Turning paper into art work for the book 'Rose'

Kathy Jennings | Thursday, December 18, 2014

Brave Women

Original art from "Rose"

Original artwork for "Rose"

Tiny pieces for "Rose"

Tools of the trade

Jessica Aguilera, author

It sounds like the agenda of an author researching the world of work: table busser at Food Dance, farmhand, dogsitter. But it's the real life work history of the past year of Jessica Aguilera as she moved from one job to another seeking one that fit after parting ways with her employer of seven years.

At the age of 42, most of the jobs simply wore her out. Soon she was living off her savings, seeing it dwindle too quickly.

Aguilera was feeling so low, she says all she could do was cut paper. What happened then is what some will call the magic of not knowing what to do next.

Acting on the advice of someone she laughingly calls her "spiritual advisor" she put together the collage artwork she was creating and a children's story she had written years ago. "She said you need to dig out that book and get some income coming in," Aguilera says.

Writing, illustrating, and publishing a children's book is a dream Aguilera had on her bucket list for a long time. Now, was the time to do it.

With paper and a set of "tools" for cutting and shaping tiny pieces, Aguilera created "Rose." It's the story of a young girl who expresses her individuality through her unique style of clothing. It also demonstrates how art can be created using the most accessible and affordable of materials -- paper, scissors, and glue.

She spent about 200 hours cutting and gluing all the tiny pieces. When she had the artwork finished she turned to Sonya Bernard-Hollins and Sean Hollins of Season Press to publish the book. They took pictures of the original artwork, making minor adjustments as needed in Photoshop. The result retains the three-dimensional feel of the original, Aguilera says.

Today, the book sells on Amazon and is published by CreateSpace, the online retailer's print-on-demand service. (Just in time for Christmas.)

One look at Aguilera's Facebook page shows readers are loving it. Aguilera is overwhelmed by the positive reaction to the book and the people of Kalamazoo who are supporting her in her new endeavor. "They won't let me fail," Aguilera says.

Not only is the book taking off but those who like the artwork she is creating have asked her to make their likenesses out of paper, too, for custom-made Christmas cards.

Even though as a society we have been trying to get away from paper, so far, we have not been able to do it. That's been good for Aguilera. People have been giving her paper they don't want or can't use. One friend has donated blueprints, which she says are beautiful to work with. When her former employer was getting rid of dictionaries she took seven. The fonts of the type on dictionary pages are perfect for her work. She also is fond of cereal boxes, which she says pop off the page once she has added color.

These kinds of resources have been coming to her on a regular basis. For example, when she ran out of black markers and was wondering what to do, a package from her mother arrived with colored pencils.

Ideas for new books are already coming, too.

"The community has really rallied around me," Aguilera says. "I had an idea of how people are in the world. The book has changed my mind about everyone."

Aguilera has found a job that fits.

• There will be a book signing for "Rose" from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21 at Handmade Kalamazoo, 121 W. South Street, in downtown Kalamazoo. A limited number of copies of the book will be available for signing. Aguilera says she is grateful for the opportunity for this first book signing as Handmade Kalamazoo gives 100 percent of the proceeds from sales to the artist, rather than taking a percentage.

• The book also can be purchased on Amazon, here.

Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: Jessica Aguilera, author "Rose"