HAND PAPERMAKING

NEWSLETTER

number 132 • october 2020

Newsletter Editor: Maria Olivia Davalos Stanton

Columnists: Sidney Berger, Donna Koretsky, Winifred

Radolan, Amy Richard

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Staff: Michael Fallon, Executive Director;

Mina Takahashi, Magazine Editor; Maria Olivia

Davalos Stanton, Newsletter Editor; Karen Kopacz,

Designer. Board of Directors: May Babcock, Colin

Browne, Jazmine Catasus, Lisa Cirando, Joan Hall,

Lisa Haque, Kazuko Hioki, Samiha Tasnim (student

member), Kelly Taylor Mitchell, Darin Murphy, Alta

Price, Irene Wei (student member).

International Board of Advisors: Yousef Ahmad (Qatar),

Timothy Barrett (US), Simon J. Blattner (US), Kathryn

& Howard Clark (US), Mandy Coppes-Martin (So. Africa),

Jane Farmer (US), Peter Ford (UK), Helen Frederick

(US), Simon Barcham Green (UK), Helen Hiebert (US),

Therese Hofmann (Brazil), Dard Hunter III (US),

Kyoko Ibe ( Japan), Winsome Jobling (Australia),

Carolina Larrea (Chile), Roberto Mannino (Italy),

Beatrix Mapalagama (Austria), Bob Matthysen

(Belgium), Radha Pandey (India), Giorgio Pellegrini

(Italy), Brian Queen (Canada), Victoria Rabal (Spain),

Vicky Sigwald (Argentina), Lynn Sures (US), Aytekin

Vural (Turkey).

Co-founders: Amanda Degener and Michael Durgin.

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>DEAR READERS

Interview by Jillian Sico, Frogsong Press, with Javier Silverio, current director for Taller Leñateros, a book arts collective in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico that publishes books primarily about Maya culture, made by local Maya bookbinders, printers, and papermakers. To read the original interview in Spanish, visit handpapermaking.net/magazine/web-only/. Translated by Maria Olivia Davalos Stanton.

You can find the Taller Leñateros on Facebook and Instagram @tallerlenateros, or reach them by email <tallerlenateros@gmail.com>.

Jillian Sico: How did the Taller Leñateros start?

Javier Silverio: Slowly, bit by bit, without loans nor business partners nor venture capitalists, following the adage, del mismo cuero salen las correas, we have been able to acquire or build the minimum equipment needed to work.1 We have built the Taller, our studio, with our own hands. The most valuable resource we have, in fact the only resource, is ourselves and the ideas from the collective, the indigenous and peasant knowledge.

Taller Leñateros is a cultural society, a collective of Maya, Zapotec, and many other indigenous women and men, founded in 1975 by the Mexican poet Ámbar Past. Some of its many directives and objectives are to document, magnify, and spread the Amerindian culture, singing, literature, the visual arts, to save historic techniques from disappearing such as extracting pigment from wild herbs, and to create just and fair employment opportunities for women and men without art studios, jobs, or direction.

We have created a multi-ethnic space of artists and artists-in-training, encouraging and supporting artistic creativity within marginalized and underrepresented communities. The Leñaterxs2 invent, teach, and further the art of hand papermaking, bookbinding, solar screen printing, woodcut, and plant dyes. With a strong ecological focus, we recycle agricultural and industrial waste to create art books, postcards, t-shirts, and posters, that is, to create art. Taller Leñateros exists thanks to the sale of our work.

Sico: Who works at the Taller, what is the focus of your work?

Silverio: Over 43 years and through two generations, we currently have 10 Tzotzil women, 2 Tzotzil men, 1 Zapotec woman, and 2 Mestizo men. 

An additional member focuses on planting, cultivating, and harvesting the majority of the flowers we use in our floral papers, and another, the founder of our Taller, is our leader. There are also a number of people working for us performing a variety of tasks such as outreach, broadcasting, and sales.

The Taller continues to focus on demonstrating the viability of our approach, as schools and other collectives continue to request training in our ecological, cultural, and sustainable vision within the indigenous worldview. We continue to be a source of inspiration for artists and students from a variety of artistic and cultural fields, in Mexico and other parts of the world, which is incredibly rewarding. We continue to produce literary and illustrated works, as the younger generation has not lost interest in them, as well as new projects, all within our studio.

Sico: What type of papers do you make?

Silverio: Lxs Leñaterxs arrive at the door of our studio, with a load from the strawberry tree to feed our grandfather fire. We bring withered flowers from the temple; a stomped-on sedge from a celebration. We carry vines, lichen, banana leaves, stubble from the cornfield, baby’s breath, bean pods, agave stalks, reeds, coconut shells, gladiola stems, palm fronds, grass, papyrus, and bamboo; all of these natural fibers, whether by being processed through a beater or by being pounded, are used to make our papers.

From the four cardinal directions, from San Cristóbal de Las Casas, arrive men, women, and children at the Taller Leñateros, carrying with them an ecological conscience in all the books, notebooks, papers, boxes, and old cloths they bring; the best raw materials, the stuff of dreams, is almost always something that is no longer “useful.” But here, these raw materials are just as useful as natural fibers in making our recycled paper, more commonly known as our floral papers.

Sico: What is your next art book project? Will you be using handmade paper?

Silverio: One of our dreams, indeed we had already started working on it before the coronavirus pandemic hit, is editing and re-printing one of our most famous books, Nene Sol, Mama Luna.3 Ten years ago, we had a small print run of 10 copies, as we did not have the resources for an edition of 1.000. Now, with the economic crisis resulting from the pandemic, we have even less and have had to postpone the edition for 2022. Hopefully we will not have to postpone it further; over the next year we are looking to build a solid financial base for the printing.

And, of course, the book will be constructed with recycled papers for the text block, with the covers made from natural fibers; both will, as always, be made by hand in the Taller Leñateros.

Sico: How has the pandemic impacted the Taller?

Silverio: Like the majority of Mexico, the epidemic has brought thousands of difficulties and hundreds of challenges. Thankfully, none of the members of our studio have contracted the virus, and luckily, none of their family members have gotten sick either. Following sanitary recommendations, the Taller closed its doors for four months; the city was paralyzed, not to mention the country. During those months, nothing was sold. The cultural tourism that normally comes to San Cristóbal, to buy our wares and see the sights, dropped severely.

As of July 2020, amidst soft reopenings of work and social activities, we have a rather adverse outlook, especially within the cultural sector. Ninety-nine percent of the Festivals of Books in the country have been canceled, just as the Tianguis Turístico has been postponed to 2021.4 Other independent cultural events have been canceled due to the lack of economic resources. Not to mention that citizens eager to buy from local artists and cultural centers have postponed their support until better times.

We think this will be a period of great challenges, to survive in the middle of this great economic and social crisis. We recall the early days of the Taller; we seek out our elders. They instill in us the courage and strength they had when they started their journeys, may we hold up high the staff they have passed on to us, may it not falter nor fall on our journey.

