Happy 50th!

A month or so ago I completed a papercut to celebrate my Aunt's 50th as a gift from her mum and stepdad (my Great Aunt and Uncle), however since it was only her birthday last week I haven't been able to share it until now. Personally, I think it's one of my favourites to date!

The freedom I was given on this brief allowed me to try a couple of ideas and techniques I've wanted to experiment with for a while now, one of which is papercutting insect wings. I hope to do some large-scale papercut studies of butterfly, dragonfly, and bumblebee wings in the near future, and the small butterfly in this cut has further inspired me to do so!

This cut was also my first attempt at a 'floating cut' and I must admit, I'm converted! Using a sheet of acetate to sandwich the papercut against the glass via static creates the impression of a cut suspended in midair within the frame, and it looks great! This is a technique I've applied to a lot of my papercuts since this one.