My name is Masayo Fukuda but I go by KIRIKEN Masayo. I was born in the 70s, and after graduating from art college in Japan I went to work for a specialized watch repair company. Working as a watch repair craftsman, I became proficient working with the tiniest of tools, screwdrivers and tweezers, and I’m fortunate to have extremely good hand dexterity. From a very young age I have always loved to busy myself with art, drawing, and paper. I’ve been a full-scale cutaway artist for some 25 years now. When I was a high school student I had my first encounter with cutaway art and just gradually become completely charmed and obsessed. My first piece was a birthday message card for a friend; after that family members and friends all wanted a cutaway card of their own, and I was happy to create them!
I relish this kind of intricate work, the challenge then becomes: how far can I take it? Can I bring a single piece of paper to life? To breathe in and out and look across a room? I get a huge sense of accomplishment when I feel I’ve done just that.
My process is very basic. I first draw the image onto a thin piece of paper, running the pencil on intuition, so to speak. Lighter colors of paper are preferred because black is impossible to see to cut. I usually draft on white paper, then I begin to efficiently cut away the undesired elements to create thin and delicate expressions. Other cutaway artists seem to go about cutting by fixing the cutter tool and turning the paper. I do the opposite; I fix the paper and move the cutter around in a smooth, controlled slicing motion. This allows much more freedom. I use a small flashlight, as it really helps to get into some fine detail. The only important decision becomes where to leave a line and when to pick it up again with the cutter; only instinct and experience can make this happen and create a nice overall composition.
I love to be fully able to express my feeling for the animal and its natural etherealness.
I love collecting mineral specimens, and my workshop has a variety of minerals; according to my mood at any given moment, any one may be my favorite. The sheer splendor of all forms of nature keeps my mind ever changing. I am inspired by nature’s beauty and particularly by the sharp eyes of animals. I usually prefer to create cutaways of animal motifs and the internet is such a great resource. I can really study all the wonderful anatomy of a creature: the eyes, the face, its fuselage, etc. Instead of creating an animal from one single image or photograph I “merge” many of the best images together to create maybe a less faithful reproduction, but a piece that more that is more wholly comprehensive.
Creating living creatures, it’s all in the eyes; it’s about capturing their beauty and power without saying a word.
Works under construction right now are many flowers, butterflies and marine organisms that have a bit of an eerie charm to them. Up until now I have mostly done works with a stereoscopic effect; I plan on creating new works that consider the entire space or environment, a whole scene with a background. This is my new quest. I will be participating in an exhibition here in Japan and in France at the Salon Art Shopping Carrousel du Louvre in Paris. I’d love to have others see my work and become interested in the tradition of Japanese cutaway art.
I am devoted to my art. I am always striving to further refine my work. For me, creating art is my entertainment, my amusement—I enjoy it and it is a pleasure. I include time to make art and to see works of art, which is so very important for a creative. My plans are just to continue creating and I really hope that someday people from all over the world will be able to see my works!
My name is Masayo Fukuda but I go by KIRIKEN Masayo. I was born in the 70s, and after graduating from art college in Japan I went to work for a specialized watch repair company. Working as a watch repair craftsman, I became proficient working with the tiniest of tools, screwdrivers and tweezers, and I’m fortunate to have extremely good hand dexterity. From a very young age I have always loved to busy myself with art, drawing, and paper. I’ve been a full-scale cutaway artist for some 25 years now. When I was a high school student I had my first encounter with cutaway art and just gradually become completely charmed and obsessed. My first piece was a birthday message card for a friend; after that family members and friends all wanted a cutaway card of their own, and I was happy to create them!
I relish this kind of intricate work, the challenge then becomes: how far can I take it? Can I bring a single piece of paper to life? To breathe in and out and look across a room? I get a huge sense of accomplishment when I feel I’ve done just that.
My process is very basic. I first draw the image onto a thin piece of paper, running the pencil on intuition, so to speak. Lighter colors of paper are preferred because black is impossible to see to cut. I usually draft on white paper, then I begin to efficiently cut away the undesired elements to create thin and delicate expressions. Other cutaway artists seem to go about cutting by fixing the cutter tool and turning the paper. I do the opposite; I fix the paper and move the cutter around in a smooth, controlled slicing motion. This allows much more freedom. I use a small flashlight, as it really helps to get into some fine detail. The only important decision becomes where to leave a line and when to pick it up again with the cutter; only instinct and experience can make this happen and create a nice overall composition.
I love to be fully able to express my feeling for the animal and its natural etherealness.
I love collecting mineral specimens, and my workshop has a variety of minerals; according to my mood at any given moment, any one may be my favorite. The sheer splendor of all forms of nature keeps my mind ever changing. I am inspired by nature’s beauty and particularly by the sharp eyes of animals. I usually prefer to create cutaways of animal motifs and the internet is such a great resource. I can really study all the wonderful anatomy of a creature: the eyes, the face, its fuselage, etc. Instead of creating an animal from one single image or photograph I “merge” many of the best images together to create maybe a less faithful reproduction, but a piece that more that is more wholly comprehensive.
Creating living creatures, it’s all in the eyes; it’s about capturing their beauty and power without saying a word.
Works under construction right now are many flowers, butterflies and marine organisms that have a bit of an eerie charm to them. Up until now I have mostly done works with a stereoscopic effect; I plan on creating new works that consider the entire space or environment, a whole scene with a background. This is my new quest. I will be participating in an exhibition here in Japan and in France at the Salon Art Shopping Carrousel du Louvre in Paris. I’d love to have others see my work and become interested in the tradition of Japanese cutaway art.
I am devoted to my art. I am always striving to further refine my work. For me, creating art is my entertainment, my amusement—I enjoy it and it is a pleasure. I include time to make art and to see works of art, which is so very important for a creative. My plans are just to continue creating and I really hope that someday people from all over the world will be able to see my works!
