I’m excited to announce the opening of a new etsy shop featuring my papercut art. You can have a custom papercut artwork made for any occasion! Just visit http://lsilberman.etsy.com.
A portion of all proceeds will go to support one of my favorite local organizations, Karma Dogs. Visit http://www.karmadogs.org for more information.
Additionally, I’ve made my first sale and am working on a commission already. Very exciting.
Finally, I’ve created both a Facebook page for my artwork (http://tinyurl.com/yg327pe)and have jumped on the Twitter train. Follow me @lsilberman.
Papercutting comes in many different names: Scherenschnitte (German), Kirigami, Kiri-e, Mon-kiri or Senga (Japanese), Sen-shi, Jian zhi or Hua Yang (Chinese), Wycinanki (Polish), Mizrah (Hebrew), Papel Picado (Spanish), Decoupeur (French)or Papytomania (American English). This ancient art is seeing an exciting resurgence in the arts community. I create my papercuts a little differently from some of the traditional methods. Instead of using scissors, I use an exacto-knife to carve out my pictures from a single sheet of bristol board. I use a subtractive method, in which removing paper reveals the image. Some of my most recent cuts are below. Most of these were originally created as gifts for friends. Beneath the images are links to some of my favorite papercut artists on Etsy.
Here are a couple of images I’ve done recently for a series entitled “When I Grow Up…” This will feature various animals and what their people think they’d enjoy being in our world. If I finish the series and do anything with it, a portion of the proceeds will go towards animal rights groups.
Echo the Gangster
Echo thinks the world should stop for him,
not understanding how the chances might be slim.
He trots around as if he was tough and in charge,
Marking his territory and living quite large.
He doesn’t really need a tommy gun,
a zoot suit, or a flashy fedora,
since he can already bark, bite, and run
coupled with a wink that says “I adore ya!”
All images and writing copyright 2009 Lauren Silberman
Finley the Mountain Climber
Finley leaps to the top of sofas and tables,
Jumps across rooms and high over cables.
He pictures his paws jammed into a crag,
Breathing in clouds and birds he can tag.
Climbing to reaches where a human might plummet
As he tops Everest, K2, and Mount McKinley.
Daily, he achieves new pinnacles and new summits
“Brave, strong, – the adventurer!” they call our dog Finley.
All images and writing copyright 2009 Lauren Silberman
Daisy the Harley Girl
Everyday Daisy watches as others swarm by -
some on bikes, some in cars, and some who actually fly,
She imagines what it’d be like to go beyond fast
continuing further than her legs can currently last.
She would take the world by storm -
zooming past tall cities, clear lakes, and fields of barley;
everyone impressed by her metallic sleek form
as she blows them kisses from her brand new Harley.
All images and writing copyright 2009 Lauren Silberman
Last month, I gave a presentation at the annual meeting for the American Association of Museums in Philadelphia to a crowded room as part of the Small Museums Day. I reprised part of the talk at the monthly meeting for the Greater Baltimore History Alliance. Available here is the powerpoint and notes for those interested in learning more.
I’ve got a couple of signings for private groups coming up, but I just added a signing at Breathe Books for Tuesday, April 14 [Thanks, Susan, for catching that!] at 7pm. Breathe Books is at 810 W 36th Street in Hampden in Baltimore. Their website is www.breathebooks.com. Hope you can come!
Additionally, I’ve now added a Facebook page for The Jewish Community of Baltimore. It can be accessed here. Please join!
I’m currently serving as the publications chair for the Small Museum Association conference committee and have designed some postcards, mailers, and programs for them. In celebration of their 25th (silver) anniversary, the conference has a silver screen theme this year. These were a lot of fun to create!
I am trying out a new art form (well, new for me – actually an old art form). Commonly known as papercutting, this art is also known as “Scherenschnitte (German), Kirigami, Kiri-e, or Mon-kiri (Japanese), Sen-shi or Hua Yang (Chinese), Wycinanki (Polish), Mizrah (Hebrew), Papel Picado (Spanish), Decoupeur (French) or Papytomania (American)” (courtesy of scherenschnitte, the yahoogroups for papercutting). Here are some new pieces:
Miriam
In honor and celebration of Edgar Allan Poe’s 200th birthday: The Raven
In honor and celebration of Edgar Allan Poe’s 200th birthday: Annabel Lee
Echo, 2009
Wedding, 2009
Centaur and Rabbit, 2009
