January 21st, 2011

Well today I missed the deadline for the Monome Community Remix Project V9.  This evening, just before leaving to go home, I received a phone call that left me with a series of notes on a cut that I worked on.  I had to stay late to get them done because I have to be on set tomorrow at 9am which means waking up quite early.

If I had left on time my plan tonight was to rush to finish my track.  Unfortunately, the notes were too extensive and I ended up staying until about 11pm.  I drove home wondering what to do for my creative thing.  I didn’t have much time and I had to make sure I was in bed at least by 2am.  I decided to make this papercut.

A couple of days ago I stumbled across Elsa Mora’s blog.  She is an artist who creates this absolutely amazing papercut art.  Her stuff is really intricate and beautiful.  I was totally inspired by them.

So, when I got home I went straight to work.  It’s pretty amazing that I got this one done in just under an hour.  I had no idea what my design was going to be.  It all seemed to come together rather quickly.  I just started with a simple bird shape and then adding the vines seemed natural.  I’m not sure why I added the lock in the center.  I just knew I wanted some kind of symbol inside the bird.

After I finished drawing I laid down on the floor and began cutting.  I tried to take my time and work in short strokes and it was quite helpful in getting better shapes and cleaner cuts.  Elsa recommends the #11 blade which I don’t have but I did all right with the ones I had.  I definitely was liberal with replacing the blades.  The moment I sensed any kind of tearing I replaced the blade.  I went through three blades to finish this.

I’m looking forward to more of these but I want to spend more time on designs.  I also want to do one when I have more time so I can add more detail.  Overall, I’m happy though.

In regards to my Monome Community Remix track, I plan on turning it in this Sunday.  I will finish it, no doubt.  I have made enough progress that turning back is not an option. It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t make it in on time but I’m not going to let that deter me.  I am listening to everyone else’s tracks right now and they all sound amazing!

Have a listen for yourself and feel free to download them here.

All the best!