{"id":1011,"date":"2021-03-24T11:58:47","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T11:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myfavoritebrush.com\/?p=1011"},"modified":"2021-03-24T11:58:48","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T11:58:48","slug":"paper-mosaics-by-karen-sikie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myfavoritebrush.com\/index.php\/2021\/03\/24\/paper-mosaics-by-karen-sikie\/","title":{"rendered":"Paper Mosaics by Karen Sikie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019m so grateful for the small community this blog has brought to life\u2014and we\u2019re just getting started! In this post, I have the honor of sharing work from talented artists from around the world. Karen Sikie<\/a> is one of these artists and I was immediately captivated by her work I love the way she celebrates the power of nature through these bold, large scale paper mosaics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, I watched the video she shared (it is posted below) and was absolutely in awe. I can\u2019t imagine how gorgeous and fascinating these pieces are in person. The texture, colors, and power are incredible. It\u2019s an honor to highlight Karen Sikie\u2019s work today. I hope we all get to see one of these stunning pieces in person one day soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Paper<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Karen\u2019s Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every great artist has a great story. This is what Karen shared with us about her background and upbringing: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have come to realize that I became an artist out of spite, at first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy father was an aspiring artist and his mom, my grandma, was a hobby artist. My early memories were always around art and being creative; especially with my grandma, who would take us to the swap meet and buy us little figurines to paint. Other times, my sister and I would help her sew super cool tiny leopard print capes and hoodies for our Barbies! Often, I would intently study her \u201cflowers in a vase\u201d paintings and wondered how she did that. Whenever we visited there was something creative to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI also hoarded crayons. I LOVED doodle art and hid the markers from my siblings. Paint by numbers fascinated me, I was intrigued with how shapes made up images, which is the foundation of my current work as a collage artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis carried on into my school, as well. In kindergarten, I created two finger paintings because I was unsatisfied with the color and composition of the first one. In second grade, we cut out circles in all the different colors from construction paper and strung them together to create a caterpillar. I remember really considering the colors and I picked all shades of pink and purple, a more monochromatic caterpillar if you will. Cut to me in my studio recently using a paper punch on purple paper creating a multitude of purple circles. In high school I dabbled in being creative, but it was while attending UCLA as a French major that I was exposed to art again. This is when I declared that I was going to become an artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow here is where the spite part comes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy dad was handsome, charming, creative, and funny. He was also dark, moody, and unhappy. He was an on and off again father who eventually left our family on Father\u2019s Day, for his secretary when I was 11. And when he left, he took my grandma with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Paper<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, while in the UCLA bookstore in the art section, looking at Gustav Klimt, I was transformed! I remember thinking, I\u2019m going to be an artist! And then came, I\u2019ll show him! (Not so much my grandma). He may have failed at being an artist and took my grandma away in the process. I was going to be a real artist!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt this point I didn\u2019t know how to draw nor did I have any art experience other than finger painting and making really pretty construction paper caterpillars. But I guess it was in my blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI promptly left UCLA (which I later regretted dearly) and got a job in the Martin Lawrence Gallery in the Del Amo Mall in Torrance while going to El Camino taking life drawing and painting. Later, I went to work in a frame shop, which is where I was introduced to paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA woman came in with an antique wedding photo to reframe and it had this amazing embossed textured paper around the border that she wanted to throw out. I really was enchanted so I kept that paper. Soon paper started to make its way into my paintings and took over completely. Remember paint by numbers? That is how I developed a highly specialized form of collage I call Paper Mosaics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am no longer motivated by spite but by the beauty, patterns, and energy of the natural world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paper Mosaics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With paper mosaics being such a unique and specialized style, it demanded we ask Karen how she goes about the process. She said, \u201cWhat I call Paper Mosaic is a highly specialized form of collage. I begin each collage with a detailed drawing which acts as a map or template for the hand cut shapes I will apply to the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI use all types of papers and paint them too, a bit of inspiration from my paint by number days. I also do portraits and abstract work. For me, these still are expressions of the beauty and energy, rhythms, and patterns of the natural world. May we always remember we are a part of the Earth.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n