My interest in handmade paper has always been sculptural—workingwith freshly formed sheets of high-shrinkage paper, and with cooked and separated kozo bark. I am also fascinated with the way the joomchi technique can transform paper, simultaneously exposing the delicate web of fibers that is its core structure, while making it so much stronger and resilient.1

I was honored and excited to be asked to provide paper samples for this issue of Hand Papermaking. Having recently re-gained access to my small basement studio (and my early Reina beater) after three years, this seemed a great project with which to inaugurate my rebuilt studio. I made two batches of paper with the same pulp: one that I air dried to make sculptural paper for exhibition; and the other that I dried under restraint so that it could be reliably cut and tipped into the magazine.

Years ago I wanted to show someone what “papermaker’s tears” meant. I was pouring small sheets on a covered porch during a gentle rain; the fiber was a mixture of high-shrinkage abaca and flax that was less beaten. I took a freshly made, drained sheet out for a short stroll, and where the raindrops hit, the flax was displaced while the abaca remained mostly intact. I loved the resulting paper. For this project, I decided to adapt this technique, controlling the droplets to make text-like marks.

I often reinforce portions of individual sheets while making them to help with construction and hanging for exhibitions. For these samples, I added a spine piece to give the reader a sense of how I strengthen the paper for structural support, sewing together thin sheets, or for hanging.

I was extremely fortunate to have a residency at Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest, Illinois while developing the sculptural portion of this project. I was there from late October through mid-November 2024, during the lead-up to the US presidential election and its immediate aftermath. My decision to align my “text” parallel to the added spine in the paper was partially in response to the barrage of emails and texts that everyone in the country received at this time. It was good to have the labor of making the sheets during the initial period of shock. I let the resulting work become an intuitive response. With the working title Hard Shift to the Right, the installation was exhibited on a two-leveled raised base at Ragdale, for viewing by my residency cohort and the Ragdale Foundation staff. Incidentally, the piece is made from exactly 47 sheets of paper.

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notes

1. I was first introduced to joomchi processes by Aimee Lee, and later was able to informally observe Jiyoung Chung while she created some of her large pieces. In early 2017 I began making pieces solely in joomchi and found the technique itself to be cathartic in stressful times. I have also used the joomchi technique with milkweed paper and flax.

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