COVER ARTIST Jinghong Chen’s favorite season is autumn, conjuring up fond memories of jewel-toned foliage, apples and pumpkins, colonial brick homes, and cozy nights by a fireplace hearth. “Autumn in RI just makes me think of red. It is so warm, homey, nostalgic, and connects me to my roots,” she enthuses. The vibrant color is also a hallmark of Chinese cut paper art.
Titled Rhode Island Autumn, Chen layered multiple images of cut, colored Canson paper to craft Motif‘s Fall Guide cover. A red-colored pencil on brown paper highlights and deepens the base paper. A pair of red-plumed cardinals, evocative of both New England and Chinese folklore, are symbolic of luck, happiness, and enduring love. The three figures at the bottom are decorated with motifs Chen frequently incorporates into her art, echoing nature and Chinese culture. Born and raised in southern China, Chen is a RISD alum living in Providence with a studio in nearby Pawtucket.
Initially, Chen did not set out to be a cut paper artist. A random assignment from her RISD professor had Chen leaning into the folk art she learned as a child. “I was intrigued by the use of positive and negative space, so I gravitated toward cut paper, sort of muscle memory, but taking it in an entirely different direction,” she remembers. Chen’s modern flair incorporates traditional themes of nature, children, zodiac signs, and spiritual creatures, adding paint and layers of various papers and textures to blur the lines between reality and imagination. Explaining her process, Chen envisions the scheme in her mind before she sketches, and then cuts. She crafts both hand- and laser-cut projects. “Laser cutting allows for more flexibility and possibility, especially with complicated designs and different mediums, like wood, felt, or plexiglass,” explains Chen. A favorite project of Chen’s is a 3-dimensional tunnel book, Land of Banyans. In large format, measuring 12” x 17”, Chen layered five separate laser-cut renderings, each one painted with a wash of gradient color. “I used thick, watercolor paper for volume, texture, and to intensify the earthy colors,” Chen explains. She test-painted scraps of paper to achieve the intended effect before making the finishing touches. Chen points out “Paper can be a non-forgiving medium.” Chen points to contemporary cut paper artist Xiyadie as a paramount influence. Xiyadie’s supersized, multi-layer works span 5ft to 10ft. He predominantly works with black paper highlighted with vibrant dyes and paint.
In the studio, Chen laces the fingers of her right hand through the loopy handles of a diminutive pair of delicately etched – but seriously pointed – stainless-steel scissors. One of the tools of her trade. She works the sharp blades through traditional Chinese mulberry paper, carving out curvy images for her next masterpiece.
