Meet Sami Lange | Paper Dye Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sami Lange and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sami, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I have always been immersed in the world of making. Ever since I was young, I have constantly stitched, painted, sewn and made art. I got a sewing machine at age 8 and proceeded to make small quilts, pants, pillows, anything I could come up with. We moved around the country when I was younger because of my father’s job and art was always a constant theme. My mother, an amazing artist herself, taught me early that art was always forever changeable. There was never fear of making something beautiful or being perfect with the work because it could be cut up, painted over, or edited. Starting young with this mindset allows me to be experimental today. I consistently build on my art skill set which gives a feeling of control, while still allowing me to be creative and explore the possibilities. My home art studio is very much my grounding space. I can always enter it for 5 minutes to 4 hours and feel a sense of accomplishment and rest afterwards. I don’t know what I would do to reset and process the world without art.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I call myself a “paper quilt artist.” I have made countless “real” quilts with fabric, but the paper quilts speak to who I am. I hand cut and dye all my paper and then meticulously stitch the work into textural abstractions. I have been working with the cut dyed paper pieces for over 20 years. It took me about 15 years to realize the dyed paper was the full artwork and I stopped incorporating cut and dyed pieces into drawings or paintings. For the past 5 years, I have exclusively worked with cutting, dyeing and stitching paper together to make large paper works. One of the biggest challenges I had as an artist was finding what I wanted to make. I know that sounds unconventional, but I have never met a paper dye artist, so in many ways I had to make my way and create this tangible way of expressing my ideas. My work is very influenced by the colors and landscape of Arizona. I love the desert and the way it makes me feel at home. The quilts themselves symbolize how much we each take on, the roles, the weight and decisions we make everyday. All things can seem so minor and small when discrete and taken individually, but large and colorful when put together.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I had a visiting friend we would explore a variety of what Phoenix offers. I have lived here for three years, and am still amazed by the diverse offerings here. I would take friends to the Botanical Gardens, a play at the ASU Gammage, the Phoenix Art Museum and Practical Art for some local art shopping. If we had an extra day, mocktails and massages at the Fairmont Princess would be on the list as well.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My shoutout today goes to my mom and aunt Joni. They are always ready for an art chat, a word of encouragement and listening to my latest business plans. So much of being an artist is being flexible and pivoting your priorities. Being a creative is about thinking in a unique way but there are also a lot of tangible skill sets you need to learn with framing, accounting, marketing, website management and photography skills all rolled into your creative life. My aunt and mom regularly act as my official sounding boards when making decisions.

Website: www.samilangeart.com

Instagram: @samilangeart

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sami-lange-31ab2120?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

Other: Pinterest: @samilangeart

Image Credits
All photos taken by artist Sami Lange.