1. Translator’s note: The idiom in Spanish, del mismo cuero salen las correas, directly translates as “from the rawhide come the straps,” meaning it all comes from the same source. A rough English equivalent would be “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” which is ironic as the name Taller Leñateros can be translated as Woodcutter Studio.

2. Translator’s note: In this case, the “x” is a gender-neutral alternative to Leñateras (feminine) or Leñateros (masculine); it translates to “woodcutters.”

3. Translator’s note: Nene Sol, Mama Luna translates as Baby Sun, Mother Moon.

4. Editor’s note: Tianguis Turístico is an annual cultural fair hosted by the Mexican Secretary of Tourism.

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>CORRECTION

Author’s Correction: In my article “Performative Paper” in the Summer 2020 issue of Hand Papermaking (vol. 35, no. 1), I neglected to mention that Lisa Haque collaborated with Jarrod Beck during his residency as part of the 2015 Dieu Donné Workspace Program. (For more on the collaboration, see Jarrod Beck’s artist statement on his Workspace residency, available on Dieu Donné’s website at residencies.dieudonne.org/jarrod-beck/.) In addition, the caption for his work pictured on page 39 should have read: Jarrod Beck, RAWHAZE, 2015, 40 x 30 inches, pigmented abaca. Collaborator: Lisa Haque. Courtesy of the artist and Dieu Donné, Brooklyn, NY. I extend my sincere apologies to Lisa Haque for this omission. —Michelle Samour

>IN MEMORIAM

Dear Hand Papermaking friends:

We are sad to report the passing of Raymond Tomasso (1949–2020), on June 25, in Englewood, Colorado from complications resulting from a three-year diagnosis and treatment for lung cancer. He left with his boots on, working in his studio.

Ray was an internationally recognized artist, papermaker, printer, and avid paper historian. Over the years he hosted many friends and mentored many young artists, papermakers, and printers at his Inter-Ocean Curiosity Studio and around the world.

Ray once said, “Research takes you to some very bizarre places.” His quest for knowledge about papermaking and book arts would lead him to travel extensively, meeting lots of interesting people and working in many faraway places. In 1986, Ray was one of the eight original founders of IAPMA (International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists) and helped organize their first US conference the following year in Reno, Nevada in conjunction with the Friends of Dard Hunter.

Ray will be greatly missed by his wife Diane and friends and family.

Contributions to the Ray Tomasso Art and Design Scholarship Fund can be made online at omahanorthhighschoolfoundation.com/donate (select Ray’s fund in the dropdown menu). Checks can be made to Omaha North High School Foundation, Ray Tomasso Scholarship Fund and mailed c/o Omaha North High Magnet School, 4410 N 36th Street, Omaha, NE 68111. 

Link to Ray’s July 18th, Zoom memorial: vimeo.com/441332071/4225b43c52

Susan Mackin Dolan

Edwards, Colorado

Ray standing in front of his cast paper piece in the Paper.Works exhibition at the Arvada Center for the Arts in 2017.

>ALONG THE PAPER ROAD...

Twelve by Eight

BIO: Since 1998 this column has featured paper musings from Elaine Koretsky (1932–2018), renowned paper historian, researcher, and traveler. Since 2016, her daughter Donna Koretsky, co-founder and owner of Carriage House Paper, has continued the legacy.

ABSTRACT: In this issue, Donna Koretsky discovers the history of an interestingly sized mould.

I always thought it was a bit odd that the first papermaking mould that Elaine (my mother and partner in Carriage House Paper) ordered from E. Amies and Son Co. was 8 x 12 inches. It wasn’t the standard 8.5 x 11 inches American size, nor was it the standard European A4 size of 8.3 x 11.7 inches. Nevertheless, it suited us just fine. Now, 45 years later, I figured out why.

Like many of us who have spent time contemplating life in general during this pandemic, I began contemplating the beginnings of my own papermaking odyssey by rereading the book Papermaking as an Artistic Craft by John Mason, which was an enormous source of information for Elaine and me when we first started making paper in the early 1970s. The first thing I noticed when I reopened the book was that it was published by Twelve by Eight Press. Then, in Chapter 3, Mason writes, “I decided on 12 x 8 inches as the size for my first paper, and Amies of Kent made the laid mould and deckle.”1

It is a charming, eleven-chapter, 96-page, how-to book, full of detailed illustrations, and I only now realize how influential this little book was. We were hungry for papermaking information in those early days and devoured this immensely readable book, apparently replicating everything Mason did, right down to forming the same size sheets.

Hand papermakers in the early 1970s were scarce, but we all managed to find one another. Papermakers in the 1950s were even scarcer, and they too found one another. When his book was first published in 1959, Mason, who lived in England, gave credit to two early well-known-to-us papermakers, “Dr. Dard Hunter for the greatest encouragement” and “to Douglass Howell for real inspiration from across the Atlantic.”2 Dard Hunter even wrote the foreword, comparing Mason to Dr. Schaeffer from the 18th century who is widely known for making paper from many plants, as Mason also experimented with plant fibers found near his home.

Mason began his papermaking exploration in the kitchen, as did we, quickly outgrowing it, and jokes “An outhouse, however, is much to be preferred and should be requisitioned if at all possible.”3 Mason actually moved his paper mill to the Leicester College of Art where he taught, while we moved our workshop next door to an old carriage house. Mason suggests making paper from various garden plants, including iris leaves, which in fact became our papermaking fiber of choice in those early days. 

His well-illustrated discussion on beating methods ranges from beating with sticks as used in Japan, to stampers, to food mixers originally used by bakers, and culminates with the use of Hollander beaters. Curiously, he doesn’t mention using a blender as a macerating device until the last chapter, when he surprisingly experiments with synthetic fibers (remember this is in the 1950s), and puts nylon filament into a “laboratory homogenizer.” Elaine and I amassed a cemetery of burned-out kitchen blenders in our first months of papermaking, until we were able to secure a used restaurant blender that I continue to use to this day. We also purchased a Valley beater.

I like how Mason intersperses his practical how-to steps, learned from his own experimentation, with references to how paper was made historically. In his chapter on moulds, Mason discusses how early paper was formed by pouring pulp into cloth-covered moulds floating in water, and the sheet dried inside the mould. He then suggests that this mould “may be used also with the more modern dipping method when making experimental papers.”4 Elaine and I used this technique often during our early papermaking days, as it was a great way to make large sheets that easily dried flat.

In the chapter that includes a discussion on drying, Mason develops his own drying system of placing the newly pressed sheets between blotters and applying pressure. Additionally he includes an illustration of how East Asian papers are put on walls and allowed to dry in the sun, and comments that “we can use an electric convector heater with a fan to speed up the drying.”5 I am certain this is why in the early 1970s we dried our 8 x 12-inch laid sheets by brushing them onto Formica boards, and a fan certainly speeded up the drying.

The 87 playfully drawn illustrations by well-known local artist Rigby Graham add charm to this book. Mason is always portrayed wearing his lab coat with sleeves rolled up, and his striped shirt and tie peeking underneath. Many illustrations are frantic papermaking scenarios showing Mason forming sheets with his son in the background, amidst cooking pots, presses, fibers, plants, teapots and cups, and puddles of water.

