Paper carving is a technique I developed to use oddly shaped scraps of paper instead of throwing them away. I decided to create a stop motion puppet out of the pieces, but was dissatisfied with the rough edges that resulted. After trimming, shaping, and shaving away I realized that I had relief carved the whole surface. Since then I’ve been pushing the limits of my drawing abilities, but instead of working on the surface with pigment I carve with an Xacto blade. Much like a potter working with porcelain, I love seeing the light play through a single piece of paper to reveal shapes. Working within a margin of error that’s barely a millimeter thick is an exciting challenge.

I invented the technique of paper carving on this project, a diorama inspired by the ballet Swan Lake, and also the original fairytale of The Swan Maiden. A total of forty three #11 Xacto blades were blunted to create this piece, which was assembled in a 16" x 20" shadow box. All pieces were scanned before assembly, which I then used to create an animation.

Commissioned by a client who loves flamingos, this 16" x 20" paper carving creates the illusion of the sculpted leg disappearing into the watery background.

These pieces are all naked paper with no pigment or adhesive. The shapes you see are all created with relief sculpture out of single pieces of paper. Learn more about my process by watching the time lapse video below.

Designed and carved double-sided, some of these flora also include examples before and after paint.

This 4” x 4” scorpion is carved out of a single piece of Arches 300 lb. coldpress watercolor paper and painted in the Noodler’s Ink brand UV-sensitive ink, The Blue Ghost. Mounted on a hand-painted background in an antique brass frame with bowed glass.

A gift for a doctor who helped me when I needed it most, this Caduceus is 4.5” x 2.75” and carved from a single piece of paper, painted with Noodler’s Ink, then finished with gouache.

A relief carved version of Run the Jewel’s logo started as an experiment with scale and ended with cannibalizing the chain from an old necklace. Mounted in an antique brass frame with a hand-cut matte, each hand is less than an inch long.