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Artist Delicately Cuts Paper to Mimic the Intricate Beauty of Fluid Ink Drawings

Paper Cut Art

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In the right hands, an X-ACTO knife can be as precise as a newly sharpened pencil. Japanese artist Kiri Ken, aka Cutting Sword, masterfully demonstrates this fact with his intricate paper cutting art. The delicate creations feature the likes of sea creatures and human portraiture with incisions so fine that they mimic the fluidity of an inked drawing.

Ken’s cut paper art technique is nothing short of impressive. To produce these intricate designs, he extracts the entire image from a single sheet of origami paper. This requires not only a steady hand, but an incredible amount of patience; with one slip of his wrist, the tiny links and lines could be broken and his hard work marred.

The fragility of Ken’s compositions is not lost on his many fans, and he keeps an open, conversational dialogue with them through Twitter. In addition to sharing his projects on the social media platform, he also recommends tools and paper to use if they want to try cut paper art for themselves.

Kiri Ken creates paper cutting art that mimics the precision and fluidity of intricate ink drawings.

Paper Cutting Artist Kiri Ken

Paper Cut Art

Kiri Ken Cut Paper Art

Paper Cutting Artist Kiri Ken

Paper Cutting Artist Kiri Ken

Paper Cutting Artist Kiri Ken

Paper Cutting Art by Kiri Ken

Paper Cutting Art by Kiri Ken

Paper Cutting Art by Kiri Ken

Kiri Ken Cut Paper Art

Kiri Ken Cut Paper Art

Kiri Ken Cut Paper Art

Paper Cutting Artist Kiri Ken

Kiri Ken Cut Paper Art

Kiri Ken: Twitter
h/t: [Lustik]

All images via Kiri Ken.

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met and Manager of My Modern Met Store. She is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art where she earned her BFA in Illustration and MFA in Illustration Practice. Sara is also an embroidery illustrator and writer living in Seattle, Washington. She runs Bear&Bean, a studio where she stitches pet portraits and other beloved creatures. She chronicles the creativity of others through her website Brown Paper Bag and newsletter, Orts. Her latest book is Threads of Treasure: How to Make, Mend, and Find Meaning Through Thread, published in 2014. Sara’s work has been recognized in Be Creative With Workbox, Embroidery Magazine, American Illustration, on Iron and Wine’s album Beast Epic, among others. When she’s not stitching or writing, Sara enjoys planning things that bring together the craft community. She is the co-founder of Camp Craftaway, a day camp for crafty adults with hands-on workshops in the Seattle area.
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