I discovered there are 24 editions of this little book, published between 1959 and 1979, in hardback and paperback, by both Faber and Faber and Mason’s Twelve by Eight Press. Many of the editions even include a few samples of his paper made from cotton rags. A Google search shows his book still available at reasonable prices, and if you do not yet own a copy, I encourage you to get one. It is a true treasure. 

“Paper making is a mystery, a magic. Once we stole it from the wasps and they are still taking vengeance.”6

1. John Mason. Papermaking as an Artistic Craft (Leicester, England: Twelve by Eight Press, 1963), 38.

2. Ibid., 6. This is the only reference I have ever seen of Hunter being bestowed the honorific doctor.

3. Ibid., 17.

4. Ibid., 37.

5. Ibid., 69.

6. Ibid., 47.

“I boiled over the kitchen stove when I thought my wife was out of the way.”

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>TEACHING HAND PAPERMAKING

Backyard Kozo 

BIO: Based in Philadelphia, Winifred Radolan operates an itinerant teaching papermill, and has taught papermaking to thousands of adults and children. Her works, both paper and book, have been exhibited internationally and are in private collections.

ABSTRACT: In this issue, Winifred Radolan gets some much-needed vat time.‍

Glancing at my calendar, I have just realized that I have not been in the vats with my papermaking friends since mid-March! No wonder I am feeling as if that was another life, “back in the day!” While my local community of papermakers have remained creative in related pursuits, it’s been five months since my art center closed due to the pandemic. Understandably, there is a general reluctance to gather in groups around communal vats of water and pulp. I really miss everyone!

It was, however, great fun to prepare for the Hand Papermaking Instagram Live Event ‘Papermaking in Place’ that I shared with Amy Richards. I imagine I had been emboldened with newfound technological courage from recent virtual classes I had been teaching in book making and puppy training, because when our Newsletter editor Maria Olivia Davalos Stanton asked if I’d be willing to be a presenter for Hand Papermaking’s new venture into Instagram, I replied that even though I didn’t even know what that was, I’d certainly give it a try! I didn’t find out exactly what they had in mind until a later Zoom meeting. I was a little thrown off to learn that my part was to be a presentation of my new home papermaking studio, which still remains a work in progress! I was assured, however, that a large part of my projected audience would simply enjoy seeing the creative home equipment and organization of space in an informal studio.

Then a “lightbulb went off” when I heard that Amy planned to present her kozo garden and discuss how she cultivates and controls her crop of paper mulberry. When I learned that Amy was not going to  actually make washi, I knew what I wanted to demonstrate in my studio space!

I gathered some dried, uncooked kozo, my pot, buckets, scale, soda ash, and strainers so that I could show the equipment I had used to prepare my pre-cooked fibers. Then I freshened some already beaten kozo from my refrigerator with a fifteen-minute journey through my Hollander beater to rehydrate and brush it a bit. I mixed a small batch of synthetic formation aid, as I had no tororo aoi root prepared for the neri, or thickener.

In the dry part of my work space I arranged several of the book models that had been produced in my two Zoom Books sessions. Also on the book counter were two small presses filled with paper samples just waiting to become parts of books. This space has been where I have spent the entirety of my pandemic teaching time.

The actual papermaking area was still a work in organizational progress. My portable Grummer press and more stationary Aardvark press were there, along with my drying box and a collection of papermaking moulds, felts, and synthetic chamois. There was a shelf of unprocessed fiber just waiting for the opportunity to be used. And, I set up a table of various completed washi samples that I had made in the past. Also on display were my home-fashioned sugeta and beating sticks.

While I contemplated setting up my vat on a table outside on the deck, it occurred to me that it would be so much easier to have a friend hold my phone to film the demonstration, rather than fuss with the arrangement of a tripod stand. Fortunately, my longtime and most generous friend, Marlene Adler, was game for the adventure. She did a wonderful job of leaving me worry-free to simply talk my way through a very familiar process.

It was great fun to demonstrate how I set up the vat of kozo fiber and neri and how to perform the sheet-forming motions with the sugeta to create a sheet of washi. I pulled and couched only a few sheets. Then I moved on to demonstrate how to give the paper a light pressing and brush it out onto drying boards.

Afterwards there was time for several good questions from the live audience. It seemed that the time flew by and I found that I had enjoyed the whole event. I invited Marlene to stay afterwards to use up the remaining fiber as a thank you for being my videographer. And later, while cleaning up, I suddenly realized that I had had a national Instagram audience for the first paper created in my new space. What a great beginning for the new studio!

Papermaking in my backyard once again!

I set up a table with various completed washi samples, my home-fashioned sugeta and beating sticks, and some kozo.

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>DECORATED PAPER

Dollhouse Wallpapers

BIO: Sidney Berger is Director Emeritus of the Phillips Library of the Peabody Essex Museum, and a professor on the faculty of the library schools at Simmons College and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He and his wife Michèle Cloonan put together the Berger–Cloonan Collection of Decorated Paper (about 22,000 pieces), now in the Cushing Library at Texas A&M University.

ABSTRACT: In this issue, Sid takes us to a world of miniature decorated papers.

I have written, in these pages, of wallpapers and even wallpaper sample books. I would like to look at a small niche of this world for the present column. And I do mean a “small niche”:  wallpapers for dollhouses.  

Perhaps the most famous such structures in the US are the Thorne Rooms,1 distributed among several museums: the Art Institute of Chicago (which has 68 of the rooms), the Phoenix Art Museum (20), the Knoxville Museum of Art (9), The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis (1), and the Kaye Miniature Museum formerly in Los Angeles (1).2 Many of the period rooms have wallpapers with miniature patterns, small enough to adorn the tiny rooms in the same proportions that they would decorate full-sized rooms. The website for the Art Institute of Chicago gives plenty of information about the rooms, but, unfortunately, the site does not mention the wallpapers. I have observed that often when publishers are compiling information for colophons, they give the names of the papermakers, the printers, the type designers and letter foundries, the binders, the artists whose works are pictured in the books, the methods of reproducing the images and the companies that do that work, and so forth, even, sometimes, mentioning the season in which the work was done and how the printer had to endure terrible weather conditions, poor lighting, and the miseries of advancing age. But only rarely do we get the names of the artists who have made the decorated papers. This is the case with the wallpapers in the Thorne Rooms, and with other dollhouses in museums across the country. We might be told that the wallpaper was specially made for this or that room, but not the maker or the artist. 

In the Berger–Cloonan Collection of Decorated Papers at Texas A&M University, there are hundreds of sheets of decorated dollhouse wallpapers. It is of course possible for the manufacturers of these papers to take a full-size pattern and reduce it mechanically from a photographic copy. But many of these papers are designed only for the tiny rooms they will adorn. This requires the artist to think small, to create tiny patterns. For us, the bonus was that since these papers were made for tiny rooms, the full sheets did not take up much space. We could get hundreds of them into a single flat-file drawer.  

