Thursday, June 9, 2011

Good On Paper

I mentioned Olly Moss' amazing art show "Paper Cuts" a few weeks ago on FB, and if you haven't seen it yet, you're going to love scrolling through (there's got to be over a hundred) and seeing how many iconic 80s characters, cartoons, and various super heroes' silhouettes you recognize.

For example:

He reminds me of the babe.

This = instant nostalgia.


And how sweet is this one?

Awww.

(Ok, so they're not all from the 80s.)

Like traditional silhouettes, those are all cut paper, (ergo the show name) which is what makes the tiny details so amazing.

Also amazing is Meghan Stratman's art project "Nerd Love: 52 weeks of paper fandom," which is nothing short of spectacular when you realize her pieces are also made with paper.

Here are a few of my favorites (so far):

Chell!

Harley Quinn!

And everyone's favorite Big Sister!

Seriously - just look at that detail. Amazing.

Meghan is only up to week 20, so be sure keep track of her progress over on her blog. As a bonus, the original pieces are available for sale, so if you're quick you might score one of your very own! (Although if she does a Ghostbusters one: DIBS.)


And finally, Brittney Lee takes paper cutting art to the next level - by making it 3D:

The snowflakes in her Edward Scissorhands tribute pop off the page like fireworks - gorgeous!

Scroll through Lee's blog, and you'll find that every piece is more breathtaking than the last:

And this is just the close-up. Wait'll you see the whole thing!
Lee's combination of painting and paper cuttings is simply magical - but her 2D art isn't half bad, either:
I love the shades of Mary Blair here - so wonderfully retro! And unlike the 3D pieces, you can buy this one at Lee's Etsy store.

Oh, and I know it's not geeky, but this one never fails to makes me smile:

SO. CUTE.

And how great would it be in 3D? Eh? (Brittney? Eh? Hint hint?)


So, guys, which is your favorite? Any other great and geeky paper artists I should know about?

35 comments:

  1. Two of my favorites (yet very different from one another) ~ Yulia Brodskaya and Brian Dettmer

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  2. do you know if the "paper cuts" are for sale. because i LOVE them:)

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  3. Oh how adorbz!!! I had a blast looking through all those silhouettes when I first saw them. Scully and Mulder was definitely one of my favs. :D

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  4. I love the "Where in the World is Carmen?" Just fantastic!

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  5. I have Brittney Lee's "Paris Print" up in my bedroom. (http://www.etsy.com/listing/59940048/paris-print) She does stuff for Disney and her work makes me swoon it's so gorgeous!!

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  6. EDIT! I didn't use my html cheatlast time:

    I have Brittney Lee's "Paris Print" up in my bedroom. She does stuff for Disney and her work makes me swoon it's so gorgeous!!

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  7. One sheet of paper sculptures by Peter Callesen are amazing...

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  8. Oooo I love them all. Especially the Up one.

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  9. Thanks for featuring my art! I hadn't seen Brittney Lee's work before - it's spectacular! Thanks for sharing. :)

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  10. They all are really great. As someone who has almost zero artistic ability, I am always amazed at how talented some people are.

    The silhouette at the top of my blog page was done by an artist who cut the image from paper ... no drawing. It is my 3 children ... and what most people don't know is that it a perfect likeness to all three.

    One artist I'm constantly amazed by is John Pugh who does the 3D murals.

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  11. Oooooh, love the Harry Potter/Voldemort paper cut.

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  12. My 5 yr old went gaga for the Ms. Pacman/Pacman paper cuts.

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  13. I am in awe of the gorgeous red dragon Brittney Lee posted back on Nov. 20, 2009

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  14. I wish the kitty with the balloons was a cross stitch kit. That would make me happy! :D

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  15. My father and I had loads of fun going through Paper Cuts and trying to see is we could think who the silhouettes are of.

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  16. I love unconventional art like this. It's amazing what people can do with things like paper. I'm officially in love with Brittany Lee's work. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  17. Um, hands down, Jareth and the adorable floating kitty :) Thanks so much for sharing!

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  18. As I posted on Olly Moss's site:

    These are beautiful. Unfortunately, I find the lack of identifications frustrating. It is possible I am simply missing some of the pop-culture references obvious to people ten or twenty years younger than me (I feel suddenly old at 43), but in many of these cases this feels like an inside joke from which I am being excluded.

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  19. There's no graceful way to say it, so I'll just say it.
    I make pretty paper things too!

    my latest nerdy thing and my latest more intense paper cut.

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  20. Wow! The Little Mermaid one just brought back most of my elementary school love for mermaids. *sigh* Love it!

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  21. So great! We went ahead and ordered from Brittney Lee's Etsy shop. Thanks for the heads up!

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  22. I'm a sucker for anything mermaid. LOVE MERMAIDS! I always have. :)

    I'm also a huge Tim Burton fan.

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  23. I wouldn't normally do this... but this IS a post about paper and art and geekiness.... So maybe you'll be interested. I made the Dawn Treader out of pages from my paperback Narnia book. I've had it for six years and the binding totally fell apart.... So this was born:
    http://kaylen-false.tumblr.com/post/6079711015/i-made-the-dawn-treader-out-of-pages-from-my

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  24. These are beautiful! I love the way Ariel's hair seems to flow.

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  25. It's not paper, but it is cameo. I recently had the fantastic opportunity to sit for a commissioned cameo by Amy Houser at the Steampunk World Fair in New Jersey. She captured the look of myself and my girlfriend perfectly, and she was fantastically friendly to boot. She's got an Etsy page here. It would be just the thing to pull together a steampunk room, don't you think?

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  26. I first saw the link to Brittney Lee earlier today here and coincidentally, she's an artist I think you'd love! Not exactly 3D art, but you can't say it's not stunning! And it's all traditional! This should seal the deal anyway

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  27. The silhouettes are amazing! Who knew how many fictional characters could be easily recognized that way? (And how ashamed am I at recognizing the cast of Saved by the Bell?!?)

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  28. The Carmen Sandiego paper cut made my jaw drop. I loved that show as a kid, and beat the computer game.

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  29. I wish the paper cuts had a key or something so I could figure out the ones that are stumping me. However, it has been fun to scroll through and be ridiculously happy to see characters like Guybrush Threepwood, Pinky and the Brain, and Ferris Bueller and Cameron. :-)

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  30. I was completely honored when you posted about my paper robots a while back (http://www.epbot.com/2010/09/world-of-geekcraft.html)!

    Since that post, I've done two more robots and a ship, if you'd like to see them: http://rachemc125.deviantart.com/gallery/
    And more are definitely on the way!

    Also, you asked if ever I was to think about selling them, or start making kits to let you know...Well, plans are in the works! :)

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  31. If you like paper art you should check out http://artbymcbrandon.blogspot.com
    One of my doctors has a bunch of her pieces so I've seen them in person, the tiny details are absolutely AMAZING!!

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  32. The artists that you feature never fail to amaze me. I made a piece using paper way back in high school art class, but it was nowhere near as complex, or fun subject-wise, as these. Nicely done.

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  33. Had to go check out her site having not even read your full post. Gald I'm not the only one that sees Mary Blair in her influences. :) LOVE Mary Blair.

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  34. For a different sort of paper art, check out Won Park's dollar bill origami - he's done both the Millenium Falcon and the Enterprise, along with an assortment of other ships, not to mention his other dollar folds.

    Won also does cosplay, and you can see him in his steampunk regalia on this page.

    Oh, and he doesn't live in a garbage truck. Really. :)

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