Katherine Lashley

Trained as an architect, Katherine’s work with folded paper is grounded in the repetition of interlocking 3d forms originally inspired by architectural façade design. Modules are translated via simple design operations: sliding, mirroring, and rotating to form a whole that is more than the sum of its individual parts.

Digital architectural tools play a heavy part in planning each piece and are utilized for early visualization and design of both 3D and 2D versions of repeated modules. Each work experiments with textures and the experience of each piece changes depending on the viewing angle and lighting conditions. The playful nature of this work is often reinforced by introducing vibrant colors: dramatic gradients that change across the face of each piece are juxtaposed to the rigorous repetition of identical modules. Solid colors are made richer by the depth and shadow cast by adjacent modules. Finished pieces are often named after lighting effects, loosely evoking the same sense of serenity, awe, or excitement that is associated with viewing the sunrise, embers or dying fire, or an aurora borealis.

Bio

Katherine Lashley graduated with Honors from the Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design in 2016 with a Bachelor of Architecture. She gained her Architectural License for the state of Arkansas in 2019 and is currently practicing as an Architect in Bentonville, Arkansas. Katherine’s identity as an artist is strengthened by her architectural background, supplemented by studies in composition, lighting, and texture across multiple mediums including pen & ink, printmaking, and painting.

Experimentation with folded media began in school, while constructing a folded façade for a library with occupiable modules within the building’s elevation. These modules changed as the façade wrapped different building surfaces, responding to varying solar conditions and other environmental considerations.

Katherine’s work with folded paper has been featured in the following exhibitions:

• AIA Arkansas, Architect as Artist Competition | October 2018
• Local Color, Small Works Show | November 2024
• Local Color, Small Works Show | November 2025
• Fossil Cove Brewery, Featured Artist | March – May 2026

Katherine was also selected a member of the Women of the Ozarks 2026 Digital Cohort.