Glory, Hallelujah! The Art

Here is all the artwork from the show! This took a lot of work and so much research. I am so pleased with how it turned out. I arranged them in order of their statehood for a little educatin'. If you are interested in buying any of them, please contact Blonde Grizzly and they will be happy to help you out!

#1 Delaware
State Flower: Peach blossom
State Bird: Blue Hen Chicken
$80


#2 Pennsylvania
State Flower: Mountain laurel
Ruffed Grouse
$80

#3 New Jersey
State Flower: Purple violet
State Bird: Eastern Goldfinch
$120


#4 Georgia
State Flower: Cherokee rose
State Bird: Brown Thrasher
$80


#5 Connecticut
State Flower: Mountain laurel
State Bird: Robin
$80


#6 Massachusetts
State Flower: Mayflower
State Bird: Chickadee
$140


#7 Maryland
State Flower: Black eyed susan
State Bird: Baltimore Oriole
$80


#8 South Carolina
State Flower: Yellow jessamine
State Bird: Great Carolina Wren
$80


#9 New Hampshire
State Flower: Purple lilac
State Bird: Purple Finch
$140


#10 Virginia
State Flower: Dogwood
State Bird: Cardinal
$150



#11 New York
State Flower: Rose
State Bird: Bluebird
$140


#12 North Carolina
State Flower: Dogwood
State Bird: Cardinal
$150


#13 Rhode Island
State Flower: Violet
State Bird: Rhode Island Red
$80


#14 Vermont
State Flower: Red clover
State Bird: Hermit Thrush
$80



#15 Kentucky
State Flower: Goldenrod
State Bird: Cardinal
$80


#16 Tennessee
State Flower: Purple iris
State Bird: Mockingbird
$80


#17 Ohio
State Flower: Scarlet carnation
State Bird: Cardinal
$80


#18 Louisiana
State Flower: Magnolia
State Bird: Eastern Brown Pelican
$80


#19 Indiana
State Flower: Peony
State Bird: Cardinal
$120


#20 Mississippi
State Flower: Magnolia
State Bird: Mockingbird
$80


#21 Illinois
State Flower: Native violet
State Bird: Cardinal
SOLD


#22 Alabama
State Flower: Camellia
State Bird: Yellowhammer
$80


#23 Maine
State Flower: Pine cone & tassel
State Bird: Chickadee
$80


#24 Missouri
State Flower: Hawthorn
State Bird: Bluebird
$140


#25 Arkansas
State Flower: Apple blossom
State Bird: Mockingbird
$80


#26 Michigan
State Flower: Apple blossom
State Bird: Robin
$80


#27 Florida
State Flower: Orange blossom
State Bird: Mockingbird
$80


#28 Texas
State Flower: Bluebonnet
State Bird: Mockingbird
$140


#29 Iowa
State Flower: Wild rose
State Bird: Eastern Goldfinch
$120


#30 Wisconsin
State Flower: Wood violet
State Bird: Robin
$80


#31 California
State Flower: Golden poppy
State Bird: California Valley Quail
$140


#32 Minnesota
State Flower: Lady slipper
State Bird: Common Loon
$80


#33 Oregon
State Flower: Oregon grape
State Bird: Western Meadowlark
$80


#34 Kansas
State Flower: Native sunflower
State Bird: Western Meadowlark
$80


#35 West Virginia
State Flower: Rhododendron
State Bird: Cardinal
$80


#36 Nevada
State Flower: Sagebrush
State Bird: Mountain Bluebird
$140


#37 Nebraska
State Flower: Goldenrod
State Bird: Western Meadowlark
$140


#38 Colorado
State Flower: Columbine
State Bird: Lark Bunting
$120


#39 (or 40) North Dakota
State Flower: Wild prairie rose
State Bird: Western Meadowlark
SOLD



#40 (or 39) South Dakota
State Flower: Pasque flower
State Bird: Ring-necked Pheasant
$80


#41 Montana
State Flower: Bitterroot
State Bird: Western Meadowlark
$120


#42 Washington
State Flower: Western rhododendron
State Bird: Willow Goldfinch
SOLD


