We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kristen Newcomer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kristen below.
Hi Kristen, thanks for joining us today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?
Although I have yet to feel that my work has ever been misunderstood, I myself once mischaracterized art and what an artist is by its major stereotypes– and it’s a big reason why I did not start my art career until well into my adult life. Artists are always seen as these overly emotional, sorta hippy types. Growing up, while I loved to draw, I did not identify as these things. I am highly analytical. I was interested in art but also in science. I am not overly emotional, nor do I live by my feelings. I actually liked math (and was pretty good at it!). I never feel like I put all of myself into my work, and I don’t have an overwhelming urge that I “must express myself.”
Because I did not fit into this stereotypical box, I thought that I couldn’t be an artist. I surely was much more suited to be a scientist. So a long time ago, I closed up any creative side of myself and tucked it far away, and pursued a career in science. I did love learning about science, but as I worked through my master’s degree, I finally realized that I wasn’t sure any more if science was what I wanted to do with my life. I took a break from work to have two children, and something about becoming a mother unlocked that long tucked away box.
When I finally gave myself permission to just create, to just explore, as an outlet for myself around the burdens of young children, I discovered that not only did I like making art, but that I could make art– analytical, left-brained, and all. I do not fit the typical mold of an artist, and that’s ok. If art is a form of self-expression, then if I choose to express something from my analytical mind, that is just as valid as expressing your emotions. It’s who I am.
I approach my art as a puzzle to be solved, and when an observer evaluates all the small details, the precision of the layers, the complexity of the design and how it holds together, then they witness something beautiful that came from my logical way of thinking. I am proof that anyone can be an artist. You don’t have to be any sort of way, you don’t have to fit in the box. Give yourself permission to be who you are and simply make art. Then you are an artist.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I started papercutting about 5 years ago after my first son was born. I had been looking for something creative to do in the few precious hours of nap time during the day that could be something just for me. In the early days of motherhood, there is so much giving of yourself, that it helps to have something that is just for you. His first birthday was coming up and I wanted to make decorations for his party, but my husband did not want to buy me a cutting machine, as I had the tendency to amass crafting supplies without actually using them. Not one to be deterred easily from a goal, I decided that while it may take a bit longer, that I could simple cut out the decorations by hand with a scalpel and blade. When I did, I found myself enjoying the process so much, that I quickly was on a hunt for other things to cut. I started cutting out adult coloring book pages, just because I could. I had no idea at the time that papercutting, the process of cutting designs out from a single sheet of paper using either scissors or scalpel and blade was actually an entire art form. All I knew was that I liked the methodical, meditative process of it.
After practicing with coloring pages for a while, I eventually discovered other amazing papercut artists online, and looked to them for tips and tricks. I mostly experimented myself for what worked best for me in terms of paper preference, process, etc. I started drawing my own designs, and then made several wedding presents for friends. From the wedding gifts, I received such great feedback and excitement, that I thought, “Maybe I could sell these?” And the seed for an art career was planted there.
I have sense made many one-of-a-kind commissions for special occasions like weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and new baby gifts, started selling my work both online and in a few in-person art markets, have had several works accepted into two different art shows in the Austin area, and have many exciting ideas for the future! I am growing a lot as an artist and am looking forward to the next stage of my career in this field that I never saw myself in.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
There is a fantastic book called “Creative You: Using Your Personality Type to Thrive” by Otto Kroeger, and I wish this book (or something similar) had been written earlier so I could have read it as a teenager. It looks at creativity through the lens of your Myers-Brigg personality type, and gives you tips on how to approach your creative side (every person has one!) in a way that utilizes the advantages of each personality type. It looks at creativity broadly- expanding from the art realm to any profession, but can easily be used by an artist too. It breaks down myths about creativity (like the one I long believed, that creativity is personal and takes emotions. False!). When I finally read this after starting to explore my creative side through papercutting, it not only gave me the permission I was seeking to embrace being an artist no matter my highly analytical, very little emotional, INTP type, but it also gave me guidelines as to how to approach my art process in ways that were best suited for me, ways that could maximize my strengths as an INTP, and things I could do to minimized my weaknesses as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially someone who is struggling to believe they have a creative side because they don’t fit the “artist type” box.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Two things compete to be my favorite aspect of an artist. The first is the satisfaction I receive from “solving my puzzle.” As mentioned before, I approach my art as a puzzle to be solved. In my style of papercutting, most works involve a design that is cut from a single sheet of paper. Sometimes I use multiple layers in a design, but essentially each layer is “self-contained” in that nothing is “floating” within a design, everything is connected to its own layer. This means that I must draw my designs thinking about the best way to make these connections but still have a beautiful, aesthetically-pleasing composition. If layers are involved, I also have to think about how the layers are to be lined up. Figuring out the perfect composition with these restraints is like a puzzle to be solved. And I love solving the puzzle. I do all of this analytical thinking in the design and drawing phase, so that by the time I am actually cutting the paper, I can relax and simply cut along my linework. I love solving the puzzle, and then I relax with the slow, methodical, highly-detailed cutting.
The second aspect of being an artist that I love is the gush of emotion I sometimes get to witness by those receiving a commission. Although I love when any one buys any of my work, the commissions are extra special to me. I get to personalize the work to help them commemorate a special occasion, and its lovely to think that I got to be apart of the way they can then keep this memory. They will hang my work upon their wall, and look at my art, and remember their wedding, or the birth of their baby, or even simple things like a family’s love for prickly pear cactus. When the artwork is given, the surprise and awe at such a gift is an expression of emotion that truly is one of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.19paperlane.com
- Instagram: @19paperlane
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/19paperlane
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/19PaperLane
Image Credits
Photos by either Kristen Newcomer, or digital scan by Agave Print.