Paper cutting love

I mentioned awhile back that I was digging scherenschnitte - the European art of paper cutting. Besides being a fun word to say, it really plucks the strings of my designer's heart.

Here's a silhouette of our youngest I drew and cut in 2008. While not technically scherenschnitte, don't you love the little intricate details, the bold graphic reduction of a complex object? Mmm. It's very close to how logo design works. The aim is a readable shape or image with good balance between complex and simple shapes.

The other reason I love this fancy papercutting stuff is because it's essentially lace - paper lace! Lace shows up everywhere in my life: iron grille lace, lace floral designs on wax candles, lace knitting, even in my cooking!