shed.

allyson mellberg taylor

olly moss

mon petit fantome

elsa mora

there is a sort of subtle violence that goes into the making of paper cuts that i find fascinating. a shedding of excess to reveal a gem within the paper. instead of wielding a paintbrush or pencil, these artists use scissors and blades to create these stunning works, some bordering on nightmarish fantasy, others quirky & strange. 

xo

a touch of blood red to quicken the pulse.

paper cutting seems to me to be as mysterious as playing the accordion or archery; things i want to learn how to do one day but am mystified by. drawing with tiny blades and scissors seems so poignant to me. until i dig up the time to learn myself, i always fall for elsa mora's whimsical & slightly morbid work.

xo.

else mora does frida kahlo

today i was lucky enough to find this paper cut necklace based on this frida kahlo self portrait. much like i imagine stencil making being, paper art seems to be a painstaking process meant for the patient and steady of hand. however, especially in the case of elsa mora's work, it's often incredibly delicate and beautiful. i highly recommend voyaging through all three of her blogs, they are overflowing with lovely inspiration and artwork.

elsa wearing her handmade necklace.

her etsy shop, which is filled with original and printed versions of her fantastical papercuts, recently began selling paper cutting patterns for those of you curious about the process.  

XOXO