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.

The Cut Line

Here are some pictures of the recent opening of my one man show of silk paper cuttings, ‘The Cut Line’, in Taipei. The day of the opening was a warm sunny day and people were out and about enjoying a brief respite from this cold, wet and grey winter. In the cozy confines of Starts Gallery guests ambled and chatted and, I hope, enjoyed the art. Many thanks to all those who came!

The show included work from the last 5 years though the centrepiece was the recent Butterfly Creation series seen here on the left.

It was interesting to show older work against the newer work.

These are from the ‘Butterfly Creation’ series.

This silk paper cut from the Butterfly Creation series is called ‘Butterfly Cloud’. It's pinned to a large scroll in a way that it is suspended bout 1 inch away from the surface. This gives it depth and allows shadows to play on the scroll.

Over the next month or so I’ll focus on different work in the show, some of which has not been seen before.

The Cut Line

What! It's 2010! Why didn't anyone tell me? Why didn't I know? Oh yeah, I remember, I've been stuck in my studio buried under an ever increasing number of silk paper cuts. I'm preparing for an upcoming show, the opening reception of which is Saturday Jan 9th 2010. Please come if you can. It's at Starts Gallery and is open on Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday (2:00 - 6:00pm). Here's the address

地 址：台北市和平東路二段28號B1,1F & 2F (一樓與地下室展示場) (二樓演講廳)
28, Section 2, Ho Ping East Road, Taipei

Here are some pics of my studio in its clean state! You should see it when I left yesterday - I had to shuffle, duck, twist and stretch to get out of the place.

The ever prolific Beatrice Coron dropped by the other day to say hello and see what I was up too. Based in New York she was on a flying visit to Asia so dropped in to see her old friends in Taiwan as well as me. She showed me some of her amazing paper cutting art in the form of artist books, fans and a self made magazine. This is an artist who is totally dedicated to her art! Check out her comprehensive website to see what I mean.

Butterfly Lamp

FINALLY! After months of dithering I finally finished making this lamp. I cut the image out of silk then glued it to the inside of a white lampshade and voila! It’s done, finished, and complete. The reason I’m so happy is that my studio is littered with half finished projects which sit around gathering dust. At least there is now one project less to worry about!

The lamp is 55cm high and is lit by two light bulbs. Only when the light is on will you see the silhouette of the silk cut. When the lights are off only the white lampshade is visible

As with a lot of recent work my fascination with elaborate butterflies continues. In this one the butterflies float on wafting breezes.

My website has recently been updated so why not pop over and take a look.

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

Typhoon Relief

August was NOT a good month. Health issues raised an ugly head creating a period of anxiety and worry. Tests revealed no major problems, which brought a sigh of relief. When things like that happen one’s attention becomes very distracted and unstable.

Meanwhile Typhoon Morakot, which though it did not affect us here in Taipei, devastated parts of southern Taiwan. One village with 500 people simply disappeared as the mountain behind it turned to mud and buried the place and its inhabitants. I cannot imagine the pain caused by such a disaster.

Last Saturday to show our support for the relief effort 16 artists spent a whole day creating works of art, which were then auctioned off in the evening. It was a fantastic experience. I’ve never seen artists work so hard to produce so much. By the end of the evening we’d made over US15,000 and was deemed a wild success. I’m so glad I participated.

My silk paper cut took 3 days to prepare prior to the event (I was the only non painter). Titled 'Hope' the tree represents a new beginning. In Taiwan’s mountains once the trees are felled the ground becomes very unstable. Put the trees back and life returns.

A great atmosphere!

Artists working hard

Sophie

Charles