Modern Papercut door sign

[sophieangele]

Hi,

I've been experimenting with trying to make my papercuts a bit more modern and funky looking, while still keeping a Jewish flavour. Here's one I'm very pleased with - it's a door sign for my friend Tikva (I've edited out their surname).

It's made from a wooden sign black, gessoed and painted, with a black paper papercut placed on top of the gessoed surface. Alas, I have to make another now - after this photo was taken, I experimented with varnishing it, which it did not like one tiny bit. So back to the beginning again...




Anyway, what do you think? How is the composition? Is the black and white contrast too sharp? Does it look too traditional still, or is it successful at looking more modern? How is the technique? Is it tidy enough?

 I'd really like to hear your opinions on it - I'm really trying to improve my papercutting.


Edit - oh, I should probably list the 'symbols' I tried to include for their new home-

Dove of Peace for Shalom Bayis (domestic peace)
Pomegranate (lots of Jewish symbolism there - mitzvot, good deeds, fruitfulness, etc)
Star of David (Jewish)
Fish (Mizrachi symbol of good luck)
Eyes (to protect from the Evil Eye)
Hamsa/hand (protective)
Wheat  (one of the 'Seven Species' of Israel, where they live, + fruitfulness/fertility - they're newlyweds)

[LadybugsAndBumblebees]

I LOVE it!  The color, the papercutting, everything!  The only thing I would change, is moving the Hebrew words down a little bit so they are more centered.  But that's it!

[sophieangele]

I LOVE it!  The color, the papercutting, everything!  The only thing I would change, is moving the Hebrew words down a little bit so they are more centered.  But that's it!

Thanks!

Ah, there is actually a word further down in that gap - their surname -  so that the whole thing is centered, but I photoshopped it out because I didn't want to put my friend's whole name and surname out on the internet for all to see - if you look closely you can see it's a bit weird looking there.

[melissanorth]

I like it, and finding the hidden pictures/symbols is fun. If you want them to stand out more maybe you could overlay in a different colour or add background fill-in parts. I don't think it's too stark, but a dove grey, or a pale blue version might look good too. Did you just draw it and cut it out from paper/card witha craft knife? I'm in awe.

[HSG]

This is just beautiful! 

Would say you certainly have achieved the papercut with the modern flair. It is a wonderful mix of tradition and with a new spin. The black and white is very crisp and clean looking, which adds to the modern part.

Love it, and would love to have one for my home!

[aisy]

This will definetly be wisted once I get on my computer- lovely work!

[librarylover]

Awesome! I wouldn't change a thing!

[sophieangele]

Thanks guys

I'm so bummed about the varnish disaster I haven;t been able to find a replacement wooden blank, so I'm trying to make one myself out of card and gesso and it doesn't look as good, so I may have to redo the whole thing. We'll see. On the other hand, the new cardboard blank is going to be much lighter than the wood, which might work out better - here in Israel, the doors are usually metal, so you can fix things on your door with magnets. That might be good, as it means it would be easy for them to take with them if they moved house (another thing that happens a lot here). We'll see...

Anyone got any tips about varnishing this type of thing in such a way that it doesn't ruin it? All the ink in the paper ran, it was a total disaster I did ask the lady in the shop for advice, and she recommended this varnish, but to no avail

[digital misfit]

I love this piece.  I was picking out the symbolic images even before I finished reading your post
The detail is amazing!
I think it is a beautiful combination of modern and traditional.

I am SO sorry to hear about the varnish disaster.

I would try using a spray varnish on JUST the papercut prior to affixing it to the wood base.  Then varnish the whole thing again.  The first coat of dried varnish on the paper may prevent dye bleeding.

[sophieangele]

I am SO sorry to hear about the varnish disaster.

I would try using a spray varnish on JUST the papercut prior to affixing it to the wood base.  Then varnish the whole thing again.  The first coat of dried varnish on the paper may prevent dye bleeding.

Thanks, that is such a great idea! I will experiment a bit and see if this works. You are awesome!