I keep re-arranging the color combinations on this. Originally this had a giant moon in the back ground. I may use the moon later, but for now it doesn’t look the way think it should.
Back in 2000 I inherited a few children’s books from my Grandma Rathbun. One of them is a 1937 edition of Pinocchio which I started reading  a few days ago. I know Disney pretty much always changes things up, but the original Pinocchio is like a completely different story. Some names and a few basic themes carry over. Anyway, this was inspired by the book. If anyone wants to get me an original 1898 English edition for Christmas……

I haven’t had too much time lately to work on papercuts (or anything else for that mater) due to the postal holiday rush and visiting family. I started designing this weeks ago and actually cut out an earlier version. I decided the first version looked like a rush job so I changed quite a bit of it. I had spare minutes here and there over the last week to work out the re-design and while everyone else was occupied with TV cop shows last night, I cut it out.

Here are the final two. The instruments I didn’t make are the flute and the human voice. I also found a few references to horns being a devils instrument, but I wasn’t able to determine whether they meant a brass instrument or something made out of goat or cow horns. I’m betting on the animals. The last one was the most recent reference and it was an idiophone instrument called a Glass Armonica.
Here are all four images combined.

Here is the next one. Even though the reference was most likely made about a 4 string, I chose a 5 string banjo because it is what I own and have, off and on, attempted to learn.

I was on a mini road trip to Milwaukee this weekend with my friend Zak Worth. We were talking about Robert Johnson, Son
House, Howlin’ Wolf and Sonny Terry. When the devil legend came up, it sparked the idea to do a series of cuts with the instruments of the devil.  I knew of 3; after searching the internet, I found out there are 6 that are more common and 2 more oddballs that are only mentioned here and there.  I’m going to make 4.

Happy Birthday William Blake.

As of Monday (3 days into the Wisconsin deer hunting season) there have been 24 accidental self inflicted gunshot wounds. Natural selection seems to be doing just fine.
On a side note, I just hit 700 visitors since I started this page in mid-June. Thank you all for that.