David Jenkins is a self-taught paper cutter from Arlington. During Dave’s 30-year career with the federal government—where he worked as a geographer and, most recently, as a senior manager—he found papercutting to be an artistic outlet after work. Now retired, he continues to find this intricate art form to be relaxing, despite it being compared to “doing brain surgery on paper.” Since 1999, Dave has exhibited at juried craft shows in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
He is also a founding member of the Dominion Hills Fall Craft Show, featuring local Arlington artists. In addition, collections of Dave’s papercuttings have been displayed at the Arlington Central and Westover Branch Libraries, and one of his artworks is currently on exhibit at the National Papercutting Museum in Somerset, Pennsylvania. Over the past 13 years, Dave has sold some 1,500 original pieces, including numerous special commissions. Dave is a member of the Guild of American Papercutters.
Artist’s Statement – I use simple materials to create complex images out of paper. Silhouette paper is black on the front and white on the back where I draw my original designs in the reverse. Each piece is hand cut from a single sheet of paper, using an X-Acto knife or scissors. I take pride in the exactitude required to work with this rather unforgiving medium—one wrong cut and the piece is ruined. I also frequently employ vintage backgrounds, such as antique sheet music or ledger sheets, seeds packets, magazine advertisements or game piece cards, to contrast with the silhouette.
Occasionally, I incorporate old postage stamps to inject color into a design, creating a stained glass effect. My designs are eclectic and range from more traditional works echoing German scherenschnitte to humorous contemporary pieces to elaborate alphabets depicting culinary, floral, musical, or marine subjects.”
