Thoughts about Paper
Paper excites me. The thought that I could take a simple piece of paper and change its shape, excites me. The option to fold this piece of paper in half and transform it from this two-dimensional, flat and boring material, into something else, new and exciting, excites me.
The ability to take paper and cut it to pieces, until it ceased to appear as paper, excites me.
This second, when I peel off the last piece of paper I had just cut and its new shape is revealed before my eyes for the first time, excites me. Understanding that this is still the same piece of paper with which I began - excites me. Paper excites me, because the options it holds have exceed far away from its simple and bland image. Paper excites me because it forced me to admit to myself, that simple things do not have to be bland; The contrary, they can be extraordinary and very special, if I give them the opportunity to be fully shown, in all their beauty and power. Paper excites me, because it forces me to remove the layers of cynicism that progressivism and technology have forced me to wear. Paper excites me, because it brings me back to the world's antique traditions, when all you needed was a pair of good hands and motivation to work hard and strenuous. Paper excites me, because it reminds me, that there is nothing more amazing than creating something new from scratch, and with this ability to create, comes great responsibility. Paper excites me, because it allows me to make someone else feel special, even if it's for a single moment. Paper excites me, because this ability makes me feel special myself. All my life, like everyone else, I came across paper every single day and never gave it any special meaning; It was always there, whether it was the morning's newspaper, along with the first coffee of the day, or the letter lying in my mailbox or in a receipt I received from the grocery strore. Paper has always been there, seen but considered as invisible, tangible but untouched, waiting for the right moment to be revealed in front of me. Suddenly, one day, I fell in love.
It was 4 years ago, in 2012 and it changed my life completely. Ever since, I've been cutting, tearing, piercing, gluing, folding, painting and even creating paper myself. I've been having an affair with paper, getting to know it better from time to time and basically, get to know myself again.
Paper taught me, in its simple, non-pretentious way, that I cannot take anything for granted. And that, in itself, is very exciting.
