Glasgow-based artist Laura K. Sayers creates tiny paper worlds that sit within the compact margins of a stamp. Illustrating children’s books and whipping up projects for magazines leaves the artist with plenty of small scraps given another life through a series of layered postage.
Sayers begins by choosing a color palette, carefully selecting harmonious shades of paper and oftentimes painting over sheets to achieve the perfect tone. Referencing her own photographs, the artist then creates quick thumbnails to loosely guide her process. Using sharp scissors and a scalpel, layers of meticulously cut paper begin to take the shape of familiar landscapes, finished with perforated edges and sometimes nestled within a painted frame.
“Even though these stamps are very small and detailed, they have a lot of satisfying limitations to them: cropping a scene, using a limited color palette, and the amount of detail you can actually fit in when you’re cutting shapes on that scale,” Sayers explains. “As someone who regularly overcomplicates things, I find these restrictions quite helpful and a good challenge.”
Sayers is working on a few book projects and planning her future stamp collections. Next month, a few of her pieces will be exhibited in Portland at Nucleus Gallery, so be sure to follow the artist on Instagram and see her website for more updates.
