Starbucks Exhibit

It's been a long time coming - it's taken weeks of discussion with the manager and the artist who previous was displaying her work - but Friday night we got to hang up six pieces at our local Marshfield, MA Starbucks cafe.

We divided the pieces into two spaces- the first was in the main seating area where we hung three larger older pieces. I thought the Native American and the Maya pieces would work well with Starbucks' multi-cultural feel. They're currently offering several Latin American coffee blends so the theme works well.

The other space was in the hallway toward the back of the store, and featured three smaller pieces that were inspired by the monuments and architecture of Boston. Many of the residents of Marshfield are visitors from Boston or commute there daily for work.

If anyone is interested in stopping by the address is

784 Plain Street
Marshfield, MA 02050
It's a half hour south of Boston off of Rt. 3.

It's a great opportunity to have my work get local exposure, and it should be up through the holiday season and possibly longer.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Media!

Hi everyone,
I recently was visited by a local reporter who did an article on my work for the Marshfield Mariner, a small local newspaper. It has a video of me yapping about papercutting and a photo of me cutting out one of the papercut ornaments. Thought I'd share and give a face to the mysterious email person.

Holiday Ornaments!

I am happy to announce that I have finished designing my line of Christmas ornaments. This year, I have designed three pieces, which I will create a limited edition of 17 ornaments for each. I hope to make a series of ornament each year, this being the first.

Each papercutting is hand cut from a sheet of white card stock and adhered to a colored background (Reindeer-red, Sleigh-blue, and Pine-green). They are then initialed and dated on the front, and fully signed and numbered (x of 17) on the back. The frames are painted a beautiful shiny silver with a hand-tied silver and white ribbon hanger.Each ornament frame measures 3x3" with 2.5" papercutting inside. They are $20 each with $5 priority shipping. You receive the papercut, ornament frame, thank you note, and beautiful keepsake box (with hand-tied bow!).

I have created a new web page on my site for the ornaments with a bunch of photos:

http://www.papercutsbyjoe.com/ornaments

Just to toot my own horn, I'm pretty darn proud of the bow I tied in the box photo. Just wanted to share that.

~Joe

Dare-I-Go

My new body of work, composed of about 12 pieces, is titled Dareigo. It is the body of work I plan to feature at my solo show at the Old Crow Gallery next year.

It is a take on the Maine state motto: Dirigo (pronounced deer-ee-go) and is meant to reflect both the topic of the work (Maine architecture and nature), my homecoming back to Maine, and my enterprising full-time dive into the art world.

As many of you know I am a professional archaeologist with a degree, tons of experience, and everything, but 98% of archaeology in the US is conducted before major construction and development projects. There is not exactly a lot of construction and development going on right now so the job market is tight. Jen and I were let go a few months ago from our full time jobs after work dried up. It’s crushing when it’s something you are passionate about and truly love.

Well, I’ve decided until things start looking up, I’m sticking to art, which is somehow actually paying the bills (that and the fact that Jen is working full time for the Massachusetts Historical Commission).

Okay, back to the art, I really want to show you some of the new designs, but I really want the solo show to be an official reveal of the new pieces. But I’ll happily describe them.

They are about half-half nature and architecture scenes. The nature scenes come from Portland harbor, Old Orchard Beach, and the Lakes Region. The architecture pieces are exclusively historic structures in Portland including (but not limited to) Old Port, the wharfs, and the Portland Observatory.

A few weekends ago Jen and I spent Saturday in Boston and wandered around two of our favorite neighborhoods: Charles St (antique district) and Newbury St (art and retail district). There are some fantastic galleries on Newbury and truly an inspiring place for anyone interested in art (creating, viewing, or buying). It gave me a good perspective on where the market is, what is currently appreciated by galleries, and the clientele. Very interesting.

My overall impression is that gallery shows typically have only a few pieces, they are the best-of-the-best work, and the pieces are very large. I think this is mostly because big is in (people want a lot of art for their money), galleries want to look clean (not too many pieces on display), and no crap allowed.

I took this into consideration and have made some, I think, good changes to the body of work I am currently creating.

First, I have reduced the number of pieces by about half, resulting in a good trimming of the fat and a hard, but needed, self-examination of what actually is good piece, and not just my ego showing through.

Second, I have increased the overall size of the pieces, since this art form allows me to completely design my pieces before cutting, I can take a digital version of the design, crop, modify, and enlarge it before ever cutting. It also allows me to completely organize and edit the entire body of work before I begin creating it.

By enlarging the designs, I was able to include a lot more detail into the piece, which will, I hope, make them even more visually interesting and impressive.

