No scissors for Omer

I could not help but wonder why one does not cut one's hair or shave his beard when mourning (as during the omer period). I found this answer in Jewish Way in Death and Mourning By Maurice Lamm



Archie Granot, whose work graced my second JJ post, created this beautiful omer calendar, but remember, he cuts paper, not hair.

More from Dan

What is the difference between a papercut and a lasercut?

A few months ago I was at an art fair, displaying my papercuts, when a customer approached me and asked, "Why are your lasercuts so much more expensive than everyone else's?"

I explained to him that what he was seeing were not lasercut reproductions, but original papercuts, cut by hand, using a knife. He then asked, "Aren't lasercuts done by hand?" I explained that they were not cut by hand, but by machine. He was surprised to learn this. As the day went on it became clear, from talking to people at the fair, that most of them thought that lasercuts were produced using hand-held lasers in place of knives or scissors. This misconception led me to add this page to my website.

A papercut is an image produced by cutting paper using a knife, scissors, punch, etc. There is a variety of techniques, tools, and materials, but the bottom line is that, in order to be an original papercut, it is cut by hand.

Put simply, a lasercut is a reproduction, produced by a machine. The system that I am familiar with has a cutting table with a vacuum pump to hold the paper in place, and draw away the smoke (this reduces the scorched effect). Above that is a laser reflector on two computer-controlled, moveable axes. The reflector races above the table's surface, carefully vaporizing any unwanted paper until the image is completed. The quality is excellent, and it can be difficult to tell a machine made lasercut from a hand cut papercut, if you don't know what to look for. Very intricate detail can be produced, allowing images to be produced in a scale that would severely strain a human papercutter's eyes and manual dexterity.

So, you ask, what is the problem? My answer is that there is no problem, as long as the customer knows they are buying a reproduction and not an original piece of artwork. It works to both the artist's and the customer's benefit that papercuts can be reproduced by laser. The customers can get beautiful of artwork at a fraction of the cost of the original. The artist benefits from wider exposure, ease of production, and, usually, an increase their income.

As with all reproductions, the customers need to be aware of several factors. Primarily, they should know that they are buying a reproduction. Secondly, the purchaser should be aware of how many reproductions were made. Some editions are are limited (numbered editions) some are unlimited (open editions). In an open edition, the price is usually noticeably lower. A third consideration is the artist's involvement in the work. Some artists supervise the production, and then apply color themselves and mount the artwork. At other times, colors may be printed, and perhaps the work was sent out to be done. Other considerations include the quality and durability of the materials. The seller should be forthcoming with this information, and the customer should know what to ask. When in doubt, contact the artist. Most artists are very happy to answer questions about their work.

The best advice, as with any art purchase, is to be an informed purchaser, buy what you like, and pay what you can afford. The value of your purchase may increase or decrease, but as long as you follow these three basic guidelines, you have made the right purchase.

Cut with care

The Art of The Jewish Paper Cut
The Jews became familiar with papercuts in Germany of the 17th century, where they were known as "Scherenschnitt" (scissor-runs). Austrian monks and nuns went on to create "Spitzenbilder", splendid "lace-pictures" of cut paper and the art was also known in Holland by the 18th century. But Jewish merchants probably met this form much earlier, in the 14th century, from travels to the Far East. Papercuts became most popular in the 19th century and into the early 20th. They were made exclusively by men: pupils in heder, yeshiva students, teachers (melamedim) and their assistants. Sometimes old men made papercuts in their spare time.



Dan Howarth has been creating original papercuts since 1978. His works have been seen in museum exhibits, publications, and private collections throughout the world. His works incorporate papercutting into multi-layered and three dimensional works of art. His body of work includes Jewish themes (papercut ketubot, family trees, ceremonial art, mizrachs) as well as Americana, functional art, and landscapes. Dan has taught the art of papercutting in the United States and Israel for nearly twenty years.







And with those last two beautiful pictures may I wish you all a Shabbat Shalom (Sabbath of Peace) and Shavua Tov (Good week). See you next week.

Jew, Paper, Scissors

For the next few posts, I want to feature a very old art form. Papercutting has been performed by Jewish artists for centuries and the work is coveted by many. As I admire the intricacies of the design I can only imagine the painsaking efforts of the artist.



From My Jewish Learning
Among a highly literate people like the Jews, paper was always on hand, even among the poor, and especially after the introduction of cheap wood-pulp paper in the mid-19th century. The more we learn about Jewish papercuts in one form or another, the more reason we have to believe that they were once exceedingly common, at least in Ashkenazic-Jewish homes. They served daily religious and other ritual needs, such as indicating the direction of prayer (mizrach, shivitti, menorah), decorating the home for holidays (omer calendars, shavuosl/roisele, ushpizin, etc.), warding off the evil eve (shir hamalos/kimpethrivl, menorah), remembering family deaths (yahrzeit) and the like.
These papercuts feature most of the traditional symbols and inscriptions found in Jewish ceremonial objects and amulets--many of them kabbalistic [mysictal]--characteristic of the various Diaspora communities. The real or fantastic animals and birds, vegetation, utensils, urns, columns, the menorah, tablets of the Law, stars of David, the signs of the 12 tribes and of the zodiac, yadayim/hamsas (an upside down hand), eternal lights / lamps-in-niches, and the like, which appear and reappear in the compositions, had almost all meanings that were wide; if not universally understood in the community.
They were supplemented with calligraphic inscriptions in Hebrew (and sometimes in other languages), mainly passages from the Bible, the interpretive and homiletic texts, the prayerbook, cryptograms, acronyms, wise sayings, and magic formulas and incantations. Personal dedicatory and memorial inscriptions commemorating special family events were sometimes included as well. And occasionally--to the delight of those of us who crave to know more about them--the name of the maker of the papercutter, the date and place, and the name of the owner are indicated.

The work of Marci Wiesel is simply wonderful... the cuttings are exact and her use of color only provides depth to her work. Marci was born in the USA but has since made aliyah and is working and creating in Israel. Unlike the earlier papercut artists Marci utilizes both hand cutting and laser cutting in her work. The work featured above is called Upon Three Things Does the World Stand . Below is The Shining Aleph Bet: The Light of Torah