Cut Out

The aspect that got me the most from seeing the Matisse Cut-Outs exhibition at the Tate Modern was the manner in which he wielded his scissors; it's amazing to see old colour footage of such a renowned artist for starters and seeing the way he worked. The exhibition holds a wealth of his later art works, including a few paintings too and what I took away was the vibrancy of colours and the scale of some of his later pieces, carried out when Matisse's health was failing. This video from the Culture Show (part 1 and part 2) gives even more background to the story. Definitely go and see it - they say this is a one in a lifetime chance to see such a large collection of Matisse's cut outs in one exhibition...

Video source

Paper Icicles

In December, Helen, Lucy and I went to a paper cutting workshop as part of the Paper at the Cutting Edge exhibition that we had visited the previous month at the Manchester Art Gallery. The workshop was run by Andy Singleton and we created icicle-like forms, using the scalpel like a pen cutting and scoring shapes in the white card. I planned to make a garland of icicles as Christmas decorations but maybe next year!

Paper Cinema

Last night we went to see The Paper Cinema's production of Homer's The Odyssey at the Contact Theatre in Manchester. It was the last of the tour dates, and we got the last three tickets, and I am so glad we did. The live performance is created with live ink drawing and moving hand drawn and cut-out illustrations, all to live music created by three musicians alongside the two puppeteers. It was  feast for the eyes, watching the projection on screen, or the moving pieces, or the music makers. The whole experience was fantastic (the video gives you an idea of the splendour) and I hope to see some more Paper Cinema when they're next on tour.

Video by The Difference Machine

Cut Paper

After brunch at Kim By The Sea, Hannah and I headed to the Manchester Art Gallery to visit the Paper at the Cutting Edge exhibition. Who knew the wonderful things that can be created by paper and a scalpel! We were particularly enamoured by Anderson M Studio's stop motion films, Sarah Bridgeland's 1950s inspired pieces and Rob Ryan's massive and beautiful paper cut. We've been very much inspired!