Welcome! DC Paper Arts is a project focused on using paper to recreate our world, often here in Washington, DC. I (Nicholas Anthony Ledyard) currently work exclusively in paper, besides the glue and sometimes tape used to adhere layers together. My work ranges from a few layers of paper to my deepest work finished in 2025, Irving Wine & Spirits, which is 170 layers of cardstock!
I began cutting paper in high school, and the image to the right is a self portrait made during my junior year of high school, modeled after a work by Piet Mondrian.
Since high school, most of my paper art was greeting cards that I would send to friends and family. I would occasionally create portraits or other pieces, but it wasn’t until the pandemic of 2020 that I returned to creating for form rather than creating for function.
Lately, my work has focused heavily on architecture and maps as well as commissions of couple’s and pet portraits, though I occasionally take on smaller projects focused on nostalgia and fun. At present, most pieces are created primarily with a Cricut Venture, with hand cutting only occurring during assembly to clean-up and adjust small aspects of layers. Despite the use of technology, all work is created by me, using an iPad to individually design and create each layer that will eventually be a sheet of paper.
