After working in sculpture for some years, Karin Vance Chickadel discovered the niche of artist’s books while earning her MAAT at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She went on to further her studies in book making focusing on the sculptural aspects of Book and Paper arts at Columbia College Chicago, where she earned her MFA in 2005. While at CCC, she began teaching others basic binding methods. Today she continues teaching book arts and creating her own sculptural pieces and artist’s books. She is inspired by the various properties intrinsic in books and by everyday objects, cityscapes and landscapes. She makes work that is both personal and universal, portable and permanent, 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional. She looks to create an element of surprise and joy in her artist's books and sculptures. Karin creates her paper scenes using a variety of techniques including paper cutting, layering and folding. The designs in her pieces are originally hand cut using an Xacto knife and an eye for detail. Some of the designs are then laser cut, and each layer of paper is hand folded and hand bound into these small works of art.