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Papercuts

Aim: To create Shavuot papercuts exploring symmetry and the use of positive and negative space.

Materials: Construction paper, glue, pencils, scissors

Procedure:

1. Abraham Shulkin’s Torah ark incorporates a symmetrical design and the intricate use of positive and negative space, much like eastern European papercuts of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Shulkin may have created a preparatory papercut to use as a model for his carved-wood ark.

Have students view the works of art below. Ask students to compare the papercut with Shulkin’s ark. For example:

• What similar designs and images do you see? How are the two similar in their overall structure (for example, in their symmetry or architectural form)?
  
  
• In both works, the shapes (positive space) are defined by what has been cut away (the negative space). Where do you see positive space? Where do you see negative space? How has each artist created this negative space?
  
  
• In what ways are the two works of art different (for example, in their materials or use of color)?

2. In parts of eastern Europe, it was especially popular to make floral papercuts to decorate the windows of Jewish homes on the eve of Shavuot. There were a number of inspirations for this custom, including the words of the Akdamut hymn, which is read in synagogue on Shavuot; the legend that Mount Sinai burst into flower at the giving of the Torah; the classic image of Torah as the Tree of Life; and the Song of Songs' image of Israel as a rose. This kind of papercut was known as a Shevuoseleh (little Shavuot) or royseleh (rosette).

3. Have students create their own Shevuoslekh that incorporate symmetry and explore positive and negative space. Give each student two sheets of paper in contrasting colors.

4. Ask students to cut one of the pieces in two and discard one half. Have them create a line drawing on the other half of the paper. Encourage students to work with floral motifs.

5. Have the students cut the negative space out of the drawing and glue the remaining (“positive”) pieces onto one half of the other sheet of paper. Tell the students to hold onto the pieces of “negative space” they cut out. Have them glue these cut-out pieces into place on the other half of the paper to create a mirror image of the original design, made from negative space.