When I was in my youth one of my hobbies was stamps collecting. I spend hours studying, arranging and rearranging my stamps. For me, each little piece of paper was like a miniature art work. Some really captured my imagination … Continue reading
It was a year ago; I started to use shopping bags to make art:
Last Christmas I went to the shopping mall, Eaton Center which is near my studio to take photos of the Christmas display. When I was there, I noticed shoppers would discard their shopping bags as soon as they exit the stores.
An idea came to me to give them a new life, I gather a handful of the bags and used for my paper cutting.
With each bag I would incorporated my design with their logo and some are my favors because of their logo.
One of them is the MAC Cosmetic bag with the yellow inside which really add a glow to my finished paper cut. I always get excited whenever finding the MAC bag in the garbage bins.
Here is a little review of my MAC bags make over from last year.
I just finished my latest commissioned painting and have some free time on hand; I decided to have some fun and make some one of a kind Christmas gifts.
This Christmas bookmark is made from a large Starbucks coffee cup, the string is from an old calendar. Perfect for the book loves I know.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Starbucks bookmark
For the one who has everything this is my hand-cut one of a kind bookmarks from a recently discarded Starbucks coffee cups just in time for the season of giving.The bookmark still have a slight scent of coffee.
During the recent move of my studio, I unearthed some of my old art works which were done my art school days. One of them were the little booklets of how to use the school l library. One day, I found them outside the library in a boxful of them as discard. They are less than six inch square with twelve pages. I immediately attracted to them because of the size and picked up a large handful as not to let them end up in the landfill.
I created a different screen images for each page and printed in one color except for the centerfold with two. My finished remade booklets were popular with my classmate which I had given most away.
I was delighted to found the few remaining copies of the booklet in my studio. Right away, I wanted to give it another make over.
My slow studio move took over six months started in winter, spring and into summer. During these times, each night after supper for relaxation I would work on my paper cut on the little booklet. Sometimes, I would worked on it few night in a row but then stopped for days or even week without touching it.
Eventually when my move was done I was able to finished the little booklet as well.
paper cut on book
When I was in art school, I majored in print making. I had stacks of hand pull prints from that period; some are etchings but mostly are silk screen prints. I never sold any of them and no one has seen them since I graduated from art school. I just treat them as part of my ever expanding works. I had no intention of discarding them so they came with me for all my moves. Finally, last year, I started to remake them to my current art. At first, I used them for paper sculptures and cards
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Yesterday, I found this one which I had already cut into narrow strip among some of my old works. The piece is 5”x17” with a dark brown and blues.
Right away I see the blue area in the print looks like a koi swimming in the pond. I turned it into a paper cut which took almost a whole day to finish. The first one is the original print before and the one below is the finished piece.
The long winter is finally over, my Starbucks Doggie felt it was safe to venture outside without his heavy winter coat this afternoon.
At first, he wanted to stop and smell the spring flowers which just freshly open, he carefully tip toe among them and glad they had survived the winter snow.
He was over-joy with the warmer weather, he jump with such joy almost to the top of the tree. He jump up so high almost as high as the CN Tower.
After he settle down, he went to the St. George the Martyr Anglican Church at the end of John Street He marvel at the old tower which has remain still after the big fire at 195.5.
As he walk along John street he kept running into his neighbors and they all greet him with warm smile. He couldn’t help but took some selfie with the CN Tower.
Our bunny found not one but two Easter eggs, one is chocolate!
Happy Easter to all!
(I made this bunny with the Starbucks holiday cups and the background is one of my watercolors.)
Today, Jan 21 is national squirrel appreciation day. let’s celebrate those cute animals however they don’t make good house guests.
Here is my Squirrel post card with its own stamps watercolor with stamps, 5.5″x7″
This one is a paper cut on a coffee bag, 4.5″x12″
Another watercolor on paper, 5.5″x7″
this one is a paper cut on a shopping bag
Today, November 11 is Remembrance Day here in Canada. It is a day to pay tributes to ones who gave their lives in the wars.
Although none from my family went to the wars but many of my parents’ family members has lost everything including their lives because of it. Many are like us has their live changed and needed to escape to a more peaceful country. Today, I think of the ones were not as lucky as I am and had to experienced the horrors and the pains of the war.
I made the paper cut poppy on this shopping bag because the red poppy is a symbol for Remembrance in Canada.
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