Three Things

I've made a new papercut to donate to this weekend's fundraising auction at the annual Temple Ahavat Shalom gala (Saturday, May 31, 2014).

In Pirkei Avot 1:18 we read, "Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel tells us that the world stands upon three things: truth, justice, and peace." This papercut takes as its inspiration the journeys of friendship and giving that have sustained Mindy & Dave and Debbie & Scott, being honored at this year's gala — the ideals that make them who they are, and their commitment to tikkun olam... to fixing the world that they see on their travels.

In this papercut the world is represented supported on a foundation of these three ideals, rendered in papercut Hebrew: emet, tzedek, and shalom. It is titled "Three things," and it's backed with cut-up comics including:

The Infinite Horizon (#5, Oct 2011)
The Infinite Vacation (#5, Jan 2013)
Batman/Superman (#8, Apr 2014)
Superman (#23.3, Nov 2013)
Wonder Woman (#23.2, Nov 2013)
Justice League Europe (#2, May 1989)
Nextwave (#1, 2006)

Details on the gala can be found on the web here. If you're interested in bidding in absentia, please email here or call (818) 360-2258.


Three things
16" x 20"
Mixed media
2014

Cutting up comics - what it looks like in my studio

There's something I really enjoy about visiting artists in their studios and seeing how they work – getting a peek at the process. When a visit is tricky, seeing pix of the process is a fine stand-in. That's why I try to share the occasional photo out here with you, so you can get a glimpse of what happens in my studio.

This is what a typical comic page looks like after I've been cutting it up for one of my papercuts. What you're seeing here is a few panels from Justice, Inc. - a 1989 DC title from Andrew Helfer and Kyle Baker. I'm at work on a commission which I can't talk about publicly just yet, but I can say that the title is important and I needed a lot of blue.

You can see how I've removed certain pieces which used a variation on the same blue; I'm piecing them together in this commission to create a mosaic effect.

This is really the piece to be thrown out... but sometimes the effect of dissection creates these interesting (accidental) works in negative, and I get attached to them.

May the Fourth be with You!

Happy Star Wars Day – as a treat, I'm uploading a Zip archive of the entire "Living in These Star Wars" album from The Rebel Force Band (recorded in 1977). Download it here. It's a big file, but it's worth it. Track list:

1. Living in these Star Wars
2. Don't Fall in Love with an Android
3. Leia
4. Chewie the Rookie Wookie
5. Respirator for Darth Vader
6. Spaced Out
7. May the Force Be with You
8. The Ballad of Obi Wan (OB-1)
9. You'll Be a Warrior
10. Living in these Star Wars (Disco)