Kate's papercuts are inspired by the villages and rural landscapes around her, as well as capturing moments of everyday life. Kate works mainly by hand, using scissors or scalpel to cut in to the paper, at times complementing her work with the use of digital methods Each papercut is produced as an original piece.
Kate Faircliffe was born in Norfolk and regularly spent childhood holidays in Southwold and on the North Norfolk coast. After completing a B.Ed Honours in history at Cambridge, she moved to Japan where she lived and taught for four years, enjoying the opportunity this gave her to travel widely in South East Asia. The art and culture of Japan remains a great interest of hers today.
Kate's introduction to the art of papercutting came in 2018, when attending a workshop run by the British artist Vanessa Stone. "It was such an inspiring day and I immediately fell in love with the process and the cleanliness of the lines that were produced." Beginning with the techniques that Vanessa shared in how to cut and layer paper, Kate was inspired to explore the artform further.
Interested in both Japan's long tradition of kirigami (literally meaning 'to cut' and 'paper'), and the craft of wycinanki from Poland, where papercutting has been a popular folk art since the 1900s, Kate initially explored the creation of pieces depicting trees and meadows, in which symmetry played an important part. Starting with designs made from just one piece of paper, and thus of one colour, she has gone on to gradually explore and practice different methods, now often adding intricate layers of colour. The style of her work, influenced by the bold, graphic nature of woodblock and lino cutting techniques, often depict the countryside and coastline that has played a big part in her own life.
More recently, Kate has enjoyed producing bespoke commissions, marking significant occasions or memories. 'I love to be able to reflect special moments or places for people in a piece that is unique just for them. The collaboration that it involves, in choosing moments, layout and colour is really satisfying.'
