“Reflections of Each Other” paper on edge, 13 x 13
P
COURTESY OF PAULINA M. JOHNSON
about the cover artist: Paulina M. Johnson
Paulina M. Johnson
aulina M. Johnson hates paper waste. In fact, that’s the very reason she got into paper art in the first place, and earned a place on the cover of this edition of the Yampa Valley Arts & Culture Guide. Originally from Mexico City, Johnson started out studying graphic design 15 years ago. While studying at the University of San Francisco, a professor asked her to make a list of 10 things she loved and 10 things she hated about graphic design, and this sparked a change in her path. “I realized I didn’t really enjoy it anymore,” Johnson says. “The main thing I hated was the amount of paper waste that was created.” This realization prompted Johnson to seek out an art form that reduced waste instead of increasing it. Her research brought her to the art of “Quilling,” or placing paper strips on edge to create patterns and images. “Once I tried it, I knew it was what I wanted to do. So, I started exploring what I could do with it,” Johnson says. When she first moved to Steamboat, she joined local arts group the Young Bloods Collective to get a foothold in the Steamboat arts community. “It was so great to be a part of that,” Johnson says. A show at Red West gallery gave Johnson the break she needed. Now, living in Oak Creek with her husband and two boys, she is an adjunct professor at Colorado Mountain College and an exhibiting partner at Pine Moon Fine Art gallery. Johnson’s most recent show, titled “All of Us Are,” took place at Pine Moon Fine Art this July. The exhibit featured pieces representing local landscapes, from Sleeping Giant to Gilpin Lake to Mount Zirkel, and each piece’s name completes the sentence presented in the exhibit’s title. The theme, Johnson says, is that we are all, as humans, more similar than we may think. “If you look at the Steamboat Ski Area from a distance during winter, all of the skiers look the same,” she says. “This is the same idea; in a wider perspective, our similarities outweigh our differences.” Johnson experimented with new paper widths, colors and textures for the exhibit. Adding a variety of color, she explains, was one of the more difficult aspects. “Monotone is what’s comfortable for me,” she says. “Adding color gets scarier. That’s by far the hardest part for me: picking colors.” “All of Us Are,” is the culmination of many lessons and realizations that Johnson has learned along her artistic journey. “Every piece I make, I think, ‘I should have done this,’ or ‘I wish I had done that,’” she explains. “And that’s how I start on the next one.” “It’s kind of a meditative process – I zone out while I’m working,” Johnson says. “I love working with my hands, making stuff, building stuff. I’m very fortunate to be doing this for a living. It’s been really, really fun.” To view more of Paulina M. Johnson’s art, visit www.PaulinaMJohnson.com.
6 • Volume 16, Edition 1, 2022
