(photo courtesy
Ken Libbrecht SnowCrystals.com)

I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I drifted into paper-cutting most seriously in my late teens while recuperating from four wisdom tooth extractions. I guess I was bored, and found it a way to focus on something besides my mouth.

Then later, wow! I discovered snow crystal photographers Snowflake Bentley and Ken Libbrecht magnifying these jewel-like crystal samples. What majestic but hidden-to-most, glorious little creations!

I experimented with the angles, curves and shapes I saw, so that the cuttings began to look a little like the actual snowflake shapes. Sparkly paper helped convey the icy effect. But different kinds of radial symmetry in Creation—flower petals, and light bursts—also caught my imagination. An endless supply of inspiration seemed to unfold.

And now the folding and cutting of paper has become a mobile hobby I enjoy in many places…any waiting room (which allows scissors!) or home environment.