The remarkable thing about these papers is the amazing range of images: birds and animals; fish; flowers (and vases), shrubs, and ferns; trees; people doing all kinds of things; hunters and other sports activities (basketball, baseball, football, archery, polo, horse racing, and many others); clouds and rain and the sun and moon; planes and cars, ships and bicycles; geometrical patterns; toys; baby rattles; amorphous splotches and lines; hearts (and the other three suits from decks of cards); landscapes and historical scenes; dishes; fans; foods (especially desserts); flags; shells; angels (but no devils that I could find); Asian and Western scenes and motifs; costumes; African safaris and Medieval and Renaissance scenes; and scores of other patterns. Further, the printing methods were as varied as one might find in regular wallpapers. Many of the sheets were printed letterpress, some looked marbled or had paste-paper patterns, a host were embossed or debossed (with the pattern raised or “indented” into the sheet, respectively). Some of the papers feel as if they are grosgrain ribbons; some feel as if the pattern is reaching right out of the surface of the sheet. A few of the papers that Michèle and I had in our collection depicted porcelain tiles, like Delft or some of the amazing Turkish or Portuguese tiles. These, of course, would make the dollhouse room look tiled, but of course, one would be looking at a piece of decorated paper.

As with any other decorated-paper genre, one can expect to find sample books of these exquisite papers. In my wife’s and my book collection is a “book”—that is, a collection of these samples on a large metal ring—with 220 samples, done by a company called Mini Graphics in Cincinnati, Ohio. Though this collection is labeled “Pre-Pasted Wallpaper and Matching Fabric / Book II,” it appears that every sample is paper. The fact that there are over 200 samples in this single book, and that it is book number 2, indicates that there were probably hundreds of other patterns in this company’s line. (There was certainly a “Book I” and there could have been a “Book III” as well.) This line of decorated papers also included dozens of “Borders,” little decorated paper strips that were to go along walls at the ceiling level, just as one finds with full-sized wallpapers.  

One company, DH More, shows on its website over a thousand images of miniature patterns for wallpapers.3 In fact, this is a whole (little) world in itself. A search on Google under “Dollhouse Wallpapers” got 2,700,000 hits, including ones from some of the premiere wallpaper designers and producers in the country. At the top of the heap is the revered Bradbury & Bradbury, about whom I have written in the past in this column. Their lovely papers are often hand printed on fine papers. Their website shows 45 beautiful papers, with the accompanying text, “Experience the BIG scale magic of Bradbury & Bradbury . . . on a very SMALL scale! Now even a shoe box can be a jewel box with our new Bradbury & Bradbury 1:12 scale dollhouse wallpapers!”4 

Some companies, understanding the demands of miniaturists creating dollhouses, also offer papers that look like wood or tiles; there is one company that sells what they call a “Wallpapers and Flooring Set.”5 The flooring, looking like, for instance, a parquet floor, is just another piece of decorated paper. This company also has wallpapers that show wainscoting, so a full wall can be shown with the upper decorated paper panel and the plain wood wainscoting and paneling below the decorated area—all shown on a single piece of printed dollhouse papers.  

Part of our fascination with decorated papers is in the variety of decorative techniques and patterns that artists have come up with over the centuries. These papers are a case in point—a whole world of decorated paper in miniature—papers fit for queens and kings . . . and dolls.

1. These rooms are generally referred to as the “Thorne Rooms,” the result of the vision of Narcissa Niblack Thorne. See www.artic.edu/departments/PC-15/thorne-miniature-rooms.

2. The Los Angeles–based Carole and Barry Kaye Museum of Miniatures closed in 2009 and its holdings were transferred to The Baker Museum in Naples, Florida. See www.city-data.com/articles/Carole-and-Barry-Kaye-Museum-of.html and artisnaples.org/baker-museum. It is not clear from the museum’s website whether it has one of the Thorne Rooms.

3. dollhousesandmore.com/product-category/wallpaper/mini-graphics/.

4. bradbury.com/dollhouse_wallpaper.html.

5. www.thelittledollhousecompany.com/dollhouses-miniatures-furniture-kits/dollhouse-wallpaper-c-265_112/.

A collection of 220 samples on a large metal ring.

Since these papers were made for tiny rooms, the full sheets did not take up much space.

>PAPER CONSERVATION

When Damage Has Meaning

BIO: Maria Olivia Davalos Stanton is a visual artist and art conservator to be in San Francisco, California. In this column series, Davalos Stanton shares interviews, resources, and news about paper conservation—bringing the paper cycle full circle.

ABSTRACT: In this issue, Maria Olivia interviews Quinn Morgan Ferris (Senior Conservator for Special Collections) and Siobhan McKissic (Archival and Literary Manuscript Specialist) at the University of Illinois Library at Urbana–Champaign.

Maria Olivia: At the recent American Institute for Conservation annual conference, you gave a joint talk entitled “Reconsidering Damage: Collaborative Approaches to the Conservation of the Gwendolyn Brooks’ Archival Collection.” What was the focus of this presentation?

Both: In 2013, Gwendolyn Brooks’ archives were acquired by the University of Illinois Rare Book and Manuscript Library. While Brooks was many things—a writer, teacher, Poet Laureate, and the first Black person to win a Pulitzer Prize—she was also an avid record keeper. As she tore lines from her notebooks, ripped photographs, and taped return addresses to correspondence, her materials became a sweeping reflection of her personality. Her “intentional damage” was such a feature of the unprocessed acquisition that collection managers wanted to preserve—not “fix”—it. The presentation, a collaboration between conservator and archivist, proposes a paradigm shift in how we consider damage—both intentional and incidental—based on our experience with Brooks’ papers.

Maria Olivia: Your talk challenges our notion of damage as pejorative, coming from a conservator and archivist, I think it is safe to say this is certainly a controversial idea, yet one that can lead us into new and powerful directions. What do you hope to change with this framework; what can damage teach us?

Quinn Morgan Ferris: I think that damage has always been instructive for conservators and archivists alike. It is usually the first diagnostic tool we use to understand more about the life of an object, as well as to inform future actions we take to provide the best care. Even so, I do think that we necessarily see damage in a negative light, since it is often a result of something disruptive occurring in the life of the object that sometimes leads to a loss of information or a lack of completion. Though there are definitely acts of damage that are unequivocally negative—such as damage that results from natural disasters, political upheavals, and purposeful destruction of cultural heritage as a means of erasure of certain groups—I think that having damage existing in the pejorative as a default can really bias our approaches and diminish our openness to learning from an object’s condition. Ultimately, what I think we are suggesting a paradigm shift from treating damage as an inherently negative state to seeing it more as a type of evidence that should be neutrally evaluated. The Gwendolyn Brooks papers are an excellent case study for this new paradigm because there is also so much to be learned from the damage. Also I think we see this shift as an opportunity for connection and education that might be missed if we treat all damage equally.

