Cutout Maps

I've been making both maps and pop-ups for a while, and I finally got around to combining the map aesthetic with the papercut technique. 

I started with black cardstock:

This was a little too hard to cut, so I moved on to thinner white paper, and experimented with adding depth via multiple layers:

The piece looks entirely different when backlit:

Then I realized it might add visual interest to cut through a printed page, so I worked on obliterating a page from an art course catalog:

I took care to cut out all names and numbers, but kept in some words like "landscape" that I thought would be appropriate. It was a fun project; I'm trying to think of what kinds of pages to try next...!