Endurance of Strange Times

Some of the pieces I create are personal challenges of endurance and focus in the same way an athlete pushes themselves to be faster, fitter, stronger. There is a physical toll paper-cutting can take on the body but other factors such as size of material also impose a limitation I feel I have to work within or overcome. There is an internal push for me to create larger, more elaborate and complex work through the physical process of cutting paper. Ultimately, by working in an additive process and a modular approach to designing work, I have created an imposing installation from eight 25.5” x 19.5” pieces of paper, incorporating 40 unique patterns throughout.

The installation is influenced by quilt making: piecing together separate materials to make a larger whole; utilizing a mix of patterns with the cuts as stand-ins for stitching. It commemorates a difficult time during the winter of the pandemic (December 2020 through January 2021) which was a particularly isolating and depressing period due to increased restrictions. Working on this large-scale project provided an exciting external focus to help me make it through a difficult and weird time.

Each panel of the installation is hand-cut from Canson Mi-Teintes 25.5 x 19.5 inch paper.