The world of art is limitless. Different art forms open infinite ways of opportunities. Beyond those traditional art forms like painting, singing, and dancing, today’s dynamic artists often experiment with surprising resources and unusual methods to create their art. And one such artist is Parth, who can fascinate you with his complex and stunning designs carved on paper. Parth Kothekar is an Indian papercut artist who belongs to the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, and his posts often go viral on social media with his mind-blowing papercut art.
The passion for the art of papercut emerged in Parth when he began experimenting with some graffiti stencils. In an interview with TOI he said, “When I did my first graffiti art on the wall of a friend’s house, the idea of doing papercut hit my mind. That time, I had no clue what to call it, it was all misty, but when I tried it with sunglasses and paper creating a glass cleaner miniature, I realized that if I inward the stencil it can turn out into a different form and will be something unique”. And this led him to polish his amazing skills in inversely creating stencils. After this event, even his friends encouraged him to turn this paper cut art into his profession. And what he started as a hobby initially, turned into his profession after his friends supported him.
Parth believes that this art form makes him feel more connected to his incredible work, and he feels some kind of life in his pieces of art. The papercut art by Parth Kothekar may feel a bit complicated, but his concepts are very simple, that is entirely based on everyday aspects of life. And even in all these simple ideas, there are some challenges, since Parth really doesn’t know what the last output will be until the conclusion. However, these trials and complexities in this art form motivate him to do a better job and it similarly keeps his curiosity in the art.
The papercut art of Parth Kothekar is possibly based on our everyday life, but it involves a lot of skills, creativity, and mind to achieve it effortlessly. Each piece of his art needs hours of long back-breaking efforts. And the duration taken to complete the craft may range from as much as 18 hours to as little as 30-40 minutes. The more intricate the artwork is, the more time it takes to complete it without any flaws. He told TOI, “I use 120 gsm paper, a surgical knife, a cutting mat, and a pencil. Being an art enthusiast, I observe a lot and whenever I am stuck at something, that becomes my inspiration for the day and I end up sketching that particular thing”.
As regards the entire method of a papercut, he first sketches his idea on a single sheet of paper and then cuts out the shape with a surgical knife. Of course, no other knife would ensure it! And unlike other artists, who get inspired by distinct outside elements of the world around them, for Parth, his artwork is his inspiration!
Being immensely talented with papercut art, Parth tried to make his own brands to sell his art pieces as an artist. However, the path to his success was not easy for him, and he faced a lot of financial troubles and was forced to shut down his brand Omegamma. After that, he tried his hands in many other ventures but it wasn’t an easy task for Parth. But instead of regretting it, and getting disheartened by this fact, Parth started with some new hopes, and like a true artist, he worked very hard to make some greater and more complex designs. This is how he arrived at his venture “Papercut”, and he got a massive and incredible response from his audience after that.
Surprisingly, when the renowned www.etsy.com approached Parth and he decided to sell his crafts on it, his first bunch of 100 artworks was sold out in a few days only. He says that he has got someplace in the international market as well, and he has managed to survive with his artform because of it. He also claims that, as compared to the international market, our Indian market is still quite slow in accepting such a unique art form. Parth Kothekar feels the price range of his crafts, around Rs 1200 – Rs 6000 can be one of the reasons for slow acceptance in India. It overwhelms him when strangers support his remarkable work, and the customers get shocked when they find out it's paper and not glass print. He currently sells his craft mostly online. And even if he gets little response sometimes, it helps him to keep going, and do what he loves to do.
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Reference –
- www.timesofindia.com
- www.boredpanda.com
- www.etsy.com