Delicate paper art

Ginger Collins plays with sharp objects.

“The scissors are very small and are as sharp as the dickens,” she said, “It’s not unusual for me to need several Band-Aids at once.” Collins, 59, creates scherenschnitte, a centuries-old paper-cutting art form.

She found it while researching for an art class and decided to give it a try. The art form is containable and can be done anywhere. Collins sets up an area on the kitchen counter of her Valley home where she initially freehands or traces an image onto the paper. “The beginning process is much like any other artist. The size of the image and the finished scale of the work are considered. But where painters then make medium, color palette, and canvas choices, I make paper color, texture and density selections,” she said.

Working from the backside of the piece, she begins the painstaking task of snipping out the designs. The smaller, less detailed pieces take four to five hours, while larger, more complex cuttings take up to 80 hours to complete. “Heaven forbid I should make a ‘slip snip’ at a crucial junction. Severing cuts are unforgiving and permanent. Beginning again is the only thing to do,” she said.

Collins made her first scherenschnitte in 1994. It was a simple yet intricate Victorian fan, white on a black background. “I have colored a few of my pieces but prefer a more pure approach and allow the bare image to impact as it will.” Her designs are detailed silhouettes of pure shape, flowers, Victorian homes, and farm scenes. They are nostalgic yet fresh and new in such a complex world.

Collins has always been creative. In elementary school, she earned praise for her creative flair from a strict teacher. “I learned to talk less and create more” lest she be subjected to standing in front of the entire class at the blackboard with her nose “planted firmly in a chalk circle of confinement for what seemed an eternity.”

Growing up, monetary gifts meant less than homemade and handmade. She went on to give the gifts of art via needlework, ceramics, music, poetry, storytelling, printmaking, drawing and scherenschnitte. “I view my art as largely about giving of self, the polishing of character,” she said. Her home is decorated with her own pieces including drawings and print work, her children’s pieces, and her mother’s paintings.

Collins received a bachelor’s degree of general studies in music, art, theater arts, and religious studies from Gonzaga University. She has also studied under area artists including Harold Balazs. “I enjoy knowledge,” Collins said.

She worked in higher education for many years as well as for the Special Olympics. Now retired, she creates paper art and shares her creative flair with her three grandchildren.

She has shown her work as a student at GU, later at the Pend Oreille Art Gallery in Sandpoint and more recently at the Mace Gallery in Deep Creek, Idaho.