My name is Diana Tohar, and I’m the artist behind Oridea Creates. Based in Calgary, I create whimsical mixed-media paper art that transforms ordinary materials into deeply personal worlds filled with texture, color, and story.
Oridea Creates was born during one of the most painful chapters of my life, after my young son was diagnosed with cancer. In the midst of fear, uncertainty, and profound grief, art became more than creativity — it became a lifeline. Cutting paper by hand, layering fragments together, and building beauty from broken pieces gave me a way to keep breathing through moments that felt impossible to carry.
Much of my work explores themes of resilience, tenderness, memory, wonder, and emotional survival. I’m drawn to soft, magical imagery not to escape reality, but to soften it — to create spaces that feel gentle, hopeful, and alive.
Every piece I create carries a part of my story within it, but my hope is that others may also find pieces of themselves there too: comfort, nostalgia, healing, or simply a moment to pause and feel something beautiful.
Alongside creating my artwork, I also teach small, intimate paper art workshops where I share the beauty, joy, and therapeutic nature of working with paper. Through these classes, I hope to encourage others to reconnect with creativity in a gentle, meaningful, and deeply personal way.
