I’M NOT SURE WHY IT TOOK me so long to return to the theme of the Madonna and Child. The last time I created a card with this motif was in 1996. It was one of my first ever handmade Christmas cards! Since then it became an annual tradition.
I’m not sure I’ll ever succumb to the current trend for digital Christmas cards.
when not lit from behind
Madonna and Child
My school art teacher, who taught me to draw, used to say that the Madonna and Child was used in Western art, not just to illustrate the story of Christmas, but as a symbolic representation of creativity itself. For him, creating new life was, in a sense, similar to the process of visualising and creating a new work of art.
This is because an artist appears, on the surface, to create the new work of art themselves. But, in reality, the best art tends to grow from within. The artist has remarkably little control over the process. All the artist needs to do is create the right situation in which art can grow. The rest just happens.
In this respect making art is dissimilar to the process of growing and giving birth to a child. Once you set the process in motion the child grows by itself, however difficult and painful this may be.
The Madonna and Child theme was a favourite theme for the sculptor John Bunting, who was my art teacher at school. For this reason I found myself thinking about him a lot while making these silhouettes.
A white paper silhouette
This year I opted to continue my theme from the last two years of cutting the silhouette from white paper. When mounted on white backing paper a white-paper silhouette obviously tends to disappear. However, placing a light behind it causes it to become visible again, making the silhouette appear as a shadow against white.
I’ve always loved this effect. English silhouettes were originally known as shadow portraits, so turning a paper cutting into an actual shadow seems to me like making a connection with times gone by. As an artist, shadows have always fascinated me.
Developing the idea: facing right or left?
Once I come up with an idea, the first stage always involves a sketchbook (in this case, my 2024 diary). I began by writing down my thoughts for possible variations. I then sketched plans for various shaped windows before settling on an oval. I’m aware we don’t see many oval windows around us, but an oval has always been the traditional mount for a silhouette.
The first versions of the card faced right. As a right-handed artist it’s marginally easier for to cut a right-facing silhouette rather than one facing left. However, I later flipped the image to avoid remains of the grey, printed guide line being visible from the front. This creates a subtle difference in emphasis. In Western art a figure facing right appears to advance, moving forwards into the future. Those facing left, on the other hand, appear more reflective, facing back into the past.
This difference in feeling is perhaps simply due to our habit of reading from right to left, however it is real. My Madonna faces left, when viewed from in front, and right when viewed from the back (the way I cut her).
Finally, since I wasn’t keen on the idea of cutting 500 complex oval windows by hand I opted to ask my printers to make a die-stamp for me. Die stamps are great. I love the way a stack of newly-printed cards seems to create a tunnel as you look down through them.
Cutting 460 Madonna and Childs
I managed to rationalise the mailing list to 420 this year (30 or so less than last year). I always hesitate to remove people from the list, but cutting over 400 hand-cut silhouettes is just too many! After family and friends the bulk of the list is for recent clients, both corporate and private. My rule of thumb is to send cards to anybody who booked an event in the last year or so, or who already confirmed a booking for the year ahead.
I began cutting the silhouettes towards to end of November and finally put the last batch in the post yesterday. There are always things I overlook in planning the process. I designed this year’s card to hang at a window, so the light from outside shines through it. However, I didn’t anticipate just how long it would take to attach string to them all!
I ordered 500 cards and in the end cut 460 silhouettes. This means there are still a few left. Let me know if you’d like one!
#buntingxmascard
If you have one of these cards and would like to share it on social media please include #buntingxmascard in your post.
They look amazing. Merry Christmas to you Charles, I hope to see you at an event in 2025.
Thanks Gordon. Me too!
Beautiful! I wondered why you chose to cut the silhouette from white paper rather than black silhouette paper? Softer image? I think a black silhouette would be stunning too!
Indeed, it would. I guess it’s just a way to experiment with different ideas. After all, I’ve cut many black-paper silhouettes over the years! I feel making Christmas cards offer an opportunity to try doing something else, to play with the concept of silhouette. Such play is also an important part of the creative process.