By . Helen Lawson . PUBLISHED: . 06:17 EST, 17 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:11 EST, 17 June 2013 . These intricate creations look like a church's stained glass windows - but are actually layers and layers of carefully cut paper. The laser-cut sculptures are the work of artist Eric Standley, 45, who stumbled across the idea by accident. 'I was working on another project that included laser cutting circle-based patterns into Cheerios boxes,' said Standley, an associate professor of art at Virginia Tech. Scroll down for video . It's not a stained glass window, but hundreds of pieces of paper cut and layered by artist Eric Standley . The sculptures bind layers of paper together once an intricate cutting process has taken place . This piece, called Demeter, is Standley's largest work so far at 134 layers deep . Demeter took three months to complete, with each laser-cut sheet of paper stacked by hand . 'When I was leaving the laser lab one day I stacked a few cut pieces together and was blown away by the layered complexity of the different works. 'I took out my sketchbook straight away and wrote down a dozen questions that took about two years to work through, to enable me to come up with the finished idea.' Each piece takes about 80 hours of laser-cutting time, using 100 layers of coloured paper on average. The sheets of cut paper are assembled by hand then bound to reveal the finished work. One piece of artwork takes Standley up to four months to complete. His largest work so far is called Demeter and made of 134 layers of paper. Looking into the sculptures reveals the scale of the stack of paper and the colours within . The works are finished by being bound into a flipbook. The orange cover frames the details in the centre of the books . Professor Standley's foray into working with paper was accidental, he says . Each designs takes between three to four months of work to become a finished piece . 'I'm like a monk with a laser,' Standley told Wired magazine. 'I give it everything - it's not just pushing a button. You've got to have faith in what you do - you can't fake faith.' The projects are meticulously planned before the laser comes out. He said: 'I sketch a composition first, working out an overall goal. 'Then I draw each layer in vector-based software. Each layer is cut individually with a CNC Laser. Standley's projects are inspired by Gothic, Islamic, and Greek art motifs . This one looks like a window to the sea made of delicate loops of paper . Standley began working with lasers on his own paintings before trying the technique on card and then paper . Up to 80 hours is spent on the cutting of the paper alone . 'The work is then cleaned of chads [leftover bits of paper], assembled and bound like a flip book. 'The . final stage of my process includes building a mount and frame that . holds the work, allowing for a degree of movement that is inherent with . paper.' Professor Standley took inspiration by . Gothic, Islamic, and Greek art motifs, first copying their geometry before 'riffing' his own ideas. Different angles reveal more detail in each piece thanks to the way they are stacked . The plan for each design is sketched out by hand then drawn in vector-based software . The 3D pieces are often symmetrical to mimic ancient art motifs . The creations mimic the symmetry of his influences and reveal colours and shapes when explored from different angles. He said: 'I've been fortunate in the . work's reception. Someone described my work as "otherworldly". That rang . positively with me. 'Truly . this work could not be done without the use of technology, although . whatever the reason, I'm lucky enough to have the patience to do what I . do.'
Eric Standley spends up to 80 hours using a laser-cutter for one piece of art .
The layers of coloured paper are stacked by hand and bound into a flipbook .
By . Helen Lawson . PUBLISHED: . 06:17 EST, 17 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:11 EST, 17 June 2013 . These intricate creations look like a church's stained glass windows - but are actually layers and layers of carefully cut paper. The laser-cut sculptures are the work of artist Eric Standley, 45, who stumbled across the idea by accident. 'I was working on another project that included laser cutting circle-based patterns into Cheerios boxes,' said Standley, an associate professor of art at Virginia Tech. Scroll down for video . It's not a stained glass window, but hundreds of pieces of paper cut and layered by artist Eric Standley . The sculptures bind layers of paper together once an intricate cutting process has taken place . This piece, called Demeter, is Standley's largest work so far at 134 layers deep . Demeter took three months to complete, with each laser-cut sheet of paper stacked by hand . 'When I was leaving the laser lab one day I stacked a few cut pieces together and was blown away by the layered complexity of the different works. 'I took out my sketchbook straight away and wrote down a dozen questions that took about two years to work through, to enable me to come up with the finished idea.' Each piece takes about 80 hours of laser-cutting time, using 100 layers of coloured paper on average. The sheets of cut paper are assembled by hand then bound to reveal the finished work. One piece of artwork takes Standley up to four months to complete. His largest work so far is called Demeter and made of 134 layers of paper. Looking into the sculptures reveals the scale of the stack of paper and the colours within . The works are finished by being bound into a flipbook. The orange cover frames the details in the centre of the books . Professor Standley's foray into working with paper was accidental, he says . Each designs takes between three to four months of work to become a finished piece . 'I'm like a monk with a laser,' Standley told Wired magazine. 'I give it everything - it's not just pushing a button. You've got to have faith in what you do - you can't fake faith.' The projects are meticulously planned before the laser comes out. He said: 'I sketch a composition first, working out an overall goal. 'Then I draw each layer in vector-based software. Each layer is cut individually with a CNC Laser. Standley's projects are inspired by Gothic, Islamic, and Greek art motifs . This one looks like a window to the sea made of delicate loops of paper . Standley began working with lasers on his own paintings before trying the technique on card and then paper . Up to 80 hours is spent on the cutting of the paper alone . 'The work is then cleaned of chads [leftover bits of paper], assembled and bound like a flip book. 'The . final stage of my process includes building a mount and frame that . holds the work, allowing for a degree of movement that is inherent with . paper.' Professor Standley took inspiration by . Gothic, Islamic, and Greek art motifs, first copying their geometry before 'riffing' his own ideas. Different angles reveal more detail in each piece thanks to the way they are stacked . The plan for each design is sketched out by hand then drawn in vector-based software . The 3D pieces are often symmetrical to mimic ancient art motifs . The creations mimic the symmetry of his influences and reveal colours and shapes when explored from different angles. He said: 'I've been fortunate in the . work's reception. Someone described my work as "otherworldly". That rang . positively with me. 'Truly . this work could not be done without the use of technology, although . whatever the reason, I'm lucky enough to have the patience to do what I . do.'
time, using 100 layers of coloured paper on piece of artwork takes Standley up to four months are finished by being bound into a flipbook. The then paper . Up to 80 hours is spent on the