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Paper Flowers: Stunning petal artworks crafted from paper shavings

Sharpening his pencil one day, Japanese artist Haruka Misawa discovered that pencil shavings present an arrestingly beautiful form. Curled up in a ring-shaped crown, he observed that they look like the petals of a flower.

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Sixteen paper flowers arranged in a grid, each featuring delicate petals in various colors including cream, pink, blue and yellow with printed details at their centres

So one day, he thought he would reproduce that stunning impression in a more crystallised format, using layers of paper, so that a flower blossoms when a pencil-shaped cylindrical scroll of paper is sharpened instead. The simple forms can be displayed on your desk or as an eye-catching wall decoration.

Speaking more about his process, he said: "These pencil shavings are only about 15mm-40mm in diameter, but a close look reveals individual shavings made ​​of thinly sliced, multi-layered paper. You can sense the materiality of the individual sheets of paper, both from the cross section showing the paper's original colour and from the printed side. Each paper flower will bloom quietly and softly on your desk. Depending on how you sharpen it, the shavings may be thick and heavy, or so thin as to be almost transparent, so you can't make the same flower twice. Once you've created one, you're bound to try again."

Via Faith is Torment

Three pencil-shaped paper scrolls with sharpened ends revealing delicate paper flower blooms in white and pink tones against a grey background
Pink and white paper flower with deep red centre created from layered paper shavings by sharpening a pencil-shaped scroll
Overhead view of a paper flower by Haruka Misawa with white outer petals and a centre of red and yellow striped petals forming a circular bloom
Delicate paper flower with layered petals in cream, pink and red tones created from sharpened paper shavings by Haruka Misawa
White and deep red paper flower with layered petals created from sharpened paper shavings by Haruka Misawa
Delicate paper flowers in cream, pink and red tones scattered across a white surface, created from sharpened paper rolls by artist Haruka Misawa
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