A Cut Above: Emma Boyes’ Paper Creations
With a magic touch, the every-day becomes extraordinary.
It’s hard to believe that the mesmerising creations scattered across this page started life as just a single sheet of paper. With a little imagination, a sharp scalpel – and the patience of a saint – a piece of paper can be completely transformed into a work of eye-catching art. It was for this reason, that one artist fell in love with the craft of paper cutting.
When Emma Boyes first put scalpel to paper in 2010, mainly to keep the maternity leave boredom at bay, she never expected it to take on a life of its own. Almost eight years later, she is a full time paper artist, working from her studio at home in Penrith.
Emma said: “I’ve always had a bit of an obsession with paper. I had the tools already, so it was just luck really. I was looking for something to keep me sane and I picked up a piece of paper and a scalpel and started playing.”
Having always been creative Emma was always felt discouraged from pursuing art, being told there was “no money or career in it” she instead studied design at university. She was working as a designer but still trying to find her calling when she took maternity leave to have her daughter, she explained: “I always knew I would have to do something that was creative, but I’ve tried doing different things and never been able to put 100 per cent into it.
“When I was on maternity it was the first opportunity in my life where I had time away from actual work, to think about what it was I wanted to do. It was my shot and I had to make it work, that was what pushed me to do it.”
When Emma gave the paper cut to her friend as a gift, everything spiralled from there. Although make no mistake, it has been a labour of love. She added: “It’s been something that I’ve really had to work at, it’s only in the last two or three years that I’ve been earning enough money to call it my full time job. But it’s perfect because it has fit in around family life.”
Since that first paper cut, she has now made over 500 of them for customers, each one bespoke. Emma gets to know her clients personally in order to create each unique commission, she said: “With the personal pieces, they are usually made as a gift for somebody, so I ask them questions and get all the information from the customer. I like the idea that what I’m creating for them is completely original, there’ll never ever be anything like it in the world again.”
A member of the Paper Artists Collective – for those not in the know, it’s an invitation-only, international community of paper artists – Emma exhibited her work for the first time, in London last year. This led to commercial commissions from companies including Fossil (Watch Station International) and the international paper company, G F Smith, for whom she created a London landmark out of paper for their global conference.
Emma who can spend weeks working on one piece, said: “I find it really interesting, I literally just have a single sheet of flimsy paper and by drawing out a picture and using a sharp scalpel it can be completely transformed into something different. It looks so delicate, but actually it’s surprisingly strong.
“The thrill of getting to the end of something and not having made a mistake and seeing the transformation is really rewarding.”
Emma has not long finished filming in Devon for Kirstie’s Homemade Christmas, to be broadcast on Channel 4 in December, for which she was selected to join some of the UK’s most talented crafters in front of the camera. She is also working on an outdoor light structure, inspired by her paper cutting technique, for this year’s Durham Lumiere festival. As well, of course, as creating her own original masterpieces which she exhibits and sells online.
Emma admitted: “It was never meant to happen it was just one of those things that took on a life of its own.”
But as long as there’s paper to play with, she’s not complaining. She added: “It just fascinates me. It looks like nothing and yet it can be absolutely everything. It’s magic.”
www.emmaboyespapercutartandillustration.com
Share It:
