Papercuts
Starting to worry about how you’ll fill your days once the Cup is over? With just two games left to enjoy, you might be wondering: “how will I live without my daily dose of soccer?!”. Well, to help you transition back to the real world, order a copy of Arkitip’s Issue №0055 (the World Cup special edition), done in collaboration with Chinatown Soccer Club. It’s 100% football meets design — cover to cover.
This year’s official World Cup South Africa poster — conceived by Switch Design’s Johannesburg office — is a stunner, but the Cup is never just about a single team. Why have one when you can have 17…
Well, as miffed as I still am that the NYC fireworks display somehow crept over to the Hudson river three years ago and hasn’t returned to the east side since, it still was a lovely night on our roof here in Bushwickburg…
The generation of Cracked Magazine readers and skateboarder rats has found its mark in the comic world. Traipsing across a macabre scene of sand fleas, shadows, and black widows — this is the world which cartoonist Travis Millard imparts upon the viewer. His comics are indicative of an innate need for humor to more easily swallow the grotesqueness of the human psyche and social landscape…
Knee-slappingly funny Woody Fu sent over a quick top ten list for Lo’s List on a rather religious matter… You can find more of his ROTFL work at Peroxide Comics or peep his outstanding taste in low- and highbrow music (and some questionable fashion choices) at his blog, The 21 Gun Salute! Thanks Woods!!!!
I am so embarrassingly addicted to office supplies. From the run-of-the-mill manila interoffice folder to every kind of stickie page marker, I love it all — perhaps it’s a residual childhood librarian/teacher obsession… Thus, it was with childish glee that I scoured the Present & Correct online shop: discovering a cornucopia of office must-haves. The company’s collection of workroom thingamabobs spans from vintage melamine desk trays to quirky notebooks and writing utensils…
OK – full-blown spring fever has taken over Lo’s List (making it quite the challenge to stay indoors and working) and these delicate letter-pressed prints from Dutch Door Press perfectly capture a distinct highlight of the season: new blooms and birds, birds, birds…
Billy Baumann and Jason Teegarden-Downs are the rocking graphic duo behind Delicious Design League – a Chicago firm dedicated to making superstar, cream-of-the-crop gig posters for music industry names big (Animal Collective, Lykke Li, Sonic Youth) and not-quite-as-big. All the silkscreens are available for purchase on their site at uber-reasonable prices ranging between 10 and 30ish greenbacks – quite the steal for limited edition, 18″ x 24″
slickscreenserm silkscreens!
Such a smart student project by Vimeo community member Saggyarmpit (aka Serene Teh) currently working towards a graphic design degree in Singapore. A little bit advent calender, a little bit flip book and a lot of talent come together to make this 2D exploration of a very 3D phenomenon, parkour. I love the details in the cityscapes: crumbling walls, exposed pipes, etc, as well as her choice to keep the rough edges of paper ripped from a spiral sketchbook. Paired with beats by Dr Dre, this video is hard to watch once… Happy Monday all!
“If you believe in love, but find it difficult to explain – this is for you.” – Rob Ryan
Jenny Lee Fowler’s snowflake-style papercuts capture the storytelling esprit of old-school European scherenschnitte with a good dash of Americana aesthetic. The artist’s brightly colored collection of clients’ family trees and celebratory events are at once deeply personal and universally resonant. Although various pre-cut designs are available in her Etsy store, the real allure here is the totally affordable customized design options. Profile silhouettes run about $20-$50 (check out the doggie silhouette!) and unique snowflakes like the ones seen here run around $100 a pop.
“I create paper cutouts and seek to extend it as a contemporary, global art form that is deeply rooted in Chinese folk art traditions. To do so, I strive for a universal and amalgamated aesthetics that incorporate imagery rich in cross-cultural references and contemporar subtexts. In these very dense and intricate paper cutouts, I explore the universally shared experiences of power, sacrifice, and survival.” – Bovey Lee
Originating in China circa 1500 the art of papercutting (jianzhi) quickly spread across the globe and is now a celebrated craft in dozens of countries including Japan (kirie), India (sanjhi), Germany & Switzerland (scherenschnitte), France (canivet or decoupage), Poland (wycinanki), Ukraine (vytynanky), Turkey (ka ‘ti), Mexico (papel picado), the States, Israel, and beyond. Sculptor, illustrator, papercutter, and jewelry designer Elsa Mora has a great blog, The heArt of Papercutting, featuring her work and helpful tips on how to make your own pieces.
“The process of creating a papercut piece is a wonderful way to practice and master the art of patience.” – Elsa Mora
