Joe Bagley
1.What methods do you use to produce a papercut design?
I do all my designs in the computer using a Photoshop and a Wacom Tablet from photos. This allows me to create the designs down to the tiniest detail before ever cutting them. I print all my designs and use the print as a pattern. Each of my pieces are cut with an older-style xacto swivel knife and mounted with an archival silicon adhesive.
2. What is it about paper that drives you to use it as a medium?
I’ve been papercutting since I was 10. I believe that paper is not an intimidating medium, and at a young age I felt completely comfortable and confident working with it, unlike painting or sculpture. It’s easy to use, inexpensive, and readily available. I think that people are so familiar with paper, they have none of the preconceived notions that using it as an artistic medium takes special training or materials. I’ve never gotten into painting because I thought I needed to learn how to paint. I never thought I needed to learn how to cut paper, I did that in kindergarten. I just had to figure out how to make the designs I had in my head work out in paper.
3. When creating a paper design, do you first illustrate/layout the composition using traditional illustrative material or go straight to paper and why do you do so?
If I have any technical artistic skill, it’s in photography and Photoshop. Photoshop especially. My style of drawing is mimicking. I want exact replicas of the scene I’m drawing and struggle to draw abstractly. I truly admire people who can sketch or draw things from memory. I use Photoshop to compose the scene I’m working on as it gives me complete control over all aspects of the design before I commit to the cutting of the piece. I know exactly what the finished piece will look like before ever cut a single hole in the paper. All I need is confidence that I can complete the piece and I’m able to cut any design I create in the computer. I know the more nervous I am about cutting the design, the better it is.
4. What is it about paper cutting that you enjoy most?
I like the fact that this medium seems so open and new that if I do something new, it’s actually new. I don’t feel like I’m trying to stay in a certain historic style, so I feel like I'm creating my own unique style that will hopefully be recognized by future papercutters. It’s having complete freedom to do what I want to do with the inspiration I find.
5. How do you feel paper cutting is viewed as an illustrative method?
Do you think it is viewed as an art, as design, a craft etc.. Interesting question. I guess I have to admit I don’t know the official definition of “illustration” (never set foot in an art class since 7th grade) so I may miss the point of the question, but I believe paperutting is being viewed by the general public as an interesting take on a common material that people don’t look at as an art medium, and is therefore interesting. It’s the same as Lego, chocolate, gum, and stick art, all of which seem to be pretty popular online and in the news lately. I definitely think people think what I do, and what others who are showing their work off in any kind of artistic location, makes people think of it as art (almost by association), but any of the more traditional styles (scherenschnitte, wycinanki, papel picado) is looked at as folk art. Any paper art done by a person in a non artistic setting (at home, unframed, etc) is looked at as craft because of its setting. I hope that makes sense. It’s all marketing, presentation, and creating a sense of art. Not the kind of art that gets appreciated in the studio, it’s all in the show; the spectacle.
6. Do you feel traditional layout & typography have an influence on your designs? If so, in what way?
Not sure about typography, mostly as I have done very few text pieces and mostly they were done on a whim in 15 minutes or less in a non-threatening font that people may purchase. I totally admit to doing some things just for their easy market appeal, which helps me pay the bills and be able to continue creating what I want without completely compromising my more collector-aimed work. I did those for personal fun and offered them for sale in the hope that others may find them fun and purchase. I think layout is extremely important in my work as I know that with only two colors, most of the impact of my pieces from across the room (where you can’t tell it’s paper yet) is due to layout and design. If I can’t sell it from across the room, I won’t be able to sell it up close due to the impressiveness of the cutwork. It also makes me proud to see one of my own pieces and think it looks really cool, regardless of the medium.
7. Do you find hand drawn illustration of importance to development of your papercut work?
Definitely, but again, I rely more on the digital manipulation over hand-drawing, though I do many minor adjustments with hand-drawn techniques and often tweek the piece with a pen as I cut it. I guess the hand drawn aspects to be the parts that really make or break the piece. If the minor details and connections that hold the pieces aren’t right, I won’t like the piece on the wall and will wonder why I made the choices I did while cutting the piece.
8. What do you find influences your designs?
I’m definitely seeing a nautical theme to my pieces, mostly because I grew up on the coast and those things really appeal to me. Style-wise, I like to read about art in the sense of what makes a great piece great and try to incorporate that into my work: rule of thirds, balance of highs and lows, and layout structure that is appealing to the eye. I notice many of my pieces have a very strong triangular shape to them.
9. Which of your projects do you feel most proud of and why?
I really like my 18x24 ropes piece. When I was designing it, I really played a lot with the light areas and dark areas adjusting them individually to make the perfect balance of the rope, water, and dock texture. I look at that piece and I feel like I nailed it. It’s also the piece I get a lot of feedback from friends and family so I think it’s received well too, which is always nice.
10. As papercutting is becoming quite popular, how do you see its progression in the future?
I feel like there is a transition from taking paper and making art from it, and having an art piece that happens to be made from paper. I think we will see more people realizing paper works with their style and ideas for designs/art and will start using it more, unlike with historic pieces, where paper was the primary point, and the art was almost secondary. I hope that makes sense.
11. Do you have any current interesting projects coming up that you can talk about?
Lots in my head and a bunch that are already designed, just not cut yet, but the custom pieces are keeping me busier than I wish I was so I’m having a hard time finding time to do the large detailed pieces I really enjoy making. I do like the income and paying my rent with my art earnings, but hopefully I’ll find a better balance. I don’t want to do silhouettes full time, but if people are paying me, I need to pay attention. Don’t have the luxury of forgoing income sources.
