ArtXchange Gallery artist Lauren Iida was recently invited to create a 1 minute video for the PBS “American Portrait” national storytelling project responding to the prompt: “My life right now is….”

Lauren Iida was born in Seattle and holds a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts (2014). She specializes in intricately hand-cut paper, often incorporating watercolor, ink wash and shadow play. Much of Iida’s work is influenced by Cambodia where she has been working on various non-profit and social entrepreneurship projects since 2008. Other major influences include her family’s Japanese American heritage, their incarceration during WWII, and her Pacific Northwest home. Iida now shares her time between Seattle and Cambodia where in addition to her own artistic practice, she leads art tours and operates the artist collective Open Studio Cambodia.