Laser cutting seaweed and rice paper

I have been using the laser cutter to engrave and cut seaweed and rice paper. I scanned the prints that I made on white paper, and then did some editing in Photoshop to create the file for the laser cutter.

My initial experiment was to engrave seaweed, which had the affect of creating what seemed like a lighter tone of green in the places where the laser had engraved it. It wasn't as I had imagined, and smelled horrid!

I then learned how to turn my tonal scans into line drawings using the laser cutting software, and then laser cut a few different patterns from seaweed.

I also tried laser cutting the same design into rice paper.

When the rice paper is laser cut, one can see the slightly browned edges of the cut from the heat of the laser. This helps frame the little shapes on this translucent and subtle material.

I really enjoy the delicacy of the laser cut seaweed. I could display them amongst the printed seaweed.