For Boise artist Cipriana Phillips, creating a collage is about more than assembling scraps of paper — it’s about telling a story through nostalgia and imagination.
Phillips, also known as Create x Ruin, transforms once overlooked items into otherworldly visions. Her newest exhibit, “Dissociation,” is currently on display at Cats Eye Creative Reuse, a thrift-style store where donated art materials are given a second life.
Cats Eye functions as more than just a shop. It also serves as a creative hub where owner Shay Haas hosts classes, gallery shows and fosters a community where local makers can experiment and connect.
“I’ve always been passionate about art, creativity and sustainability,” said Haas. “Cats Eye serves as an intersection of all these different things, and it’s so rewarding to give emerging artists and locals the opportunity to showcase their work here.”
In this lively, ever-evolving space, Phillips’s collage work is currently taking center stage, displayed for visitors to appreciate and find inspiration.
Built from old magazines, photographs, diagrams and paper ephemera, her pieces encourage the viewer to take a closer look. Her fine cuts, layered textures and intricate hand-stitching create visually engaging surfaces.
“I really wanted to try and host more art shows here,” Haas explained. “Cipriana was one of the first people to reach out, and her pieces just really spoke to me.”
For Phillips, creating a collage is about sparking conversation. She uses the form to take items others may throw away without a second thought and make something meaningful.
“Every piece for me is like a journal entry,” she said. “I try to take the ruins of something else and completely transform them — it’s an alchemical process for me.”
Her artist name, Create x Ruin, reflects that philosophy perfectly: destruction and creation working together to create something beautiful.
Several collages feature disjointed faces, vintage illustrations and mechanical diagrams layered into surreal compositions. Eyes appear where they shouldn’t, bodies merge with landscapes and familiar images are rearranged into something slightly unsettling.
Phillips’ work is also intensely personal. Many of the pieces in “Dissociation” emerged during a period of mental health struggles and self-examination. Themes of fragmentation, identity and inner conflict appear throughout the show in both subtle and direct ways.
Each fragment she chooses, from old postcards to torn magazine pages, forms part of a larger emotional tapestry.
“Art is really about the narrative that speaks to other people and what’s coming up for you when you’re looking at that piece,” Phillips said. “I put my own story into my work, but everyone projects their own narratives onto it, and that’s the beauty of art.”
Brigette Nelson, local artist and owner of Hideout, an art studio and coffee shop next to Cats Eye Creative Reuse, has followed Phillips’s work closely for years.
“[Phillips] has the ability to create a world that doesn’t exist,” Nelson said. “Her attention to detail is incredible.”
She described the collages as immersive and transportive, built with a level of precision that makes each piece feel intentional down to the smallest fragment.
“She’s very self-motivated, has her own style and isn’t afraid to use nostalgia and old material to make collages,” she said. “Her art is always so inspiring.”
Phillips has been part of Boise’s art community for nearly a decade, showing work in local galleries, markets and collaborative spaces.
Despite her years in the scene, she still loves watching people create their own narratives.
“It’s still so rewarding to see how much connection and interpretation people bring to my pieces,” Phillips said.
“Dissociation” will be on display at Cats Eye until Feb. 28, inviting visitors to step inside Phillip’s layered worlds.