Siobhan McKissic: I totally agree but I also think one of the things I wanted to challenge was the idea of a neutral gaze when it comes to considering damage. What we think of as good and bad and in between in our collections is directly related to our own ideas about what the objects in our care mean to us, their former owners, and folks who will see those objects in the future. I think it’s past time for us to wrestle with our impulses to fix and be clear about our intentions in conservation work. Personally, I want reverence for the “damage” in Brooks’ collection because it is beautiful and that is in no way a neutral stance. She created these losses on purpose. She tore and cut and pasted and I want it to be treated like the art that it is. I think so much about what looks like damage to us is just our own discomfort with imperfection. We have this idea that archives will give you the answer to all the questions we have about Brooks and the damage in this collection taught me to really sit with not knowing all her intentions and I’m incredibly grateful for that.

Maria Olivia: Have there been other treatments where you find you want to, or are even able to, highlight the damage and repairs?

Quinn: Archives conservation within an academic research library, in my experience, already leans more towards transparency in making treatment more obvious, so in that sense I think there are many treatments I have negotiated with curators that are less concealed. And while I can’t think of a huge number of treatments where the damage was specifically highlighted outside of Brooks’ collection, I can say that I have had lots of conversations about not repairing items that are in the process of falling apart. A good example that comes to mind are antiphonals or other types of medieval manuscripts in their original, very damaged bindings—often when these bindings start to fall apart we can see interesting examples of construction, types of binding waste, and other materials that are used. Though keeping a very old binding in use as it is coming apart may seem counterintuitive in terms of use and what it might suggest to users about care, the truth is that it is much less invasive to let certain items fall apart naturally, then to preemptively go in and try to “fix” them. And as they are coming apart, we suddenly have access to all kinds of material-culture knowledge that we wouldn’t be able to see otherwise. This obviously must be balanced with the reality of trying to prevent damage that might result in a loss of information, or a loss of material. That is why unique consideration for every object is important, as is open communication between conservator and curator/archivist.

Maria Olivia: What was most surprising about working together on this project?

Quinn: I can’t speak for Siobhan, but I know for myself one thing that was surprising was how generative this work has been for us once we put our heads together. We were both set on the path of reconsidering damage in this collection by curator Anna Chen, who previously worked with the Brooks’ collection. She has a lot of very interesting and influential thoughts on the role of damage in the collection that immediately resonated with both of us for wildly different reasons. But I think we both felt from the start that there were larger ramifications in terms of social justice, community building, and collaborative partnership; we just didn’t have them fully in our grasp yet. Once we started talking things through, it was very edifying to see how on the same page we were as well as how complementary our professional experiences were in thinking about our broader goals, especially when it came to figuring out how to communicate them with others.

Siobhan: I think Quinn put it beautifully. I think we were on two sides of a many-sided question and were led by Anna to consider that there could be a shift in approaching the answer that went beyond the typical survey between conservator and curator/archivist. That we were even given the time and space to think about this was a surprise that I’d never anticipated when I got into archival work.

Maria Olivia:  Related to the above question on working together; how did you two meet?

Quinn: We met as new hires—I had just started in my first professional job (after internships and fellowships) as a rare book conservator at the University of Illinois and Siobhan was here working as a graduate assistant in the Libraries Preservation Department as well as in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library in 2016. We share similar interests, are around the same age, and are passionate about many of the same things so it was natural for us to be friends as well as colleagues. That connection stayed true through both of us changing roles over the last several years until we both were in positions to take on this research as collaborators.

Siobhan: Like Quinn said, we met when I was a graduate student at U of I working in Preservation Services doing general collections repairs, triage, and disaster recovery. I actually don’t know if Quinn is aware of this actually but I was very interested in the work Quinn was doing in conservation because I’d only met one conservator previously and my only example I’d seen for conservation work was Rowan Pope, Olivia’s dad, from the television series Scandal so we started talking and realized we clicked. Our art backgrounds gave us a similar language and I think we’re both just really interested in how we can use these skills we have to bring voice to larger questions in the field.

Maria Olivia: Art conservators can be thought of as invisible hands, helping preserve an object yet often unseen to the general public. And yet, many of the treatments in the Brooks’ collection leave the repairs visible, sometimes jarringly so, as you put it. What prompted these choices?

Quinn: Initially, the main motivator for making our treatments highly visible came from the desire to present the object as faithfully as possible to how it was in Brook’s possession. This was a strategy that was initially advocated for by Anna Chen. The subsequent treatment choices were made in close consultation with her to make sure visibility and fidelity to the original state (even or especially when that state was damaged) stayed a high priority. Furthermore, we wanted to avoid adding conservation as a layer of interpretation and allow the objects to speak for themselves. While it was sometimes a challenge to refrain from making seamless, well-concealed repairs, I appreciated the ways it forced me to reflect on what practices might be more automatic if not made to reconsider their appropriateness. Even though much thought goes into conservation decision-making, there can still be blind spots especially when considering materials that defy traditional expectations. It requires an openness on the part of the conservator to continue to learn and adjust their practices and perceptions. When Siobhan came on board as archivist working with Brooks, I think that original inclination deepened for all sorts of reasons, not least of which being a commitment to making not just the repairs themselves visible, but the labor behind those repairs visible as well. That shift alone has huge ramifications, from the awareness of the public regarding cultural-heritage conservation, to the experience of the individual user whose interaction with an object may change drastically if they are able to see how something may have been cared for in the past.

Siobhan: I agree with everything Quinn said. When we started thinking critically about how to engage this discussion, I kept thinking over and over about how much of our work, in different ways, is invisible. Most folks aren’t coming to these objects in our care with much thought about what work is done to make them available long-term for viewing and that’s just fine. We’re not the main attraction. However, I do think that in dealing with the question of whose invisible hands make these decisions, both our fields would benefit greatly from radical transparency. We have a duty to present material “as faithfully as possible” as Quinn put it but I think we also have a duty to allow folks to use all their senses to engage with the work to extend the life of the material and create a point of entry for folks who didn’t realize this was a career option. I always think about what I would’ve done if I’d known about conservation or archival work during college or even high school. If we could introduce more folks to this work earlier, think of the shifts and conservations that could be happening in our fields.

The conservator archivist duo: Quinn Morgan Ferris and Siobhan McKissic.‍

‍
2018 poster for The Institute of Conservation: (Un)finished Thoughts: Approaches to Conserving Transitory States in the Working Documents of Gwendolyn Brooks.

See a 2018 poster on their research presented to ICON (Institute of Conservation) on our Web-Only page.

‍

>STUDYING HAND PAPERMAKING

Being Still with Kozo

BIO: Amy Richard is a visual artist, writer, and proprietor of Amy Richard Studio in Gainesville, Florida where she produces original artwork, teaches papermaking, and tends to her kozo garden. In this column series, Richard explores the unique energy of handmade paper, the spiritual and healing characteristics of the process itself, and the opportunities for studying papermaking in colleges, universities, and other established art centers in the United States and abroad.

