Featured artist: PapercutsByJoe

Today I'm featuring something completely different. I discovered Joe's work on Etsy FP a few months ago & I have to be honest his artwork is so real that i wasn't sure what I was looking at.

Joe lives & works on Boston, he's an archaeologist with a paper artist soul.

PapercutsByJoe is open since October 2007 & it's full of amazing original hand-cut silhouettes.

Let's find out a bit more about Joe & his creative life

1. Is it easy to be creative everyday? 
No! I just finished Craftboston where I created 9 pieces just for the show. I spent over 6 months designing and cutting them and I now feel completely out of ideas. It's pretty scary, actually!  What I really need to do is get out and walk around Boston (where I live) and get inspired again. Constantly working, never leaving my apartment, and the winter are all conspiring to a glut of new ideas.

{I'm sure that spring will be like a re-birth for your creativity :-) }

2. What's the best part of your day?
Whenever I'm drinking coffee! I also enjoy the last 30 minutes of the day before my wife needs to be picked up at work, where I suddenly feel the challenge to get a TON done in a short amount of time. I honestly feel I get just about as much done in that 30 minutes as I do the rest of the day.

{I'm also a bit like that, if I stay at home working that last 30 minutes are essential}

3. The first time you sold something to someone who was not a friend or a relative what did you feel?Terrified. I was convinced that once they received it they would realize it really was just paper and wouldn't like it.  It reminds me of the episode of Seinfeld when Jerry's dad returns from seeing Cats on Broadway. His disappointed and confused review "It's really just about cats..." kind of sums up my worries back then.

{I'm still affraid that people won't like my pieces when they arrive to their mail boxes}

4. Is there anything else you can imagine yourself doing for a living?I would love to be a park ranger. Wandering outdoors all day and seeing those things that nobody gets to see.

5. Is there anything in particular that fuels your creativity as an artist?
I want to be remembered, and having my work in peoples homes, spread online, and talked about makes me feel like I get a tiny slice of immortality. It keeps me striving to make better and better pieces to continue to catch peoples eye.

{I think you're in the right track, your work is AMAZING!!!}

6. What was the best strategy (in case you tried any) to increase your sales?I sell on Etsy, and I see a direct correlation to relisting items and getting them on the top of search results.  I also find that taking funky photos that are then passed around online has led to a ton of sales. My photos always have me working at my desk with piles of scrap in the background. I can technically take much better photos, but this has become my signature style, and I think people appreciate how real everything looks and it definitely gets across that they are hand-cut paper

{I really like the photos with the self-healing matress, the perfect light that creates great shadows in your artwork & make them seem so real}

7. Tell us something random or quirky about yourself.I'm an archaeologist too! I have a BA in archaeology and will be starting a Master's program this fall in Boston. I study Native American cultures in New England and go on several professional digs a year.

{Do your Master's but please don't stop cuting paper}

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I hope you enjoyed Joe's interview & shop. A visit to PapercutsByJoe shop is really worth it. I personally would love to buy this one for myself.

{ Thank you so much Joe for this great interview }