Okay, hope that has wetted your appetite!

I'm not dead yet!

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve written. The past month has been busy! We moved into a winter rental down in Marshfield, MA and Jen has just stared a new job helping to save and fund historic structures at the Massachusetts Historical Commission. So much has happened, I’m going to break it up into several different posts and hopefully I’ll be posting every day for a while.

First, just before leaving Maine, we had a meeting with the Stephen Popp at the Old Crow Gallery in South Portland, ME.

It’s a beautiful historic home converted to a custom frame shop and art gallery. Steve and his wife were incredibly helpful, supportive, and offered me an opportunity to show at their great holiday show and a solo show in the spring!

This is incredibly exciting and I have already lined up about 10 pieces that I hope to finish by the show. These pieces will all be scenes from Maine with my specialty: Nature and Architecture being the main focus. I’m working on one now, my most complex piece and largest at 20x27 will hopefully be one of the centerpieces of the show. I was originally going to be making several additional pieces for the show, but Jen and I had the opportunity to go to Boston and stroll Newbury street galleries and we saw that the typical solo show usually has far fewer pieces than I was planning. Plus, the pieces tend to be larger than I typically do so I decided that it may be more impressive and challenging to whittle down the number of pieces to only the very best, and make those as large and as complicated as I possibly can.

After a full day of work, I’m about half done with the first piece, but it is coming out great. Perhaps I’ll give a preview soon…

Okay, that’s it for now, so many more things to talk about, but that’s for tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. Here’s what you can expect, so check back again and again: Another show! The view! New Pieces! New Setup! Working from home! Full time artist! Traveling Lecture on the History of Papercutting! And much more…

Our new space

So we've been making improvements to our "studio" in our temporary living space. We'll be moving to our permanent place in the next couple weeks, but meanwhile check it out! Joe spent last weekend building this REALLY functional and REALLY beautiful storage unit. It's large enough to house all of his huge pieces of paper, mat board, cello bags, and even his finished unframed pieces! It's the cat's meow. Ha.

Also thought I'd share the cool bulliten board system we arranged. Each person who contacts us about commissioning a custom piece gets a post it note with their name and a description of what they'd like. Then as we progress through the stages of custom work their post it moves from the "Contact" board to "Design" then "Cutting" then "Shipping." I think it's a pretty ingenious way of staying organized. It's helped us get through this last crazy bout of custom orders.

Finally, Joe completed his weeks long dream of creating a map that identified each town he's sold art to. We started with a map of North America since so few sales are international, but it's really cool to be able to visualize all the cities in all the states (and territories) that he's sold original art. That's a lot of red dots. Maybe some day we can fill them all in!

And finally, a bit of good news- We have an appointment on Monday with a local gallery who is interested in featuring Joe's work, and may even want to do a solo show! We've got to talk it over so we're trying to stay calm, but we're hopeful that it will lead to good things

Christmas in September

Ok, so even though most people would say "it's only September!" from a production standpoint it's more like "oh no! it's already September!" which basically means we need to make sure we've got appropriate inventory for those winter holidays.

We're not really sure what kind of demand there will be for art this holiday season. Last year we weren't as serious about getting art selling for Christmas, but lately we've been on a roll. Basically we're trying to make some new fun pieces, especially making sure we cover a broad price range.
One of our bigger pushes is creating tasteful ornaments/decorations. We're looking to find reasonably priced silver (at least silver plated) small squared frames, similar to those from crate and barrel or pottery barn. Then include classic winter papercutting designs, perhaps even on a colored background (either evergreen, cranberry, or blue)We'll keep you updated on Joe's designs for these, as well as the progress (and ultimate unveiling) of his new Maine themed pieces.

Oh yeah, and we finally made an offical listing for a "Custom House Papercutting" since these have become quite popular lately. So if you're in love with your house, your old house, or your friend's house, just send us a picture and Joe will creat a beautiful piece of art for you.
Enjoy!

Buy Local!

With Joe recovering (but still working!) it's time to regroup and plan some more. We've been working hard to juggle the dozens of custom orders that have been flying in and are finally almost all caught up.

We're going to stop taking as many custom orders in the next week or two and focus instead on revamping the stock of readily available pieces. We've done a few photo shoots in the beautiful state of Maine (great to be back!) and Joe will be working on starting several new designs inspired by the coast/sea, Portland architecture, and the inland plants and trees.
We'd really like to appeal to the local art scene which is sooo vibrant in Joe's home town of South Portland. Practically every car supports a "buy local" sticker, and art is always one of the most popular local buys!

