I have been enjoying the 'On the Download' part of the Blahg so much more that I actually get to participate in it too! Don't think for one hot second that I am not as thrilled as you are when I lay my paws on the new download from our guest artists & designers. I wanted to introduce a little more into these segments as I so love to learn about the process of designing and creating. I wanted to see if the guest designers would actually let me take more of their time by asking them silly questions and to my delight Miss Rachel kindly obliged.
Q & A WITH GUEST DESIGNER RACHEL WEBER
How did you embark on paper cutting, it's so wonderfully old world?
I sort of fell into papercutting without really knowing the longstanding history of the craft, originating in China around the 6th century and it's strong Geman roots called Scherenschnitte. I was inspired by a very cool children's book called This Little Pirate illustrated by papercut artist Amy Walrod. I wanted to make some cool original art for my daughter's room and my son's nursery so I gave it a go. It was an incredible artistic moment for me because it felt like coming home. A lot of my artistic hang ups (like being heavily revision prone!) fell to the wayside.
What made you decide to do pdf versions of your work? I have been noticing a very cool trend and I likey...
I had toyed with the idea of creating kits but I couldn't wrap my head around how it would work, like shipping supplies and paper selections. My good friend Nichole of Little Brown Pen was the ringleader of delving into this when she started up her blog Templettes geared towards downloadable do-it-yourself projects. So I came up with a few papercutting templates of themes I was retiring and then started experimenting with digital art DIY art projects, like collage art for scrapbooking and cardmakers.
What is your favorite craft or how-to book?
I'm not a big craft book reader but I find a lot of inspiration in magazines and stores and definitely blogs.
Do you have a unique tool that you have in your craft arsenal that you use?
Nothing out of the ordinary, I'm afraid. Maybe I should think outside the box more.
Do you have an image of your work area that you can share?
No! My studio is the ugliest room in my house. Sad but true. I'll describe it...old wainscotting full of large gaps and bright purple carpet from I don't know how many owners ago. Steep rooflines make for very little real estate on the walls to hang anything pretty or inspiring. It's on the very long list of projects to do in our house!
Is this a hobby or do you design full-time?
Not so easy to define. I have two kids so I can't devote full time to this but I take it too seriously to be considered a hobby. It's definitely my lifeline to a sense of self.
Are you coming out with anything new you would like me to talk about?
I'm looking to make more a distinction between art and craft for my papercuts...they are going to get less decorative and more dark and twisty. For Along the Dotted Line, I'm going to be working on vector art posters for people to print themselves.
And the moment y'all been waiting for...The Download revealed:
Rachel has made the sweetest set of downloadable gift tags, with four different designs they are sure to be your go-to for gift giving galore.
Thank you Rachel!