#43 Idaho
State Flower: Syringa
State Bird: Mountain Bluebird
SOLD


#44 Wyoming
State Flower: Indian paint brush
State Bird: Western Meadowlark
$80


#45 Utah
State Flower: Sego lily
State Bird: California Seagull
$140


#46 Oklahoma
State Flower: Mistletoe
State Bird: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
$80


#47 New Mexico
State Flower: Yucca
State Bird: Roadrunner
$80


#48 Arizona
State Flower: Saguaro cactus
State Bird: Cactus Wren
$80


#49 Alaska
State Flower: Forget-me-not
State Bird: Willow Ptarmigan
SOLD


#50 Hawaii
State Flower: Hibiscus
State Bird: Nene
$80


Do you have a favorite?

Glory, Hallelujah! The Show

So it came down to the wire on Friday night. I had finished all my papercuts on Thursday morning and had to frame them all that day. All 50 of them. I actually hadn't finished the largest papercut until Friday. This is me, Friday morning, finishing the United States papercut. I look trashed. My dog has overtaken the house and is destroying a cardboard tube she found lying around.


I was able to shower and get everything together by 5 and head over to the gallery. Caleb and Hillary, owners of the Blonde Grizzly, had hung most everything and we managed to complete it by 6:45 (it started at 6, my fault!). Here I am with Caleb and Hillary.


Quite a few friends came to the show. I only managed to take pictures the first 15 minutes of the show and then I totally spaced it and talked to everyone and took pictures of no one. I took pictures in my heart though. This is one of my co-workers, Natalie, and her husband Josh.


These are some more of my coworkers, Tara, and her daughter Gwen and husband Brett, and Jenny.


My old friend Keith showed up with his wife, Sarah. They are so nice and this was their first gallery stroll without their kids, so they had more time for strolling.


Yes! We had lost the Daniels family to Texas, but they got brought back into the fold. They've been placed into the giant BYU bubble for me to visit. I'm super excited.


This is me! Here are some of the cuts from the show. There were 51 in all. You know, when you say that doing 50 things isn't that big a deal, don't listen to yourself.


A wall from the show.


Closeups.


More closeups. I will put up individual ones tomorrow.


Me and my largest piece, The United States of America. I have to pat myself on the back for this one, it's kind of pretty.


A closeup of the America one.


It was a great night! Thank you to all who showed up and an extra big thank you to all who helped me get everything prepared. I loved seeing everyone. If you didn't get a chance to see it, the show is still up and will be until the next Gallery Stroll. Visit the Blonde Grizzly on 15 East 400 South Salt Lake City, UT 84111.

They are open:
Monday - Friday: 11am - 7pm
Saturday: noon - 5pm

Help!

I got an email from a woman named Kathy Russ who is in need of some help. She has had a pair of cutting scissors that she's used for years and wants to find a similar pair but she doesn't know where to find them. Here is what she said to me:

33 years ago this Christmas, a couple weeks after our marriage, my husband gave me an scherenschnitte book to cut out and a pair of scissors. The book was cut out long ago, but my scissors have finally gotten dull. I make a lot of cards with rubber stamps and love to fussy cut (a quilting term that fits, perfectly) and pop up images, probably a left over love from all those years ago. I bought some Cutter Bee's, but they are just not the same. The little cardboard holder for my scissors wore out long ago, so I can't even look on it to see who made them. Do you know where I can get another pair of these scissors?

I'm attaching a pic of the scissors. In tiny letters on side it says "Stainless Pakistan". I love these scissors, but the tips are just worn out after 33 years.

Does anyone have any information for her? I pretty much strictly use an exacto blade. What kinds of scissors do you guys use if you use scissors?

Thanks!

Cindy

Glory, Hallelujah

I'll be having a solo show at Blonde Grizzly. The show starts on August 20th and lasts until the next Gallery Stroll in September. My theme is the United States. I've been feeling pretty patriotic for some reason lately and this is what I've come up with. Here's a taste. I think I'm going to try to make flash cards.

