Friday, June 10, 2016

Zen Art: Paper Cut Maps


Do-Something-Everyday, June 10, 2016

I am reposting this post from a while ago.

I spent this weekend working on my paper cutting skills. One does not normally associate cutting and knife with meditation. Yet, as one spends hours and hours cutting away thin slice after thin slice of paper, one enters the same state of mindfulness and stillness that a deep meditation produces. The effect of creating the lacy concoction above was just about the same as that of thirty minutes of meditation--freeing and relaxing.

For this project, I got a nice vintage map of Rome from the Graphics Fairy. The map was in color and came with a legend. I wanted to keep both, so I did the cut on the right side. If you look carefully, you will see the Coliseum on the bottom right and St. Peter's Basilica on the top left. I used an Exacto knife with a small blade to make the tiny cuts. To add a personal touch, I added the little message at the top.






Thanks for visiting. Linked to Art-Journal-Journey

12 comments:

  1. that is super cool. I'm going to try to meditate that way ;)

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  2. Fantastic. What a labor of love. I never called my paper obsession an exercise in mediation but you know you are right it really is a mediation. Please stop by our blog the cissyandfranshow.blogspot.com.

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    1. Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. I love your blog and am a follower now.

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  3. This is beautiful, thanks so much for linking to us at AJJ, hugs, Valerie

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  4. Hi Indira, thanks for stopping by my blog. I appreciate it. Here is some info on Haiku's. Have a wonderful day and love your work.


    The three most important elements in writing a haiku are the structure of the poem, the subject matter and the poet’s word choice. While the syllabic structure of a haiku is quite simple, it is also vital to this type of poem. A syllable is a distinct, complete sound in a word. For example, “sleep” has only a single syllable, while “sleeping” has two syllables, the “sleep” sound and the “-ing” sound, and “sleepily” has three syllables: “sleep,” “-i-“ and “-ly.”

    With the proper structure in mind, choose a subject and use language that creates a complete poem in only a few words. Most haikus are written about nature or subjects that include details about weather, natural environments, and plants and animals. With only 17 total syllables allowed in a haiku, it is key to use words that evoke a mood and scene rather than going into great detail. For example, a word like “snow” not only indicates a particular object, but also evokes feelings of cold and the color white

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    1. Thank you Gloria. Will try and may be even show it to you.

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  5. WOW you really do enjoy cutting.
    Your maps are lovely and lacy and wow.
    Worrying about cutting my finger might get in the way of my meditation ;-)... sharp knives scare me a bit.

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  6. What an amazing thing to do -- and yes, I can see how cutting the map could take you into a lovely state of relaxation. Beautiful project. Hugs, Donna

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  7. What a fab cutting idea -- this looks so beautiful!
    Thank you for joining us again at Art Journal Journey!
    Happy weekend to you!
    oxo Susi

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  8. Wow! This is SO amazing! Super-intricate!!

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  9. Interesting way to cut and show a map. I love it. :) Erika

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