Cutting letters
out of card

This is a very simple technique for anyone to try.
Timothy has drawn the letters and then cut them out
of thin card with a sharp blade. He says, 'Any
technique that makes you cut the letters manually gets
you more closely involved with their form.'

He used this method to produce an exhibition piece
(detail below), using a thicker card and enhancing the
three-dimensional effect by backing the letters with
gold foil. It is no good pretending that this is easy!

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Cutting a mask for sand-blasting

Briem showed Timothy, in one rushed afternoon, how
to cut a mask for sand-blasting. He traced the letters
on to adhesive paper and fixed this carefully around a
tall glass container. Then he cut out the drawn letters
with a sharp blade. Timothy learned quickly and this
technique worked well with his bold letters. This was
his first attempt. He explained disarmingly how he got
the quotation to fit. He wrote 'The quick brown fox . .
.' until he had covered a collar the same size as the
glass. Then he searched for a quote of the same length.
The 'm' is the same size as the original.

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