Gallery: For the Love of Paper

The Center for the Arts is excited to announce the NEW Gallery Opening Reception date "For the Love of Paper" exhibit. Join us on Thursday, October 1 from 5-8 pm. This gallery opening will be held in conjunction with our Fall Art Walk. Center for the Arts staff members will be stationed at the entrance and exit to facilitate/monitor the amount of attendees in the building. All attendees will be required to wear masks and practice social distancing. We will have floor tiles on the ground to help with distancing.

About the Exhibit:

A paper themed art exhibit featuring the wondrous, whimsical and awe-inspiring art of Kim Nickens, David Friedman and Lavaun Benavidez-Heaster. This show aims to remind us all of possibilities, especially when ideas are met with paper and its inherent qualities, ancient paper practices and the will of the artist to transcend these mechanisms into the realm of artistic alchemy.

Gallery Hours:

Mon-Fri:  9am-5pm ** BY APPOINTMENT ONLY**
Please email arts@sherwoodoregon.gov to arrange a private viewing of this art show with Center for the Arts staff.

About the Artists: 

David Friedman: 

Using both traditional papercutting techniques along with reflective color optics, I emphasize the dimensionality of paper by hand cutting the paper using scalpels and x-acto knives and then mounting the papercuts using mini-stilts that I create. Color is laminated on the back of black paper so that the color reflects upon the museum board that the stilted papercuts are mounted to. My work in paper began by taking my original designs and cutting them out in black paper but soon I started creating multiple level pieces with many colors.  

My newest work uses the reflective optics of color paper to create color “shadows” that look like the pieces have been airbrushed behind the paper… but it is solely light.  Creating pieces that mix those colors together in multiple layers of paper and color is the most recent direction of my work. 

I studied Art and Painting at the University of Illinois. After graduating, I moved to New York and continued my career as an artist. In 1993 I moved to Portland, Oregon and experimented in a variety of media. I started to do a large series of scratchboard pieces that eventually led me to trying out papercutting as an exercise in having more control of lines.  

Papercutting has been a traditional craft in Chinese, Japanese, German and Jewish cultures. Today it has become an art form with an impressive variety of imaginative works.

Follow David: 
Website: https://www.friedart.com/ 
Instagram: @friedart

Kim Nickens: 

My work is inspired by Quilling. I create with three things: paper, glue, and a quilling tool. I started with traditional Quilling and have now developed my own style, using rolled paper, folded paper, and some sculptural work.

I became interested in this artform when I saw it on the internet. With one click my world changed. I found that Quilling was an ancient art form dating back to the origination of paper in China thousands of years ago. A quill of a feather was used to roll the paper, hence the term Quilling. The earlier works are hard to find because of the delicate nature of paper. Many artifacts that have been found were adorned boxes, cards, and some jewelry. 

After some research, I set out to find supplies and once they arrived, I started rolling paper and never stopped. I find the rolling process meditative and can lose myself in it. When I create the actual piece, I put a lot of thought into balance, color composition, depth, and integrity. 

I am represented in several galleries and sell at many art shows throughout the Northwest. This all happened very quickly and my work hangs all over the world: China, France, Russia, Norway, and Canada.

The lesson I hope everyone takes from my story is to never stop trying new things. You never know when something can send you on a journey you never expected.

I get my inspiration from nature but most of it comes from my father. His name was Darcy Efraimson and he was an artist right up to the time he passed away. My father had a love of paper and used it as a medium in a much different way than myself.  Most of the time I am creating I feel him with me. I honestly believe he is guiding me, because I am not the artist. He is the artist.

My artwork gives me great comfort and a whole lot of joy. I call it feel good art!

Follow Kim: 
Website: https://papercutkim.com/
Facebook: Paper Cut

Lavaun Benavidez-Heaster: 

“Hello, sharing my 'vision' with you. I enjoy creating vibrant art, and want to inspire people to ask things like, “What does color mean to someone who has never seen it? “ and 'Why do I, as a legally blind artist, like bright, contrasting colors; while other low vision artists, like Monet, created muddled, blurry images?' 

Before 2012, I’d made yearly paper collage-image calendars for holiday gifts as thank yous for all the support and generosity I’d received through dialysis and my transplants. That year I helped plan a multicultural community art event, (Colored Pencils), in Portland, OR. 

As I started creating larger art for the exhibit, a friend saw a piece I made with multicultural fairies watering seeds in a bold & bright flower garden; and I had my first sale! Very exciting, and I actually got paid. When I’d lost my position as a medical social worker, it seemed the long-term health concerns and my limited vision would hinder my path back to a good job. ..but by stumbling into an opportunity, I found a place to invest my curiosity and passion for creating conversation through beauty…It’s been a 
surprising evolution. 

When I first began, I made 'touch paper collages', thinking it would appeal to my blind friends. As it turned out, the tactile nature of the layered paper was too subtle and didn’t really engage any blind friends, but what happened was it opened up a conversation with sighted folks. 

Now people who’d never considered (or were afraid to ask) about art in relation to blindness began asking about it. It felt like some invisible path led me into art as a career, and I’ve started opening this portal where dialogue can spread. All that and I get to create bright, vibrant art and teach sometimes too! I love my work and continue to be excited to share what happens when I put scissors and paper in my hands!” 

Follow Lavaun: 
Website: https://www.redbubble.com/people/lavaun13/shop
Instagram: @lavaunch