YASEMIN Wigglesworth pours over her subject, intently focusing and using her surgeon’s scalpel with perfect precision to carry out her operation with extreme care.
A wobble from her hands or a moment’s lack in concentration will prove detrimental to her work.
Yasemin Wigglesworth and her Horns Road cemetery paper cut.
Her subject may not be alive – it’s only a piece of recycled paper or a wall paper off cut – yet within a few hours it takes on a life of its own, transformed into an amazing piece of craft.
Yasemin is well practised in the ancient art of paper cutting – an elegant art form that dates almost as far back as the creation of paper itself.
Before me is a large intricately cut symmetrical pattern set against a rich turquoise background.
It resembles an exquisite Turkish rug, only it is made from paper instead of wool and the whole piece has been cut in one go. There are no joins, no cut marks and no mistakes.
The precision is quite extraordinary. And the result, a taste of sophistication.
Next to it are smaller pieces, simpler in design yet this time cut out of wall paper, so elements of random colour creep in.
For the simplest of outline – such as the silhouettes of two embracing flamingos – Yasemin uses more exotic papers such as Japanese Washi paper or elaborately patterned off cuts.
A selection of her one-off pieces, including one especially designed for Stroud, will be on show at her solo exhibition at the Star Anise arts cafe from March 5 for four weeks, so customers can enjoy studying her intricate work over a cup of coffee or delicious lunch. Her Stroud design, incidentally, depicts the Horns Road cemetery.
“It’s where my boys have grown up riding their bikes and scooters around the church, with The Heavens in the middle and the farmers’ market at the bottom. This is everything we love about Stroud,” admits Yasemin, who lives with husband Tom and their sons Charlie, six, and Jonah, four. She hopes to sell a print of this special Stroud design at the town’s award-winning farmers’ market in Cornhill.
Yasemin’s paper cuts are sold at the Handmaids stall every second and fourth Saturday of the month. She is one of nine artists and makers who make up this successful collaboration set up in 2009 by actress and artist Tamsin Malleson.
Yasemin’s early childhood was spent in Istanbul before her parents moved to Cambridgeshire. Yet the impression of grapevines, orange trumpet flowers, rich pattern and the familiarity of Turkish colour, textures and the country’s skilled craftsmanship have clearly been a key influence in her artwork.
The V&A Museum, the famous Arts and Crafts Movement and William Morris’ philosophy of having “nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful,” have also played their part.
Little did Yasemin realise that, in moving to Stroud with Tom’s job five years ago, she was coming to a place heavily influenced by the Arts and Crafts.
“The Turks are amazing craftspeople. My mum and dad’s house is full of Turkish rugs and artefacts and their designs have influenced my work.
“I have grown up with Iznik pottery – highly decorated ceramics – and I realise that some of the birds I have cut look remarkably like those you would see in the illustrations of a Turkish children’s book.
“Turquoise is very much a Turkish colour and I do use that a lot,” she explains.
“I totally believe what the Arts and Crafts Movement was about. I think I got tired of seeing reproduced works. I feel everyone should be able to have a piece of original art in their homes.”
As I talk to her I am sitting on a sofa which is covered in a beautiful cream throw, lovingly crocheted by her grandmother. Her grandfather is also an artist as is Yasemin’s mother, who helped ignite the passion for papercutting by giving her a book when her youngest son was a baby.
While the children are at school she quietly plans and cuts designs – inspired by nature, wildlife and birds – for six hours every day. Her tools of the trade are simple – a surgeon’s scalpel, paper, Radio 4 and her sketchbook. Self-discipline, motivation and patience of course also come into it.
There’s a sense of order and calmness in her home which helps provide the right environment.
“I find paper cutting really therapeutic. I work from sketches I have done in my sketchbook and do a couple of cuts on rough before I make the original.
“I have had to move the desk though into the corner because I was getting distracted by the lovely views across the Brimscombe valley,” jokes Yasemin.
As she has meticulously and faithfully built up her impressive portfolio of paper cuts, notable organisations and galleries have started to take note. Some of Yasemin’s designs will be published as greetings cards by Museums and Galleries Marketing Ltd this year as part of its Illustrators and Christmas Fayre ranges.
Her work can also be seen in the Moreton Gallery, Moreton-in-Marsh; Arcadia Gallery, Cambridge; The Fiery Beacon Gallery, Painswick; Itch Gallery, Oakham; Heart Gallery, Hebden Bridge and Shorelines of Cowes, Cowes.
For information visit her website www.cutsafinefigure.co.uk. The Handmaids appear at Stroud Farmer’s Market this Saturday.
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