Magdalena Nowacka-Jannotta, Wycinanki. Tucson, AZ  |  2021

Magdalena Nowacka-Jannotta creates wycinanki, or papercuttings, in the Polish tradition using sheepshears to cut and collage brightly colored paper into traditional scenes and designs. She first learned the form in the mountains of southern Poland and later demonstrated the form for more than two decades at Tucson Meet Yourself. Nearly 70 of Magdalena’s works are preserved by the Archive of American Folklife and the Library of Congress. She worked with Amy Robertson-Schmit of Tucson’s Lajkonik Polish Folk Ensemble to share free-form papercutting and folding techniques from two different areas of Poland.