ARTIST BIO

​

SIBYLS and BAKIS was born out of a love of art, the natural world and as path to heal.

 

Hello, I’m Sybil and I am the artist behind SIBYLS and BAKIS.  My brand of small batch greeting cards and paper goods was born in 2017 when I was given “mandatory down time” in the form of breast cancer surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Bright spot: I finally had the opportunity to consume the many shelves of books that I’ve collected over the years. I spent a lot of time perusing a large format coffee table book on the works of Michaelangelo.  Like many, I find his expression of form and color so inspiring.

​

Over 500 years ago, Michaelangelo painted twelve prophetic

figures all representing the coming of Christ for the center

of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  Seven are Israeli

prophets and the remaining five are female Sibyls of

the classical world. Libyan Sybil I most adore, a desert

dweller displaying physical strength and agility. ​

Further reading about them introduced me to Bakis,

described as the men who helped the female prophets.

The thought of  "men who helped them" struck me and I

began to ponder all the men who've helped me in my life.

My father, sharing with me his love of the outdoors. My

grandfather, sharing his wisdom and love of the written

word. My stepfather, sharing with me an honest and

respectable work ethic.  My husband, my true knight-in-

shining-armor. My dearest neighbor, a Doctor, who

happened to be the one that got me into a surgeon the

very next day after the seemingly devastating biopsy results.

My bosses-turned-friends who shared their endless

knowledge and understandings of the vast and beautiful

plant life in the desert. There are countless more so by using 

SIBYLS as a play on my own name and BAKIS as a grateful 

nod to all the men who have helped to form me, seemed an

ideal moniker.

​​

Spending over 19 years at a non-profit focused on plants and animals, I gained a deep appreciation for the smallest details that exist in nature.  Years of working in graphic design and the last five entrenched in the botanical world, I found myself wanting to shine a spotlight on the incredible form, color and textures that exist, acknowledging both the beauty and fragility of all nature on earth - much like our own human existence.  

 

Natural materials are hand gathered after they have already fallen and have not yet blown away by the wind or collected by a gardener to send to green waste. We celebrate nature on paper. This along with your handwritten sentiment could not be a better gift to mark those cherished moments in life. 

​

​

​ABOUT US

 

SIBYIL and BAKIS thoughtful and artful greeting cards represent a line of one of a kind, handmade, small batch and limited editions featuring two collections:

​

• BOTANICALS features the many shades of rich and vibrant Bougainvillea, from magenta to white and every shade in between in an array of designs. Botanic specimen like bloom, seed, bark and leaves are also showcased in artful arrangement and identified with scientific and common names hand-written on the back of each card. No two cards are the same. They may have same design detail, but like us, each piece of natural material is unique and one of a kind.

​

• BITS features gems like bits of filament and a wide array of upcycled materials to produce a glass like, cloisonné effect.  

        

All cards are one-of-a-kind, 5”x7” and suitable for framing. All are created using paper that is harvested responsibly and is FSC certified. 

​

If you are interested in collaborating on something custom, let’s chat!

​