taiwan, where I live and work, is famous for the sheer number of butterflies that can be seen...

... but to me they represent a fleeting moment in time. Their lives are short and yet they are incredibly tough despite their fragile nature. Their beauty is intoxicating as they waft along on breezes searching for food and mates.

I hope you enjoy them.

Love hearts

Ahhh! Love! Lovely Love.

As old as humanity itself. Written about, cried over, argued heatedly, said endearingly and so on and so on.

For my art ‘love’ is the passion and the energy which drives me to create.

Here are two beautiful sayings on love. Can you see them in amongst the twisted energy of the silk paper cut?

Love is Blind.

Soul Meets Soul on Lovers’ Lips

Butterfly Cloud silk paper cutting

Recently I've been thinking of my silk paper art work and my relationship with it. It all started with an interview published on Who Hub (You can read the interview here). Then I bought some spotlights and started seriously exploring shadows and translucency in my work. By hanging the silk paper cuts in space and lighting them in various ways it really opened up a new dimension to what is normally seen as a 2D artform. Now I have discovered a whole new direction within my silk paper cutting work.

As an example here's a new piece I've been working on for some time. Called Butterfly Cloud it is approx 65cm diameter and cut in four colours. Clouds are light as are butterflies. They seem to hang effortlessly in space and yet they are constantly moving and evolving as if possessed by a life giving energy.

The first picture shows the blue version hanging and lit from the front which throws a shadow on the wall behind.

Here's the same one but lit from the back creating a very dark yet graphic image. There are two butterflies enjoying the cloud.

There's a butterfly fluttering in a gap in the clouds. It is almost like a cave with tree roots spreading through the open space.

For these two pictures I layered two colours together slightly off centre and backlit the work. The result is always unexpected and revealing. I like the translucence and the way the colours play off one another.

Cloud

In the beginning there was, well, an awful lot of cloud and ether. The clouds swirled and mixed creating a potent brew of life forms. Out of this biological stew came all kinds of beasts - veggie beasts, pesky beasts, spikey beasts, watery beasts to name but a few.  Some good, some bad, some indifferent to what was going on around them, but all essential to the creative process.

This silk paper cut says more about what's going on in my head than any religious idea of creation. I like the idea of an internal energy constantly churning, never settling. An energy full of anomalies that take the form of a variety of physical forms. Stories give structure to all this, so use your imagination, take a close look and make your own.   

This new piece has been hanging around the studio for a few weeks. Then one day the sun shone and so I hung it and was wowed by the shadows and transparency of the silk. There are two layers of silk paper that hang loosely together. With the light flooding through and gentle breezes moving of the work, it creates an ever changing glimpse into some uncharted cloud or forest. 

Those bugs fascinate me with their minute perfection, coloured bodies, scratchiness and how they can be found in every nook and cranny you dare to look.

These pictures in low light clearly show the intertwined imagery of the different layers of silk paper.