paper cutting artist pippa dyrlaga creates ornate flowers and intricate animals

yorkshire-based artist and printmaker pippa dyrlaga designs paper art in intricate detail. inspired by traditional techniques and the natural world, the final works depict ornate plants, animals, and abstract designs whose micro details bring to life the flat images.

images courtesy of the artist

dyrlaga uses a sheet of paper to carve and cut a silhouette of the image she’d like to create and uses a scalpel or X-acto knife to design the details of an object, animal or scene. each piece is cut from a single sheet of paper, on which the design is first drawn out by hand. dyrlaga then reverses the paper and begins to cut, taking hours to complete each one.

pippa only began paper cutting in 2010, a year before completing her masters degree in art and design and curation at leeds metropolitan university. to see more of pippa dyrlaga’s work, follow her on instagram.

‘the simplicity of a blank sheet of paper appeals to me‘, dyrlaga explains. ‘paper is used in so many aspects of our lives and used to communicate with each other, and I want to do this through my work. there is nothing as ordinary as a blank sheet of paper, but it has so many possibilities and can be turned into something beautiful or meaningful, without adding anything to it. this is the challenge I set myself every day.‘