Building creations out of paper, this recycled art guru has grown into her craft.

Jamie Sian began creating paper designs as a way to pass the time after surgery and has now begun to build it into a successful hobby. Waste Advantage Magazine talked with Sian about her start and experiences in working with paper waste and her interest into branching out to other material.

Tell us a little about yourself/background: I am 30-something mother of two. My son, Bobby, just turned 18 and Destiny, my mini as she is know by everyone, is 14 and just started high school. We have lived in Joplin, MO pretty much our entire lives.

How did you get into making recycled art with the trash you find? In September, I was diagnosed with cervical radiculopathy, cervical spinal stenosis and a herniated disc all wrapped together with degenerative disc disease, which resulted in surgery. During my recovery I saw a video online; I believe the crafters name was Gustamonton. She had taken newspaper and made a beautiful star by rolling and then weaving it. I attempted the star that I’d seen in the video, however, it didn’t turn out very well so I explored other things like coasters and vases. Those were easier for me to get the hang of and from then on I’ve experimented with creating other pieces. My newest piece is a functional folding chessboard.

Where do you find your material? There is no shortage of newspaper, magazines, or phone books so my medium is never at risk of running low. I have explored other materials, still in the “paper” category. Cardboard has been a nice addition to my pieces!

What do you do with the pieces that you create? Most of the pieces I’ve made I give away as gifts. I have made a few commissioned pieces as well. To date I’ve made six vases, two trinket boxes, three clock swags, 10 pen holders, The Tree of Life, a coaster set with holder, a Halloween pumpkin candy bowl with lid, a couple of bowls, some letter decorations, an Easter basket with Easter eggs, Christmas trees and a snowman. One of my clock swags I hand delivered to a customer in Colorado and one clock swag now resides in Michigan. I also have a Halloween pumpkin in Alabama.

What is your long-term goal for doing this recycled art? My long-term goal for my craft is to continue to transform everyday objects into paragon using paper!

For more information, e-mail [email protected].

If you would like to see more of Jamie’s pieces, visit her Facebook page, Paper to Paragon.

Sponsor