MIZPAH — From a distance, a paper quilling art piece could be mistaken for a painting.
As people get closer, they begin to see the intricacy of the paper pieces. That’s why artist Nikki Besser told Area Voices on the KAXE Morning Show that she encourages people to see her work in person.
“It's an entirely different experience because you're in the presence of it," she said. "It's alive.”
Besser’s exhibit on display now at Talley Gallery at Bemidji State University is called “Portrayals in Papers.” The closing reception is 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, with an artist talk featuring Besser.
Art beginnings
The Mizpah woman's art journey did not begin with paper quilling. Back in second grade, she started to take an interest in art, and in middle school, she was inspired to pursue it.
In the early years, she worked with traditional mediums like oil painting and soft pastels. It wasn’t until 2018 that she discovered the art of paper quilling.
“The best way to describe it is, I paint with paper," Besser said. "I roll and fold thousands of pieces of paper and arrange them meticulously together to create the images.”
She described it as being a cousin of origami. It’s more often practiced in Asian and South American countries but has gained popularity in the U.S. She came across it online.
“I was scrolling Pinterest one day and seeing this very simple paper quilling. It was like a flower or something, and it just drew me in. I was like, ‘Oh my goodness.'”
Paper quilling supplies aren’t readily available locally, so Besser ordered supplies online. The paper comes precut in various colors. Her first attempts with a basic package even had her making her own quilling tool by splitting the end of a toothpick.
“I loved it so much, I never looked back and it's been my primary medium ever since," she said.
Finding her voice
Besser has spent thousands of hours honing her skills with paper quilling. The time was spent exploring possibilities and pushing the boundaries of the art form. Once she mastered the technique, the conceptual elements began to take shape.
On a piece of foam core board, Besser sketches the idea she has in mind. She then color blocks the sketch and begins adding the pieces of paper. “I've basically created for myself a paint by number.”
Paper quilling is a very unforgiving art form. It’s not like a painting, where an artist can paint over a mistake. Besser must take out an X-acto knife to carve out changes. Sometimes the carving edit can take eight hours.
Exhibit origins
Each piece in Besser's exhibit contains a person doing a job or activity and they are with animals. The concept for these pieces came to her after she started to master her paper quilling techniques.
“The best way that I can honestly describe it is they're divinely inspired ideas. There are these inner voices that really guide me on how to tell this story.”
Besser said she doesn’t believe in telling others about the meaning behind her artwork. She wants to leave them open to interpretation.
“I believe that they will speak to everybody in their own unique way and exactly as they are meant to," she said.
She also wants people to see the work in person to get the full experience, immersing themselves in all the little details and energy.
Each piece in the exhibit took, on average, one month to create. This exhibit took three years to create and Besser said it’s not finished yet. She has at least four more concepts solid in her mind that she can add to the collection.
“I love art. I love telling stories. I really do," she said. " ... I just can only hope that anybody and everybody that sits with it gets something good out of it. Even if it's just seeing something they have never seen before."
Tell us about upcoming arts events where you live in Northern Minnesota by emailing psa@kaxe.org.
Area Voices is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.