Hawaii
State Bird: Nene
State Flower: Hibiscus

Washington
State Bird: Willow Goldfinch
State Flower: Coast Rhododendron
Virginia (for lovers)
State Bird: Cardinal
State Flower: American Dogwood

Template Tuesday - Rumpelstiltskin

So one of my more favorite fairy tales as a child was the story of Rumpelstiltskin. The fact that she could spin straw into gold AND got to marry the king was so wonderful to me. Now I have a different view of the story and wonder these things:
What kind of father tells a king that his daughter can spin straw into gold?
What kind of king believes that someone can spin straw into gold?
What kind of little craggy guy gives up his secrets just so he can have a baby?
Was the baby really the king's? Is that why Rumpelstiltskin wanted it so much? Was he teaching her more than how to spin straw?
These things I wonder and more. I also just enjoy the story.

This is what the template will look like. I tried to do a bit of a cooler one since I've kind of been neglecting Template Tuesday. I don't think there's really anything fancy to this in the creation.

Download your free Rumpelstiltskin papercut template here: Rumpelstiltskin

New London Safari

My friend Dave recently commissioned me to do a papercut for him to give to his partner. He wanted something that captured where they live, where Mark is from and one of Mark's favorite things to do. So I had the daunting task of combining New York, London and Safari into one complete papercut. I think I did pretty good. My favorite is the giraffe.

Cheshire Cat

Now available as a print on Etsy!
So, way back in December, my church had a Sub For Santa Auction. I donated a custom papercut and my friend Diane purchased it. It's taken a little while to get it together, but we finally figured out a theme and I sketched it out and cut it this last weekend. Diane liked the Alice in Wonderland papercut template I did a little bit ago and wanted something from that story. The Cheshire Cat has always been my favorite. I'm glad I was able to do this for her!

Deer Car Thriller

Last year I had the opportunity to be pen pals with some kids from my friend Rama's grade school class. They were some of the more fun experiences in papercuts that I did all year. (Dinosaur vs. Robot; Watership Down; Giant Squid Attacks a Frigate) So I got a postcard this year from a boy who drew a Maglev train. I had to look up what a Maglev train was. I figured he'd like something with more of a speed theme. So I did a speeding car jumping over a Bambi. Now, the question is, is it going to hit the deer or breeze right over it?

Humbly Kneeling, Sweet Appealing

I've been buying up dome glass thing at thrift stores a lot lately to make a series of 3D papercuts. I keep buying the domes and not using them. My church had a Relief Society dinner a few weeks ago and I needed to do a centerpiece. I thought it would be the perfect time to create something with these jars. I didn't know it was a competition and I won for most creative! My goal for all these is to do heavenly visitations, and not just those from the LDS religion. I would like to do visitations from the Old and New Testaments, from Catholic saints and from non-Christian religions. Do any of you have favorite stories of people who have had a brush with the divine?

Template Tuesday - Easter Scene

Sorry for the lack of Template Tuesdays. You know how sometimes when you have something important to do but you don't want to do it and you put it off and put it off and everything else seems to get put off along with it? That's what's going on in my head. Anyway! Easter is coming up! Such a wonderful time. Here's a little mirror image cut that you can use for a variety of things.

If you are going to cut this out by hand, the holes in the flowers, I just used a .25 and a .125" hole punch. So much easier. The trickiest part about this cut is remembering not to cut out the chicken part while it's folded. Cut out everything else (well, you can save the hole punching for last) and THEN cut out the chicken.
Purchase this template here: Easter Scene

Template Tuesday - Mermaid Anchor

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a mermaid and I believed that mermaids really did exist (part of me still does). Often, while swimming, I would pretend I was a mermaid and that my name was Brook. It's really difficult to swim with your legs together when you don't have fins. Anyway, here's a template Tuesday for all y'all who wished you were mermaids.

