Kristen Newcomer is a self-taught paper artist who is known for her intricate and highly detailed papercut art. She is inspired by nature, travel, culture, and literature. Kristen loves making one-of-a-kind commissions to help clients celebrate special occasions. She is a self-proclaimed book nerd who loves to read, and also is a determined, albeit slow, runner. Kristen lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and two young boys.

Ultimately my work is about the challenge of finding connections. Whether I make a papercut of a flower or a cityscape, I like to have each color used in a design be cut from a single piece of paper. Nothing in my work floats on its own, everything has to be connected to its own sheet in order for the papercut to work. Sometimes I keep it simple and use one cut layer and one background, uncut layer of paper. Other times I use multiple layers and colors. When I use multiple layers, not only does each layer have to be self-sustaining in terms of connections, but now each layer must line up perfectly for the overall design to be seen. I have to draw my designs thinking about these connections¬—how can I connect this part of the work so that the design is clean and readable? How can these bits be seen through the top layers? What needs to be cut and what needs to stay? These questions guide my work whatever my subject matter. They lead to highly detailed, intricate designs of layered and cut paper. While I am inspired by nature, travel, culture, and literature, a bulk of my work involves making special commissions for people. These can be a gift to a family member or friend, a piece to celebrate a new baby or a wedding, or simply something specific a client wants in their home. These works are some of my favorite to make because not only do I get to hear people’s stories, but also because the act of giving such a one-of-a-kind gift builds connections between people. I like that the connections I build in my art help people strengthen their connections with others.