Some people don’t understand what I mean by scale.
The tether and ribs of the lantern on the left and the ribbons on the maypole on the right are the smallest parts of the papercut I’m making.
To determine the size of the finished piece, I need to know how small I can properly cut them out.
I will make one or two pieces to determine the scale the smallest piece needs to be in order to know the size of the finished work.
Often the theme of the finished piece is not reflected in the scale study, therefor I will sometimes create a new symbolism in the study that has no place in the parent piece.