Meet Stephanie Almendariz: The Artist Turning Paper into Intricate Collage Art
April 28th, 2026
Rooted in a lifelong love of creativity, Stephanie Almendariz is a Sacramento-based artist who grew up in a family where artistic expression was both encourage and celebrated. Her early career paths in banking, real estate, and teaching offered valuable experience, though ultimately left her feeling unfulfilled. With the support of her family, she embraced her passion for art full-time, embarking on what she describes as a deeply rewarding and ever-evolving journey. Today, she brings that passion to life as a collage artist, meticulously crafting each piece from carefully curated materials, ranging from vintage papers and maps to sheet music and text. Each item Stephanie chooses is to reflect the story behind every subject. Her intricate works, which can take anywhere from 20 to over 200 hours to complete, invite viewers into a layered experience of discovery, where each details reveals something new over time.
Can you share a bit about your background and what initially drew you to pursue art as a passion or career?
I have always loved art growing up. I grew up in a household of creative personalities. Creativity was always encouraged in every aspect of our lives. It runs in both sides of my family. Through my earlier careers, I worked in banking, real estate, teaching and I just didn’t really feel complete. With the support of my family, I finally had an opportunity to make something of this passion that I had, and it’s just been such a beautiful journey.
How would you describe your artistic style and what sets your work apart from other artists?
I’m a collage artist. Not only do I just work with paper, but I do lots of research on each subject that I’m designing and all of the paper that I use is tightly curated for that specific subject. For example, I have a piece that is the Tower Bridge in Sacramento, and it’s designed from a California travel guide. When you look at the pieces of paper, you can read text about Sacramento woven into the background. I use vintage papers, custom design papers, maps quotes, sheets music…it all just depends on the main subject of the image that I’m designing. My original collages can take between 2o and 200 hours, depending on the size and detail of the original. I spent over 200 hours creating the Tower Bridge collage and completed it in 2017.
My work is very different from other artists. Not only with its medium, but with the time involved in the process. I feel like we’re in a fast-food generation. People want something immediately. They want to go to a dinner and watch someone do a painting and then take it home with them. My process is more time consuming, more thoughtful, something that you can look at over and over again through the years of having it in your home and find something new each time.
How did you first get involved with Second Saturday, and what does it mean to you as a local artist?
I’ve worked with the Midtown Farmers Market for many years. I just really enjoy the community and the team that they’ve built. I will be new to Second Saturday this year. I’m excited to see what opportunities will present themselves through this venue. I love being in front of my clients, talking to them, sharing my process and my art.
How has living or working in Sacramento influenced your artistic style?
A lot of my work is designed through commissions. I’ll have clients come to me and ask me to design certain pieces. Because of our location being in Sacramento, I’ve had the opportunity to work with several subjects that tie in to where we live. I love that because when you look at something and you can connect it to your hometown, it just has a little piece of your heart in it. When you’re driving home from a long trip and you see the Tower Bridge, you know that even though you’re not quite home, yet you already feel at home, and your body relaxes. That’s what I want my work to feel like when you look at it, you feel home.
What are some of your aspiration or goals as an artist, both in terms of your personal growth and the impact you hope to make through your art?
My goals as an artist are consistently changing, and I think that’s just a beautiful thing. I feel like I’m always growing. With each commission that I work on, I have a new speed bump. A new opportunity to learn something, and that in itself can be part of one of my immediate goals. I do want to be able to get my work out to the community more. I have done this in a few ways already. I’ve been able to go to New Orleans and speak at a collage conference. I work at the Croker Art Museum during their art mix events, designing different art interactions. Locally, these are some of the aspirations that I’ve achieved, and the sky is the limit for the future.
How does participating in events like Midtown Second Saturday allow you to connect with your audience or community?
When I’m at an event, I get to spend the whole time talking to people explaining to them my process and sharing my art. It’s just a wonderful feeling connecting my work with people. I like being able to see the different levels of discovery with my work. They walk by and think they are paintings, and they say, oh, you have nice paintings. I say, actually they’re made of paper. Then there’s a “WOW” moment. They look closer and find out that the paper is tied in with each of the images. This leads to them reading the paper. Looking for little Easter eggs throughout, experiencing different levels of discovery. It’s just a beautiful thing.
Stephanie will be at the Midtown Second Saturday Art Market on Saturday, May 9 from 4-8 p.m. The Art Market is the first opportunity to see the new Fremont Park Bloom public art installation at Fremont Park.
Live Midtown sponsors — 1801L, The Mansion Apartments, Eleanor H16 Apartments, MOD at Midtown, Lavender Courtyard, Studio30, and 19J — bring you this Midtown Second Saturday Artist Feature.
Explore Midtown living options and start your journey to finding your perfect home in vibrant Midtown here.