Think You Have A Steady Hand? Check Out The Incredible Paper Art Of Maude White

If you viewed artist Maude White‘s pieces alone, you might think they were created using white pencil. They look as if they’re made of an intricate network of white lines spelling out a simple yet surreal image. This would be impressive enough, but it’s nothing compared to what her art really is.

Maude White

Her collection What’s Left of the Farm features images of women with wild hair. These women show up in other collections as well.

Maude White

White’s images are not drawn at all. Rather, they are completely cut from a single piece of paper. Each fine line and swirl has been meticulously sliced out with a sharp knife and a steady hand by White. Her creations range from light and airy to dense and complex. Each piece requires a considerable amount of time and patience, and the results are striking not only in the evidence of their labor, but in their beauty as well.

Maude White

These are from the collection The Water Is Wide.

Maude White

In her collection Map Birds, White used maps instead of plain paper for an added effect.

Maude White

Aesthetics aren’t all White is going for. To White, paper is integral in the process of storytelling and the sharing of information, visual or otherwise. “Paper is everywhere, and it has been telling stories for centuries,” she explains in her artist statement. “By respecting and honoring paper for what it is, and not considering it a stepping-stone to something greater, I feel like I am communicating some of the pleasure it brings to me.”