Also, keep a look out for a new PapercutsByJoe business card design and new business-card-like fridge magnets. Tons of things going on!

Rule #1 of Papercutting

Rule #1 of Papercutting:

Cut the paper. Do NOT cut your hands.

We take time now to remember this important rule of papercutting. Joe had a bid of an accident while working on trimming shipping materials for his art and ended up needing stitches to attach his thumb. Yeah, not a fun way to start the working day! We'll keep you posted on how he's doing, but for now we leave you with this amusing picture of his sad boo-boo face.

Scherendoodle- Original Papercutting unfolded

My first video of a quick folded papercut I did while still in Florida. Unveiling it for the first time! I'm thinking of doing snowflakes for charity this winter. Perhaps donating any money to cancer research. Sound good?

Souvenir

So we were at Starbucks a few days ago, shocking I know, and I saw this cup and had to get it. It was on sale too! I figure since my very first show at a real museum was sponsered by starbucks, was about scooters, and I actually sold my piece this was pretty perfect. It holds tons of coffee too!

Strike up the band

Thought I'd share one of the more recent custom pieces Joe has been working on. Most of the custom work lately has been for anniversaries and birthdays, but this piece was going to some of our former coworkers who just moved into a new house. They have a dedicated music room and aspirations of starting a band together. What better inspiration than a funky tryptech of a bassist, drummer, and pianist. There's a possibility that a guitar will someday follow, but for now it's these three energetic images which will inspire the three steadfast musicians.

More pieces to come later (I think there are currently four in the works...)

International Shipping!

We now ship everything world wide, so please be sure to check out your favorite pieces to see the new revised shipping. Are you in Mexico? Canada? the UK? EVERYWHERE else? No problem! We'll get the art to you!Also, if you aren't on the mailing list, please check out the link to the right. We occasionally send out email updates telling you about events, new pieces, and discounts.

Scooter Piece

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to share with you all the piece that I took to the Scooter show at the Tampa Museum of Art


It sold! In the first hour! It was tons of fun and not just because of the free gelato, coffee, and beer.

MORE CUSTOM!

Hi everyone. I've sertainly been busy! Last friday I got laid off so now I can be even busier. I've had tons of really fun custom pieces recently and wanted to share some of them with you all:

Vinyl car decal!

So now if you see a mazda 626 driving around somewhere between Florida and Maine with my website on the window, you know who it is:) Thanks again to fleanine at etsy (fleanine.etsy.com) for the custom vinyl decal. If you need anything for your car GO TO HER. She was the best and gave me tons of scraps to play with too!

Ready for my closeup!

I just took a whole bunch of close up photos of the papercuttings so that people would be able to get a better sense of them when browsing online. It shows the texture a little better and also gives you a better idea of how much detail is in each tiny aspect of the pieces. Palais des Congres is featured above and the Arts and Crafts Wycinanki is featured below. All the pictures I added are together here on flickr, or you can check out some of the individual pages here on etsy. Let us know what you think!

Custom Custom Custom!

It's been awhile since we've updated, but the since we've been gone the name of the game has been CUSTOM. Joe's been working like mad to fill requests for custom papercuttings- making them look just right for whatever occasion is needed. We've been out of town for work, but Joe brings a travel pack of papercutting supplies and works nights in our hotel room. Dedicated!

To help bolster this new focus on custom work, we've hired a professional web designer (in Brazil!) to create a fun and funky webpage especially targeted at custom work. Please check out the new webpage and let us know what you think!

www.papercutsbyjoe.com/custom

A new product/service Joe is adding is a custom sillhouette portrait for only $15 (!!) and a custom pet portrait for only $20 (!!). These inexpensive pieces will look like a million bucks when framed on your wall. Of course they are great gifts, but they are also truly thoughtful heirloom pieces. Joe just needs a picture to work with and you'll have your very own custom piece in the mail.






Examples on the left include a portrait of me (Jen), a self portrait of the artist (Joe), and a custom portrait of the new Bagley dog (McGreggor).

Let us know if you have any great ideas for custom pieces that you'd love to see Joe make!

Flyer for Kick Start my Art

Well, the flyers are done! They'll be at a bunch of local starbucks and related businesses

Also, my piece is done, but I'm not unveiling it for a few more days because I need to get it custom framed. It's going to be real funky!

I hope some of you will be able to make it

Introducing: Branches

Branches

7x16 papercut
11x20 matted

Original hand-cut papercut
I was going for a funky, fresh take on the traditional tree silhouette. I imagine this piece above a fire place, desk, or a calming piece in a bedroom. I hate doing the usual so hopefully this is achieves the goal of abstract, yet recognizable.

