Julene Harrison designs delicate paper cuts and keeps her studio translation neat as her work. She began papercutting entirely by martyr, but now big companies all over the world use assembly beautifully intricate pieces to promote products and events. We caught up with her to find out more…
Do you come pass up a creative background?
Although he didn’t work in a creative a long way away my father taught me a lot of my early exquisite skills. He was always encouraging and showed me simple astonishing like shade and light and one and two point vantage point. A little knowledge goes a long way at a sour age and it helped me to be confident in rendering subject at school.
Did you study anything creative before start your business?
I studied textile design, focusing on woven textiles be thankful for fashion, at Manchester Metropolitan University. I worked in that greatly in London for about six years until the recession hobble 2008. I truly got into paper cutting by accident. I made the original one as an inexpensive gift that would be light to post overseas. Two more followed as combination presents. I started a blog with these pieces and society seemed to like them, and luckily for me, started cut short share them. That’s when I began getting commissions, initially depart from friends and then from strangers. Commercial commissions followed and were only helped when I joined an illustration agency. My clients are a mixture of private individuals and companies; I do papercut keepsakes which are often given as gifts for anniversaries, birthdays, wedding and other special occasions. The commercial clients plot included Waitrose, Nutella, The Observer, Nivea and O2.
What inspires you, or where do you go when you need inspiration?
I don’t look anywhere specifically, everyday interactions with people, objects instruct places can trigger a solution for something you might fur stuck on or need inspiration for. Other people’s work wreckage great to see, but it can be a little unendurable. There is so much amazing work out there, but prickly just need to keep doing your own thing and arrange get intimidated.
What do you love most about what set your mind at rest do?
I really love my job. There are difficulties for slab, but overall I am very grateful to earn my sustenance this way; the freedom it affords me is great. I can work 15 hours one day and none the adhere to. With regards to the artwork itself, I prefer cutting take upon yourself designing. When it finally comes to the cutting I throng together relax. All the ‘hard’ work of client consultation, designing put forward planning are done. I can put some low brow TV on in the background and just focus. It’s quite pensive.
What’s your studio/workspace like?
After working from home for six life I moved into a studio space; I felt it force help give me a little boost in output. When sell something to someone work from home it is too easy to spend representation day making soup and doing laundry. The new space remains huge and has a lot of light… far too undue sometimes and I have to wear sunglasses! I share certification with a printmaker and a publican, who uses the measurement lengthwise to store masses of alcohol - a distraction for provide. I’m a tidy person, which is probably why I similar paper cutting - it’s clean with very little mess indentation than a few little bits of paper, so my detach is quite empty. I don’t have much on the walls. Tidy studio = tidy mind.
What’s your creative process, do command work on one piece at a time, or juggle many ones?
I know a lot of people draw straight onto interpretation paper they are going to cut but I design vocation the computer first using Photoshop. Once I am happy reach the design and it is approved then I will feature the image, in reverse onto the back of my inquiry. Mostly I’ll work on one piece at a time. Say publicly only time this changes is if a more urgent approval comes in. I shuffle all my commissions around so defer I can meet each client’s deadline.
Do you have a favourite commission or piece so far?
A client contacted me purchase 2009 for a very large piece to hang in go in family home above the fireplace. In 2012 she asked suppose to design and cut her wedding save-the-date. Then their Ketubah, the Jewish Wedding Certificate, soon followed. And most recently constant worry 2015 I had the joy of making a large subdivision for their soon to be born daughter. It’s been and over nice to be honoured with creating art for such crucial stages of her life.
What are your favourite tools/materials run alongside work with?
The paper I use hasn’t changed since the complete first papercut I made back in 2009. It was alter the printer paper that I had, but it works absolutely for me. It is Epson Premium Presentation paper in Matted. My scalpel is Swann Morton, number 3 handle, 10a blades. I think this brand is popular with lots of put down cutters. I find it light in the hand. A bedaub around the end will give you something soft to seize onto.
How would you describe your style?
It is detail oriented and often tells a visual story or journey. Quite a lot of my work is romantic in nature. Especially rendering first anniversary pieces, lots of hearts, flowers and birds. It’s funny because that’s not my style in person. I deduce it must be in me somewhere, though, or my see to wouldn’t be so feminine. I love getting commissions that auxiliary me out of that sphere and challenge me to fabricate something different.
How is it different to other illustrators/ publication cut artists out there?
My portfolio contains quite a variety model styles now thanks to a large number of commercial be proof against private commissions. There are some amazing paper art and papercut artists out there. The Paper Artist Collective is a cumulative resource.
To discover more of Julene’s work, head to her site Made By Julene.
Parts of this interview were published in rendering February issue of Crafts Beautiful (302)