This is what the paper cut will look like. Fold along the dotted line. Do NOT cut out the dotted line parts that are white. DO cut out the dotted line parts that are gray. Also, remember to cut out the gray, inside areas first.
Download your free papercutting template here: Mermaid Anchor

Template Tuesday - Alice in Wonderland

Are you guys super excited for the new Alice in Wonderland to come out? I am. I kind of want to read the book before I see it though because it seems like the movie is going to be out of control and I'd like to create a few images in my head from my own imagination before having them skewed by Tim Burton. I'll probably see the movie first though. So, I thought in honor of the upcoming presentation, I'd do a little papercut of a scene from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Here she is playing croquet with a flamingo for a mallet and a hedgehog for a ball.

This is what your template will look like. Remember to cut the inside areas out first. All the inside parts are shaded gray. Then cut out the outer perimeter. Enjoy!
Download your free Scherenschnitt here: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Lost Things

Isn't this just beautiful?
Director Angela Kohler and her boyfriend Ithyle Griffiths latest work -- a little short stop-motion film with their friend Alison from A Fine Frenzy. So stunning. I kind of want to go out and dye my hair this red. Found on Black Eiffel.

Template Tuesday - Papercuts for Kids

So I get asked a lot if I have any templates for children. I generally tell people to look at my previous templates for some that are easier. Last Friday, I had to teach a workshop to little kids on how to papercut. I had made a page of templates and sent it to Dana who called me the next day and told me they were way too hard. They needed to have more round shapes and less holes on the inside. It was kind of difficult for me to tone the details down. But here is what I finally came up with. Feel free to download these and enlarge them on your computer or copier.

This was the easier sheet. I found that even some of the easy things were way too hard for some of the kids. They were small fries! Some kids had different artistic abilities, but they all were proud of their results.
Download your free easy level shape template: Easy Level


Here is the more medium page. Probably maybe even better for the beginning papercut adult artist. Give it a go!
Download your free medium level shape template: Medium Level
Thank you all for your suggestions from one of my previous posts. They were sooooooo helpful!

Here's a freebie for all you Star Wars nerds. I really tried to get Han Solo's profile just right.

Winter Wonderland - The Show

Friday's event has come and gone and it was such a wonderful success. There were a ton of people and everyone seemed to really like the show. So much work went into it by the people at the museum and I was so happy with how everything turned out.

Here I am with Dana, the artist in residence at the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. This was the first time I've ever had a sign that had my name and bio at the bottom of it. So wacky!


This was the favorite piece of the show. I called it, "What Lies Beneath." There were these two ice fishermen who had caught a small fish (I don't know, a trout? What do people catch in the wintertime?). Unbeknownst to them, there is a whole school of gruesome scary fish dwelling in the water below. Andi was the purchaser of this piece and I'm super glad because now I can come visit it every once and a while.


Dana did so much to make this show happen. She had to prod me to get things in on time and we spent a whole Saturday one weekend painting windows and walls. She even cut out these wooden animals to adorn the room.


Me. I haven't been drinking real Coke or eating excessive sweets anymore so I fit into something from Forever 21 with ease. I was pretty proud of myself. I had actually only had time to eat some cereal and a cookie that day and I almost passed out by the end of the evening. Luckily a nice boy made me dinner at his house afterwards.


Thank you all who came to the show. If you are interested in seeing it still, the gallery is open to the public from 4:30-6 on Fridays and by special appointment. It's also open on March 19th for next month's gallery stroll from 6-9.

In Utah This Week

Yay! I got featured in "In Utah This Week". Check out the article. It takes a little while to load though.

Template Tuesday - Dinoride

Finally, Valentine's is over and I can reprogram myself again to think that next year I'll have a Valentine. It will happen! Anyway, here's a boy and his dinosaur. I cut this one out and put it on pop-dots so that my paper would have more of a shadow. I think it turned out nice.


Here's how the template will look:
Download your free template of a boy with his pet dinosaur here: Dinoride

P.S. For those of you who were asking about the Mushroom Bunny and the Bike Ride templates, those links are active once more.

Dress Launderette

I am featured on the Dress Launderette blog. Check it out!