Bea's Paper Imaginarium

Bea is an artist who will only work with clean white paper. When she runs out of a supply of pristine paper, she is forced to discover — reluctantly — that with imagination and creativity, she can still make art with used paper and other odds and ends.

“Rachael Speir’s art reflects authentically the art that a child might create. It’s colourful, it’s layered, and it’s imaginative. It’s the kind of art that comes from joy in the process. For teachers who want to encourage children to think outside the box in maker spaces or for parents who want to inspire originality and artistry, Rachael Speirs’ picture book will help do both without preaching about what children should and shouldn’t do. Bea’s Paper Imaginarium demonstrates the satisfaction that comes from designing and building and following your own path of creativity and seeing opportunities where only dead ends and misfortunes once resided.”

- Helen Kubiw, Canlit for Little Canadians

When Rachael was a kid she loved making artwork using anything she could find. She used scraps from the recycling, bits and pieces of nature and even scraps of drywall and wood from fixing up her house. One day, Rachael spotted a pile of scraps from her mom’s sewing. She took the scraps and used them to make the hills and leaves in a beautiful piece of art.

Now as a grown up Rachael still uses scraps to make her artwork. Rachael is a multi-award winning fine artist from Mississauga, Ontario. She adds fabric, paper, embroidery and other bits and bobs to make large, storytelling art. She encourages everyone to see materials differently and to look at our recycling bins for inspiration.

Rachael rarely has clean paper.