Carly Garzon Vargas

Carly Garzon Vargas is bilingual author illustrator based in Sisters, Oregon. She studied Anthropology and Spanish Literature at the University of Oregon, and later relocated to Cali, Colombia and completed her graduate studies in International Humanitarian Law, Human Rights and Culture of Peace at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. The people, projects and community she connected with during these studies influence the subject matter and objectives of her artistic practice to this day. She loves working at the library getting to interact with her audience at story time and being surrounded by books all day long. When she is not working at the library, making art, or reading; you can find her climbing, mountain biking and playing with her dog Luna.

“My work explores the intersection among art, culture, identity and community, primarily through the medium of papercut. I depict a wide rage of human experiences with pain, hope, joy and resilience at the core,” explains Carley.

Click on any image below to see an enlarged view.

“My subjects include portraits of girls overcoming barriers to education, families traveling to new lands in pursuit of a better life, men who are gentle care takers and women who are physically strong pursuing their goals. I create the outlines of my images by cutting away at one continuous sheet of paper and then hand-dye watercolor paper with a wet-on-wet technique and layer it behind the outline. This process transforms a simple piece of paper into something unique and delicate, and represents the precarious dance of recognizing ourselves in the experience of another,” she further elaborates.

“With this technique as my foundation or template, I am exploring new mediums and formats, including cut metal installations and mural painting, in an effort to create more durable, large-scale forms of artistic expression capable of engaging the community outdoors. In this respect, everyday people can interact with my art on a regular basis, thus allowing me to build stronger connections with the Central Oregon community.”

You can learn more about Carley Garzon Vargas’ work by visiting her website here.