Featured Artist Kristi Abbott

Artist Kristi Abbott creates intricate paper collages built with layers of texture, pattern and color. See more of her exciting and innovative work by visiting her website.

 

 

As a young girl, I always loved to play games that had something to do with finding and/or matching patterns, shapes and images. I would spend hours doing jigsaw puzzles, spot-the-difference games, and looking through Where’s Waldo books.

 

 

My grandmother was an artist, and from a very young age I loved to spend time with her in her studio. She worked with all different types of materials. She made big beautiful bowls out of crushed and slumped glass, and elaborate costumes for porcelain dolls. And she painted colorful animals and landscapes with her array of acrylic and watercolor paints.

 

 

Some of the earliest gifts I remember were paint-by-number kits. I would follow the keys to create my own masterpiece just like she made.

 

 

All of these memories and experiences shape my art today.

 

 

My studio is filled with multiple tiers of drawers. They are stocked full of papers from all over the globe; some are vintage, and some handmade. Jars of crushed glass line my shelves. Drawers of fabrics, beads and ribbons wait patiently for the right piece of art to require their use.

 

 

Every creation has a series of phases. I can spend weeks researching my subject. I select tens to hundreds of images that tell the story of the main character.

 

 

After an initial digital mock-up, I explore the colors, textures and integration of the hidden images. Finding just the right papers is a time consuming but exciting part of this stage. Images may appear in flesh tones, clothing, background shapes or any other part of the artwork.

 

 

After transferring my master image to specially made birch wood panels, the real intricate work begins. Using mainly a tiny finger blade, I precisely cut hundreds if not thousands of pieces of paper. Then I begin the layering process, which creates the sense of depth to each piece. Papers are positioned with perfect precision. Some are as small as a dot in the eye, and everything is hand cut.

 

 

I love to work in series, as it allows me to explore a theme in detail. My work draws from popular culture, history, geography, fashion and life, and tells one or many stories. There isn’t a day that I don’t wake up with new ideas of collage artworks that I wish to create.

 

 

Now the challenge is simply in finding the time to make them all and finding the best homes for them to be enjoyed!

 

Artist Kristi Abbott invites you to follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

 

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