We were lucky to catch up with Aaron Kane recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Aaron thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

In short, I am definitely happy as an artist. The funny thing though is that I do have a regular job as well. What makes me happy is knowing that I can balance both jobs. Granted I would love to only have just the one job in art and not the regular job, but that is the goal I am reaching for. It makes me happy to think about that goal and it’s what drives me to keep working hard. A bad day at my regular job Is completely removed as soon as I enter my home studio, when I’m there, nothing else really matters and I find myself at piece. Realistically, most artists I know locally experience the same lifestyle of balancing out a regular job while being a full time artist. We all share the same goal and that’s what makes us happy. On occasion I do have thoughts on what It would be like to be a full time artist, and to not have a regular job. I don’t find myself worrying if I’ll never be able to achieve that but instead, I am filled with hope.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a New Hampshire native who creates hand cut paper designs. Meaning all of my work is done with nothing but a knife, and a single sheet of paper. I discovered this form of art through my years in college which made me stand out amongst my peers since I was the only one studying the medium of paper cutting. My work covers all types of subjects, mostly portraits and architecture. Growing up I was always involved in the world of art, my mother painted and I used to help her at art fairs. During that time I spent most of my days drawing and was always surrounded by artists who I’ve been able to talk and learn from. Eventually I was able to take all that I have learned and put it into my business. Today, I have a solid clientele and a body of work I can showcase in galleries all over. I am proud that I have come so far with my art and have been able to share a not so common art form to galleries and clients across the country. My goal is to keep sharing my work with as many people as I can. To educate people on the medium of paper cutting, and have my work displayed in homes and in businesses all over.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

For me, college was a hard time. I found myself surrounded by the mentality that you had to be a perfectionist with your work. This idea that your work had to be perfect at your very first attempt otherwise it was deemed trash. This caused me to sink into a depression that caused me to not want to create art. If it wasn’t perfect the first time, why bother. I saw a lot of colleagues quit art because of that. It wasn’t until my senior year that I began to clear my mind of being a perfectionist and instead, embrace the idea that my work will never be perfect, but instead get better through time. Today, the motto I live by for my work is “not perfect, but better”, which has helped me to continue to try new things and always learn from my mistakes. Because of this I am able to work much harder on my art and business, to be more consistent and to never give up at the first sign of any imperfection.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I don’t really enjoy the idea of NFTs. I understand that it may work for others but for me, my work doesn’t really work digitally. You have to physically be in front of my work to really enjoy the craft and detail of it. I take pride in knowing that my original work is displayed in someone’s home or business. To me, there is something that just feels special when meeting a client in person and seeing their reaction to an original piece that they now own. It’s that reason I reject the opportunity to sell my work as NFTs, there’s no emotion in it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thecutpaperguy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecutpaper_guy/

Image Credits

N/A