About

Welcome to Jarlstrøm Paper Art

In the spring of 2004, I was sitting in my living room drinking coffee with my children. They were doing paper cuts, which I also wanted to try. When I first got started, I simply couldn’t stop again. I continued doing paper cuts until late at night, resulting in a wide variety of paper cuts.

It’s a long story, but the essence is that now, almost 20 years later, I still love to do paper cuts.

Through my paper cuts, I’m telling the story of the paper cut people. They are trapped deep inside the paper until I start creating their shapes and sizes with the scissors. I can sense that the paper cut people are trapped in their sadness inside the paper. They are unfulfilled and have something in their lives that weighs them down.

With a helping hand from the scissors, they are all cut free and given the freedom to travel around in this wonderful and diverse world, that we live in. Read more about my paper cuts.

Since I started as a paper cut artist in 2004 I’ve exhibited in over 110 places in Denmark, Japan, and the US. I’ve also hosted a lot of paper cut workshops (both physical and online) – in the same countries:

  • Scandinavia House, New York, USA
  • American Swedish Institute, Minnesota, USA
  • Swedish American Museum, Chicago, Illinois, USA
  • National Nordic Museum, Washington, USA
  • Museum of Danish America, Elk Horn, Iowa, USA
  • The Nordic Center, Duluth, Minnesota, USA
  • The Phillips Collection, Washington DC, USA
  • Norks Høstfest, North Dakota, USA
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
  • Folklore Village, Wisconsin, USA
  • Marine Mills Folk School, Minnesota, USA
  • North House, Minnesota, USA
  • Vesterheim, Iowa, USA
  • Nordic Northwest, Oregon, USA
  • H.C. Andersen Park, Funabashi, Japan
  • The Japanese Association in Denmark
  • H.C. Andersens Festivals, Odense
  • Hans Christian Andersen Museum, Odense

At my paper cut workshops, the participants – under my guidance – get the opportunity to try to make paper cuts themselves. Throughout the workshops, the participants experience the very best of doing paper cuts – including the moment where the paper is unfolded and the happy paper cut people emerge and the magic occurs.

I am 58 years old and married to Lene. We have two daughters aged 25 and 29 years old.

We live in Odense, Denmark, which is the town where the world-famous fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen was born. Besides writing fairytales, he was also a very skilled paper cut artist.

Feel free to visit my shop and follow me on social media.

Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in my universe of paper cut people (workshops, lectures, framed paper art, etc.).

Best regards

Torben Jarlstrøm Clausen
Paper Cut Artist

Papirklipper Torben Jarlstrøm Clausen
Papirklipper Torben Jarlstrøm Clausen workshop ved Museum of Danish America, Elk Horn, Iowa, USA
Papirklipper Torben Jarlstrøm Clausen workshop ved Andersen Park, Funabashi, Japan