Makers: Q&A with Kathryn Willis

Kathryn Willis, who refers to herself as Katie, is a paper cut artist who has been making huge buzz around the corgi community. I’ve seen her work on Instafamous corgis like Ellie the Corgi and brofur & sisfur Gatsby and Scout. I’m so honored to have Katie join our Corgi Things community as our newest Maker.

Visit Katie’s Store | Katie’s Photography | @arescuenamedloki

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Hi Kathryn, can you tell us a bit about who you are and what you make?

My name is Kathryn, but most everyone calls me Katie, and I create paper cut pet portraits! Most paper cuttings I’ve seen and heard of use only one sheet of paper to create very complicated and beautiful designs. These are made with multiple colors and layers of paper to create a paper likeness of pets.

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How did you get started with paper cut art? Do you also enjoy any other mediums?

I actually came across some paper cuttings by artists like Cameron Garland (@campluswhit) and Meghan Stratman (@bunnypirates) and was astonished that so much detail could be created with just paper. I’d dabbled with watercolor, acrylics, oils, and sketches before and I thought, “this might be fun to try!” So I went and purchased some paper and x-acto blades and decided to give it a shot. Super sharp blades and paper – what could be safer?

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What made you decide to specialize in pet portraits?

I decided to specialize in pet portraits because I was already creating pet portraits but with photographs, and mainly of my muse, Loki. I love animals and the incredible bonds that people have with their pets. One of my favorite parts about the creation process is hearing stories about their personalities and how they’d like the personality to come out in the portrait.

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Are you a full time artist? Describe a typical day for you.

My full-time job is a veterinary technician and I generally work 11 hour days most of the week. I usually have a day or two off throughout the week and most weekends so I primarily do a bulk of my work during these times. On days that I work at the animal hospital, I come home, spend an hour or two with my boyfriend and Loki, then I get to work for 2 or 3 hours on paper cutting.

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What does your workspace look like? What are your must-have tools?

My workspace is currently my dining room table. Its the area of my apartment that gets the most light during the day and I have a lot of space to toss paper when I really get deep into the cutting zone. It’s nice that it’s able to pull double duty since my apartment is rather small. While it may not be neat and tidy when I’m in the midst of a portrait, the small area forces me to get creative with storage and organization! My must have tools are a few.

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The main tools of my trade are the blades and the paper. I use #11 double-honed Excel blades and an X-acto knife handle. I’ve tried other blades and these seem to last the longest. For paper, I use a variety of textured color-core paper by Bazzill and Core’dinations. I try to avoid white-core paper as much as possible because I just don’t prefer the look of it. My collection of colors, brands, and styles is slowly growing and I get geek out when I see new styles! Other than that, plain paper for hand-sketching each pet, an Alvin cutting mat, tweezers for tiny pieces, various pencils, white Elmer’s glue, tracing paper, and toothpicks. I also recently acquired an Ottlight and don’t know how I worked on portraits without it at night!

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What’s the most whimsical portrait you’ve done thus far? Do you have any pieces that you’re most proud of?

Trying to pick just a few portraits is kind of like trying to pick your favorite kid – it’s impossible! My portrait of Rupert and Pippa was made for the owner’s wedding and it was the first time I had created two pets in one portrait. That one was pretty fun to create – both pets wearing the same outfits Prince William and Kate wore on their wedding day! I’m also pretty proud of how Rosie‘s portrait turned out. There were so many little details that went into the floral wreath and it turned out so well!

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Do you have any business advice or words of wisdom for other Makers and artists trying to pursue their passion?

To other creators and makers, I would say make sure you create time for yourself! I thought I could create two portraits a week on top of working 11 hour days and soon found out that it was creating stress instead of enjoyment. Once I decided on one portrait a week, I was able to not only enjoy the process more, but I also had more “me” time which helped reduce stress immensely.

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Tell us a bit about Loki, your rescue pup! (rescue story, name, age, favorite foods, fav toys, fav things to do)

I adopted Loki in October of 2010 when he was approximately 10 months old. He was pulled from a high kill shelter in the area and was apparently sick and matted and close to being euthanized. Since coming into my life, he’s blossomed into a bearded, photogenic, and talented young pup! He’s my photographic muse and we even published a book called “The Year of the Dog: 52 Weeks of Memphis”. It was a year-long photo project that highlighted places in Memphis – both well known and rarely frequented – and will feature Loki as the faithful subject. We took one photo, once a week in a different location in Memphis for an entire year and compiled it into a beautiful hardcover book! Loki loves to chase squirrels (when I let him), learn tricks for treats, and sleep a lot. He’s on a special diet for some urinary issues, but his ideal favorite foods are anything peanut butter flavored!

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Are there any exciting, upcoming projects for you that we can look forward to?

I’ve got a plan in mind for a paper cut poster series featuring corgis that’s still in the early stages, but I hope to reveal my idea next year! It’ll definitely require participation from corgis of social media so be on the lookout for that!

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Support Katie:

Visit Katie’s Store | Katie’s Photography | @arescuenamedloki

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