1.What methods do you use to produce a papercut design?
I do all my designs in the computer using a Photoshop and a Wacom Tablet from photos. This allows me to create the designs down to the tiniest detail before ever cutting them. I print all my designs and use the print as a pattern. Each of my pieces are cut with an older-style xacto swivel knife and mounted with an archival silicon adhesive.
2. What is it about paper that drives you to use it as a medium?
I’ve been papercutting since I was 10. I believe that paper is not an intimidating medium, and at a young age I felt completely comfortable and confident working with it, unlike painting or sculpture. It’s easy to use, inexpensive, and readily available. I think that people are so familiar with paper, they have none of the preconceived notions that using it as an artistic medium takes special training or materials. I’ve never gotten into painting because I thought I needed to learn how to paint. I never thought I needed to learn how to cut paper, I did that in kindergarten. I just had to figure out how to make the designs I had in my head work out in paper.
3. When creating a paper design, do you first illustrate/layout the composition using traditional illustrative material or go straight to paper and why do you do so?
If I have any technical artistic skill, it’s in photography and Photoshop. Photoshop especially. My style of drawing is mimicking. I want exact replicas of the scene I’m drawing and struggle to draw abstractly. I truly admire people who can sketch or draw things from memory. I use Photoshop to compose the scene I’m working on as it gives me complete control over all aspects of the design before I commit to the cutting of the piece. I know exactly what the finished piece will look like before ever cut a single hole in the paper. All I need is confidence that I can complete the piece and I’m able to cut any design I create in the computer. I know the more nervous I am about cutting the design, the better it is.
4. What is it about paper cutting that you enjoy most?
I like the fact that this medium seems so open and new that if I do something new, it’s actually new. I don’t feel like I’m trying to stay in a certain historic style, so I feel like I'm creating my own unique style that will hopefully be recognized by future papercutters. It’s having complete freedom to do what I want to do with the inspiration I find.
5. How do you feel paper cutting is viewed as an illustrative method?
Do you think it is viewed as an art, as design, a craft etc.. Interesting question. I guess I have to admit I don’t know the official definition of “illustration” (never set foot in an art class since 7th grade) so I may miss the point of the question, but I believe paperutting is being viewed by the general public as an interesting take on a common material that people don’t look at as an art medium, and is therefore interesting. It’s the same as Lego, chocolate, gum, and stick art, all of which seem to be pretty popular online and in the news lately. I definitely think people think what I do, and what others who are showing their work off in any kind of artistic location, makes people think of it as art (almost by association), but any of the more traditional styles (scherenschnitte, wycinanki, papel picado) is looked at as folk art. Any paper art done by a person in a non artistic setting (at home, unframed, etc) is looked at as craft because of its setting. I hope that makes sense. It’s all marketing, presentation, and creating a sense of art. Not the kind of art that gets appreciated in the studio, it’s all in the show; the spectacle.
6. Do you feel traditional layout & typography have an influence on your designs? If so, in what way?
Not sure about typography, mostly as I have done very few text pieces and mostly they were done on a whim in 15 minutes or less in a non-threatening font that people may purchase. I totally admit to doing some things just for their easy market appeal, which helps me pay the bills and be able to continue creating what I want without completely compromising my more collector-aimed work. I did those for personal fun and offered them for sale in the hope that others may find them fun and purchase. I think layout is extremely important in my work as I know that with only two colors, most of the impact of my pieces from across the room (where you can’t tell it’s paper yet) is due to layout and design. If I can’t sell it from across the room, I won’t be able to sell it up close due to the impressiveness of the cutwork. It also makes me proud to see one of my own pieces and think it looks really cool, regardless of the medium.
7. Do you find hand drawn illustration of importance to development of your papercut work?
Definitely, but again, I rely more on the digital manipulation over hand-drawing, though I do many minor adjustments with hand-drawn techniques and often tweek the piece with a pen as I cut it. I guess the hand drawn aspects to be the parts that really make or break the piece. If the minor details and connections that hold the pieces aren’t right, I won’t like the piece on the wall and will wonder why I made the choices I did while cutting the piece.
8. What do you find influences your designs?
I’m definitely seeing a nautical theme to my pieces, mostly because I grew up on the coast and those things really appeal to me. Style-wise, I like to read about art in the sense of what makes a great piece great and try to incorporate that into my work: rule of thirds, balance of highs and lows, and layout structure that is appealing to the eye. I notice many of my pieces have a very strong triangular shape to them.
9. Which of your projects do you feel most proud of and why?
I really like my 18x24 ropes piece. When I was designing it, I really played a lot with the light areas and dark areas adjusting them individually to make the perfect balance of the rope, water, and dock texture. I look at that piece and I feel like I nailed it. It’s also the piece I get a lot of feedback from friends and family so I think it’s received well too, which is always nice.
10. As papercutting is becoming quite popular, how do you see its progression in the future?
I feel like there is a transition from taking paper and making art from it, and having an art piece that happens to be made from paper. I think we will see more people realizing paper works with their style and ideas for designs/art and will start using it more, unlike with historic pieces, where paper was the primary point, and the art was almost secondary. I hope that makes sense.
11. Do you have any current interesting projects coming up that you can talk about?
Lots in my head and a bunch that are already designed, just not cut yet, but the custom pieces are keeping me busier than I wish I was so I’m having a hard time finding time to do the large detailed pieces I really enjoy making. I do like the income and paying my rent with my art earnings, but hopefully I’ll find a better balance. I don’t want to do silhouettes full time, but if people are paying me, I need to pay attention. Don’t have the luxury of forgoing income sources.