On sale now on Etsy

Work Space revealed

Well, it's saturday morning, I'm bored, and we just got a new camera last night and I'm dying to take some cool photos.

SOoooo... I took a photo of my work space.


I'm in the middle of a new piece, It's a bunch of tree limbs at a funky angle cropped much wider than it is tall all just to look cool, abstract, and striking.

Otherwise, this is where i work. It's a cheap folding table from Target that is the perfect size for any of my three cutting mats, my computer, at least one cup of coffee at all times, and whatever random stuff that happens to accumulate there. As always there is a respectable pile of paper bits in various locations.

That's it. Take care

I am giving away THREE FREE $75 value anniversary Papercuts!!!

I am giving away tree free 8x10 papercuttings to celebrate the first anniverary of my marriage. The pieces are valued at $75 each and the listing for the custom papercut can be seen here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11802845

As some of you know, the first anniversary is the “paper” anniversary.

Here’s the details

I will be giving away THREE free 8x10 papercutting.

-You must nominate yourself or someone else in a comment on this blog post

-You or the nominee must be having you first wedding anniversary some time in 2008

-You must provide your wedding anniversary date

-You must tell me why you love the person you married or why the couple you nominate deserve the piece.

-I will need a fairly large image of you or the couple, preferably in a profile.

***The best three responses will each get a free piece***

I will be notifying/announcing the winners on Sunday

It's done!

Hi everyone,

I'm really happy to share this piece with you all. As stated earlier it's a papercutting of the tree Jen and I were married under exactly 51 weeks ago.


Here it is framed, and hanging in our bedroom. It's 34x18 so it's really huge!:)

Paper Anniversary

The first wedding anniversary is traditionally a gift made of paper. Well, our own one year wedding anniversary is June 16 so Joe has designed a completely awesome papercutting for it. He's working on it as we speak, actually. We were married in the Boston Public Garden and the design is branches of the tree we got married under. The frame size is 34" wide and 18" high, so it will take up a large piece of our wall, and we're going to hang it in our bedroom has the "headboard" to our bed. It's looking beautiful- I'm so excited! Will post a picture when it's finished!
Here's a picture of us last year under that big beautiful tree. My older brother is the one in the center performing the ceremony. This photo was taken by the best wedding photographer ever, Rachel Hadiashar at Merge Weddings.

3D!!!

Okay, you've seen the sketch, now here's the real thing:



I made a 3d version of the chandelier piece just to see how it would look. I really like it, but I need to work on the material since it's hard to cut because it's so thick.

I hope to make it in a variety of colors and materials since they are simple, easy to ship, and easy to put together. My intended use is some sort of simple centerpiece in smokey acryllic, or a decoration on a buffet for a fancy party or whatever. In Acryllic, it should be strong enough to put a plate on. In paper, you can attach things like actual crystals hanging below the "candels" or drape necklaces on it to make it sparkle. It's a lot of fun!

New store (?)

We're thinking about opening a new online store that would feature home furnishing type products designed with papercutting in mind. Pretty sure that this should be sold in a different place than the wall art Joe currently makes in order to give each a consistent "feel." But of course, they would still be sold on etsy.com.

The new items we'd make could include
-screen printed pillows
-acrylic laser cut table-top sculptures
-cardstock/acrylic mobiles
-adhesive vinyl wall art

They would probably be in solid bold colors, not only Joe's signature black and white. I think it'll be fun to do sleek and contemporary peices, and also to have some more tangible products that people can engage with. Joe's really going to enjoy learning to make silk screens and cut vinyl.
These are two sketches of potential acrylic/paper 3D table-top sculptures that Joe has designed. The designs would each be cut out several times and set up to fan around their centerline, creating a 3D version.

Inspiration: Wycinanki

I wanted to give an example of the international papercutting styles which inspire Joe's work. The Polish style of papercutting, Wycinanki, is a traditional folk art using hand cut paper layered to create vibrant and often colorful images. The first two images here are done by traditional Polish Papercutters, the last two are original pieces Joe created that were inspired by the traditional Polish style.Traditionally, these pieces were cut with sheep shears and often depict motifs such as roosters and floral patterns. The designs are often circular and were prominently displayed on furniture, in windows, or on barns.

Joe's interpretation of this traditional Polish style uses motifs inspired by the arts and crafts movement. He also use a circular design, and has experimented with layered colored paper. The following piece, Artichoke, is available hereThis modern American interpretation is still reminiscent of the Polish Wycinanki, but the use of different motifs and color palettes identifies it as a unique tradition. His interpretation featured below, depicts peacocks and is available here