“Using yesterday’s newspaper to capture what I dream up today.”

That is the motto of newspaper collage artist Catherine Elizabeth.

Elizabeth is a Chicago-based artist who uses only upcycled newspaper.

“Art, for me, is a way of storytelling and preserving memories,” she said.

She believes the newspaper, as a medium, is a perfect tool in the sense that used to share stories and information, is now being repurposed to create new stories.

Her works include areas in Michigan, landscapes, florals and Chicago residential architecture. Each artwork has over one hundred individually hand-cut and torn pieces of original colored newspaper to capture places unique to what images Elizabeth dreams up.

These dreams are a true labor of love, as each piece usually takes up to 30 hours from start to finish. She draws inspiration from the newspaper, from which the subject originates. Meaning: A Chicago bungalow piece is made from Chicago newspapers. That process is applied to all of her works across her portfolio.

To find out where you can find her artwork, visit catherineelizabethart.com.

For more behind-the-scenes fun, follow @tomwgnchicago on Instagram.