ABSTRACT: In this issue, Amy Richard discusses the origins of the paper mulberry tree [aka kozo] and what it has meant for her to “be still” with this ancient papermaking plant.‍

Still in major reading mode, I have been enjoying Michael Pollan’s best-selling book The Botany of Desire, which caught my attention last month while moving bookshelves in preparation for painting the living room (because that is what we do when stuck at home for weeks on end). Browsing the pages after many years, I was fascinated by the author’s discussion of our hopelessly anthropocentric attitude toward nature.1

As Pollan ruminates in the introduction, “What existential difference is there between the human beings’ role in this (or any) garden and the bumblebee’s?”2 Continuing the thread for several pages, he describes an epiphany of sorts: “All these plants, which I’d always regarded as the objects of my desire, were also, I realized, the subjects, acting on me, getting me to do things for them they couldn’t do for themselves.”3

It was a fun perspective and I found myself thinking about it days later while checking up on the paper mulberry plants in my kozo garden.4 Working in the late afternoon, I was glad to be under the large, fuzzy tri-lobed leaves, providing precious shade from the intense Florida sun. Snapping off leaf stems and trimming off the twigs and lateral branches that were protruding from the smooth trunks,5 I realized this little forest, about twenty by forty feet, had become a sanctuary from the constant assault of worrisome news each day.

And then I had my own little epiphany: Have I been “manipulated” by this plant, as Pollan suggests? Its presence certainly “strongly encouraged me”—so much that I quit a perfectly good day job and talked my husband into moving to Iowa so I could attend grad school (specifically to learn to make paper using this very fiber, among other things).

Indeed, like Pollan, I found myself wondering, who was actually in charge?

Ready for some air conditioning, I returned to the studio where I was determined to find out once and for all where this plant was from; it was a question I’d been asked several times when teaching and was frustrated by the ambiguous and sometimes conflicting information I’d found over the years. Maybe it was just me finally being focused but this time was different; I found a number of articles that grabbed my attention immediately, beginning with “A Holistic Picture of Austronesian Migrations Revealed by the Phytogeography of Pacific Paper Mulberry.”6

As explained by the authors (and greatly summarized here): Because paper mulberry was so integral to the Austronesian culture for the production of bark cloth and cordage, researchers used DNA sequences from over 600 plant samples to track its migration patterns, with hopes of applying this information as circumstantial evidence for unlocking some of the contentious mysteries about the people who utilized it, people who are thought to have traveled vast distances of the Pacific ocean more than 7,000 years ago transporting animals and plants—including paper mulberry cuttings—with them to the resource-poor islands of Oceania in their ocean-going canoes!7 

Their research was also able to use “unambiguous DNA evidence” to establish Taiwan and southern mainland China as the place of origin for the paper mulberry, based on the genetic diversity in specific locations, strongly supporting the theory that both the plant and the Austronesian people share Taiwan as their ancestral homeland.

Complementing existing archeological, linguistic, and human genetics data, the study is considered the first of its kind to use commensal8 plant species data to track the migratory patterns of prehistoric human populations.9 (The authors cited the use of some animal species being used in a similar way but explained that the plant is a more reliable source for analysis due to its extraordinary distribution in the Pacific, among other factors.)

It might have been the heat but I felt a little light-headed as I tried to absorb it all. Like the apple, potato, tulip, and hemp plants discussed by Pollan in his book, the paper mulberry seems to be another quintessential example of a plant that has been able to utilize humans to help it spread in ways it couldn’t do on its own—hopping from island to island, continent to continent to establish itself. 

Like the spread of the apple seed, the result has been profound with countless cultures using the paper mulberry’s inner bast fiber for a wealth of textiles including bark cloth, rope, clothing, building materials, and lanterns, etc. not to mention the sumptuous paper that has been used as a primary vehicle for communication and artistic expression for millennia.

Living in close proximity to this plant and being able to observe it closely for the past few years, there is no doubt in my mind that it would be able to survive travel across “major water gaps” in a canoe or raft, as proposed by the researchers. Numerous times I’ve trimmed paper mulberry branches, placing the discarded material in empty garbage cans, amazed to see the bare stalks sprouting tiny green leaves a week later with no access to soil or water! While this is strictly anecdotal, they seem to be able to survive solely from the thick Florida humidity, sprouting even more when treated to less than an inch of rainwater. Last year, one 6-foot stalk was set on a concrete floor in my studio and abandoned for weeks, before it began to sprout on its own.

*    *    *

Back in the kozo garden this week, I imagined ancient people traveling across a cobalt blue ocean with precious bundles of paper mulberry cuttings in stow, with nothing more than a moist cloth or a small vessel of fresh water at the base to keep them alive. I marveled to think of their seafaring abilities and how brave they were to have endured traveling such great distances in search of new lands. It made me appreciate our shared connection to this plant—an amazingly resilient tree that is able to flourish in disturbed soils, tenaciously holding onto the earth for stability with its underground rhizomes, but remaining flexible enough to endure stormy weather. I am trying to do the same, like everyone these days, while also wondering what the future will bring. 

Tending to my kozo garden, I continue to be comforted by its presence. While trimming the leaves and branches, I smile just as (the late) Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Han encourages us all to do in his wonderful recorded meditations. In my mind, I can hear his gentle voice reminding me to be still, to breathe, and be grateful.

Author’s note: The theories discussed here are limited to the migration of kozo to regions of Oceania [Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia] and does not speak to the origins of kozo in Japan or Korea. Stay tuned.

1. Michael Pollan, The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World (New York: Random House, 2001).

2. Idid., xiii.

3. Ibid., xv.

4.Paper mulberry and kozo are both common names for the plant Broussonetia papyrifera.

5. I’ve found that regular trimming allows the plant to put its energy into growing straight and tall, making it easier to harvest and process the bast fiber in the winter.

6. A sampling of articles found:

Chi-Shan Chang et al., “A Holistic Picture of Austronesian Migrations Revealed by Phylogeography of Pacific Paper Mulberry,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, no. 44 (November 2015).

Gabriela Olivares et al., “Human Mediated Translocation of Pacific Paper Mulberry [Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) L’He´r. ex Vent. (Moraceae)]: Genetic Evidence of Dispersal Routes in Remote Oceania,” PLoS ONE 14, no. 6 (2019).

Daigu Sigua, “Austronesian Tapa Cloth,” Taiwanese Poetry and Songs (blog), Austronesian Origin, January 2018, austronesianorigin.wixsite.com/austronesianorigin/tapa-cloth.

7.  Chi-Shan Chang et al.

8. The term commensal refers to a species that benefits from the association with another host species (of plant or animal) to obtain nutrients, shelter, support, or locomotion from the host species, which is substantially unaffected.

9. Elizabeth A. Matisoo-Smith, “Tracking Austronesian Expansion into the Pacific via the Paper Mulberry Plant,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, no. 44 (November 2015). 

Trimming the paper mulberry in the late afternoon, I was glad to be under the canopy of large, fuzzy tri-lobed leaves, providing precious shade from the intense Florida sun.

Numerous times I’ve trimmed paper mulberry branches, placing the discarded material in empty garbage cans, amazed to see the bare stalks sprouting tiny green leaves days later with no access to soil or water.

Listings for specific workshops and other events in the following categories are offered free of charge on a space-available basis. Contact each facility directly for additional information or a full schedule. The deadline for the January 2021 newsletter is November 15.

> CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA, (215) 887-4882, www.abington art center.org. Classes, workshops, and exhibitions in a variety of media. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, visit abingtonartcenter.org/online-classes/ for more information.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN, (865) 436-5860, www.arrowmont.org. Classes and workshops in a variety of disciplines, including papermaking. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, visit www.arrowmont.org/craft-conversations/.  

The Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, Canada, (403) 762-6100 or (403) 762-6180, www.banffcentre.ca. Artist residencies in fully equipped papermaking studios and other disciplines. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, including the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, visit www.banffcentre.ca/articles/online-program-preview. 

Book Arts Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, (310) 722-9004, bookartsla.org. Classes in printing, bookbinding, and other crafts in the Culver City neighborhood. Closed for the time being.

Book Paper Thread, learn@bookpaperthread.com, bookpaperthread.com. Book Paper Thread offers online workshops to learn basic skills, explore artists books, or discover new paper treatments. Three book and paper instructors join together from across the country to present their expertise online, in your own home or studio. For workshop information, visit bookpaperthread.com/online-workshops-2.

Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network, Bainbridge Island, WA, (206) 842-4475, bainbridgebarn.org. Community art center with classes and open studios in a variety of art fields, including book arts and printmaking. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, visit bainbridgebarn.wildapricot.org/page-1836012 for more information.

John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC, (704) 837-2775, www.folkschool.org. Classes in papermaking and other crafts in the mountains of western North Carolina. Closed for the remainder of 2020. Visit their YouTube channel for Folk School webinars and garden videos from Farmer Teddy.

Carriage House Paper, Brooklyn, NY, (718) 599-7857, www.carriagehousepaper.com. Short, specialized, intensive workshops; private teaching sessions; artist collaborations; and group programs offered throughout the year at a fully equipped papermaking studio.

Center for Book Arts, New York, NY, (212) 481-0295, centerforbookarts.org. The Center for Book Arts is a contemporary arts organization dedicated to the art of the book through exhibitions, classes, public programming, literary presentations, opportunities for artists and writers, publications, and collections. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, visit centerforbookarts.org/online-learning.

Dieu Donné, Brooklyn, NY, (212) 226-0573, www.dieudonne.org. Beginning and advanced papermaking classes. Open studio sessions and community studio memberships are also available. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, visit www.dieudonne.org/remote-learning for more information.

Georgia Archives, Morrow, GA, (678) 364-3710, www.georgiaarchives.org/. The Georgia Archives identifies, collects, provides access to and preserves Georgia’s historical documents. Explore their online exhibitions and digital archives during the closure.

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME, (207) 348-2306, www.haystack-mtn.org. Haystack offers workshops in various disciplines, including papermaking and book arts. Closed for the remainder of 2020. The Haystack Fab Lab is producing personal protective equipment (PPE) in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. To learn more and support this effort, visit www.haystack-mtn.org/covid-ppe-project.

Helen Hiebert Paper Studio, Red Cliff, CO, www.helenhiebertstudio.com. Helen holds regular papermaking workshops at her studio in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, online, and around the world. For remote learning opportunities, visit helenhiebertstudio.com/shop/product-category/class/. 

Hook Pottery Paper, LaPorte, IN, (219) 362-9478, hookpotterypaper@comcast.net, www.hookpotterypaper.com. Hook Pottery Paper consists of a clay studio; a combined book, paper, and print studio; and a gallery shop. For information on residencies, workshops, and experiences at Hook Pottery Paper, visit www.hookpotterypaper.com/classes/. 

Inter-Ocean Curiosity Studio, Englewood, CO, (303) 789-0282. For more information on papermaking workshops with Ray Tomasso, contact him at ray@raytomasso.com or (303) 552-8256.

Jane Ingram Allen Studio, Santa Rosa, CA, (857) 234-2432, info@janeingramallen.com. For more information on papermaking workshops, individual consulting, and private use of her papermaking studio, visit janeingramallen.wordpress.com.

Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, Kalamazoo, MI, (269) 373-4938, info@kalbookarts.org, www.kalbookarts.org. The Center offers classes in book printing and binding, printmaking, hand papermaking, and creative writing. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, visit kalbookarts.org/workshops/. 

Karen Hanmer Book Arts, Glenview, IL, www.karenhanmer.com/. A private studio in north suburban Chicago offering workshops and private instruction to working practitioners and dedicated hobbyists, focusing on a solid foundation in traditional bookbinding skills. For more information on online workshops, visit www.karenhanmer.com/teaching/#WorkshopSchedule.

Maiwa School of Textiles, Vancouver, British Columbia, (604) 669-3939, www.schooloftextiles.com. Maiwa School of Textiles offers an international roster of instructors. Learn from some of the most skilled hands working in textiles, dyeing, weaving, and many more. Closed for the time being. Listen to Voices on Cloth: Podcasts from Maiwa at www.schooloftextiles.com/podcasts.

Massachusetts School of Art and Design, Boston, MA, (617) 879-7200, pce.massart.edu, MassArt’s Professional and Continuing Education offers courses and workshops in fine art and design including book arts and printing, professional design certificates, summer immersive programming, and more. Fall 2020 continuing education classes will be run online. For more information, visit pce.massart.edu/catalog/summer-2020/.

Minah Song Art Services, Arlington, VA, (646) 352-3828, Paper conservation studio in the Washington DC metro area which also offers workshops. For more information on workshops and services, visit www.minahsong.com.

Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN, (612) 215-2520, www.mnbookarts.org. A visual arts center that celebrates the art of the book, from letterpress printing to hand papermaking. The Center offers youth and adult classes, exhibitions, artist residencies, studio memberships, and more. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, visit www.mnbookarts.org/category/adult-virtual-workshops/ for more information.

Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory and Educational Foundation, Cleveland, OH, (216) 361-9255, www.morganconservatory.org. The Morgan Conservatory Open Studio program provides artists and students access to studio space and equipment; gives them an opportunity to create art in areas of papermaking, letterpress printing, and bookbinding; and presents regular workshops in papermaking, printing, book arts, and mixed technique. Closed for the time being. Browse the National Juried Exhibition 2020 online here www.morganconservatory.org/national-juried-exhibition-2020.

Papermakers of Victoria, at Box Hill Community Arts Centre, Whitehorse, Victoria, Australia, papermakers.org.au. Papermaking studio offering workshops, exhibitions, and studio access. Closed for the time being.

The Papertrail, New Dundee, Ontario, Canada, (800) 421-6826, papertrail.ca/blog/. Workshops taught in English or French in papermaking, marbling, related arts, and studio rental scheduled on an as-needed basis.

PaperWorks, Tucson, AZ, paperworks.info/index.html. This Sonoran Collective for Paper and Book Artists provides educational and creative opportunities through workshops, programs, collaborative groups, community exhibitions by PaperWorks members, and scholarships for students studying paper arts.

PapierWespe (PaperWasp), Klimschgasse 2/1, Vienna, Austria, (0676) 77-33-153, office@
papierwespe.at, www.papierwespe.at. Workshops in English and German taught by paper specialists in downtown Vienna. For information about upcoming workshops, visit www.papierwespe.at/workshops/.

Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC, (828) 765-2359, www.penland.org, Penland offers a full program of craft workshops, including papermaking and paper arts. Closed for the remainder of 2020.

Pyramid Atlantic, Hyattsville, MD, (301) 608-9101, www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org, offers workshops in papermaking, printmaking, and book arts as well as residencies, apprenticeships, and internships. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, visit www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org/pyramid-at-home.

Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking. Atlanta, GA, (404) 894-5726, paper.gatech.edu. An internationally renowned resource on the history of paper and paper technology, the museum’s mission is to collect, preserve, increase and disseminate knowledge about papermaking–past, present and future. To read their reopening updates, and to explore remote learning opportunities, visit paper.gatech.edu/upcoming-workshops.

San Diego Book Arts, 8680 Washington Avenue, La Mesa, CA 91942, www.sandiegobookarts.com. The mission of San Diego Book Arts is to serve as an educational and creative resource for the community and to advance the book as a vital contemporary art form. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, visit www.sandiegobookarts.com/virtual-studio-tours. 

San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA, (415) 565-0545, sfcb.org. Book arts classes, workshops, events, and exhibitions year-round. Closed through August 15. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, visit sfcb.org/ShelterInStudio.

Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, Otis, OR, (541) 994-5485. www.sitkacenter.org. The Sitka Center offers workshops, residencies, and community events at its facility near Cascade Head and the Salmon River estuary in Oregon. Closed for the time being.

Snow Farm: The New England Craft Program, Williamsburg, MA, (413) 268-3101. www.snowfarm.org. Workshops at Snow Farm span eight subject areas, including printmaking and paper/book arts. For more information on re-opening policies and workshops, visit www.snowfarm.org/workshops/class-listings/covid-19-updates-reopening. 

The Soapbox: Community Print Shop & Zine Library, Philadelphia, PA, info@phillysoapbox.org, www.phillysoapbox.org, offers studio space, a zine library, and other resources for anyone interested in print-, book-, and zine-making. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, visit www.eventbrite.com/o/the-soapbox-community-print-shop-amp-zine-library-26170124449.

The Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA, (412) 261-7003, contemporarycraft.org. Classes in fiber, book art, and other media in Pittsburgh’s historic Strip District. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, visit contemporarycraft.org/cc-online-resources/.

Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, TX, (210) 224-1848, www.swschool.org. Classes at the Picante Paper Studio. Individual papermaking classes can be scheduled for one person or a group. Studio time, consultation, and instruction available. Adult community classes are now online, for more information, visit www.swschool.org/community-classes/adults.

Textile Art Center, New York City, NY. textileartscenter.com, NYC–based resource center for textile art which offers classes, workshops, open studio rentals, and events. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, visit textileartscenter.com/index.php?route=classes/category. 

West Dean College, Chichester, West Sussex, U.K., (0)1243 811301, www.westdean.org.uk. West Dean College of Arts and Conservation in West Sussex provides course work and degrees in creative arts and conservation fields, including papermaking, bookbinding, and printmaking. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, visit www.westdean.org.uk/study/online-hub. 

Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY, (845) 658-9133, info@wsworkshop.org,
www.wsworkshop.org. The Women’s Studio Workshop rents studio spaces in etching, papermaking, letterpress, silkscreen, book arts, and ceramics. For remote learning opportunities during the closure, visit wsworkshop.org/events/category/online-workshops-and-events/.

> EVENTS

The North American Hand Papermakers is hosting a virtual 2020 Annual Meeting: Paper Currents on October 17–18. Free for current members. For more information, visit northamericanhandpapermakers.org/conference/.

The 2020 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is going virtual on October 31–November 8. For more information, visit www.banffcentre.ca/online-festival.

Join The Morgan Conservatory for a socially distanced annual Kozo Harvest that serves as a hands-on introduction to the foundation of papermaking and the Morgan itself. Happening in November, for more details, visit www.morganconservatory.org/kozo-harvest-2020.

> RETREATS

n/a

> EXHIBITIONS

The juried West Coast Fiber Art Exhibition is on exhibit through October 2 at the Escondido Arts Partnership Municipal Gallery in California. For more information, visit escondidoarts.org/.

The 7th National Collegiate Handmade Paper Art Triennial at the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking in Atlanta, Georgia runs through December 4. This year’s jurors, Buzz Spector and Tatiana Ginsberg, have chosen 37 works by 35 students, from 15 universities nationally. For more information, visit paper.gatech.edu/7th-national-collegiate-handmade-paper-art-triennial.

A virtual guide to OPEN • SET, a bookbinding competition and exhibition sponsored by the American Academy of Bookbinding, is now available while it is currently hibernating at the Grolier Club. For more information, visit www.bookbindingacademy.org/open-set-catalog/.

> CALLS FOR ENTRIES

Participate in the juried show Postcards Are Paper for papermakers involving mail in postcards. The deadline for entries is November 1, no entry fee, cash prizes. For more information, visit postcardsarepaper.art.

The Chico Art Center in California seeks mixed media artwork that changes a book from its original form by altering its state or meaning. The exhibition, UNBOUND: The Altered Book, will open February 2021. Fill in the online form by January 10, 2021 at chicoartcenter.com/unbound/.

Treewhispers is an ongoing installation of flat handmade paper rounds with personal stories, poetry, and art related to trees. The project, started by Pamela Paulsrud and Marilyn Sward, continues to seek contributions. For more information, visit treewhispers.com/here.

> OPPORTUNITIES

Registration for CODEX VIII EXTRACTION: Art on the Edge of the Abyss opened September 15. The Book Fair and Symposium, to be held May 2–5, 2021 in Richmond, CA, features over 200 exhibitors from all over the world. All exhibitors are required to contact the CODEX Foundation in order to receive a registration link/code, new exhibitors must apply. For more information, visit www.codexfoundation.org/codex-2021.

The Women’s Studio Workshop (WSW) in Rosendale, NY, (845) 658-9133, info@wsworkshop.org, www.wsworkshop.org, has available the following upcoming artist residencies. For more information, visit wsworkshop.org/opportunity-calendar/.

The Ora Schneider Regional Grant is a month-long residency for artists residing in Greene, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan, and Orange counties. Due October 15.

The Studio Workspace Residency is open to artists who want 4–6 weeks of concentrated work time in any of our studios: etching, papermaking, letterpress, silkscreen, book arts, photography, or ceramics. Due October 15.

The Art-in-Education Artist’s Book Residency Grant is a residency awarded to two artists to create a new artist’s book and teach young people in WSW’s studios. Due November 15.

The Artist’s Book Grant is a 6–8 week residency for artists to produce a limited edition book work. Working intensively in our studios, artists print and bind their own books. Due November 15.

The Morgan Conservatory is now accepting applications for the 2021 Artist-In-Residence period. The residency provides 24-hour access to their bindery, papermaking, and printing studios. The deadline to apply is October 31. For more information, visit www.morganconservatory.org/artist-residencies.

> PUBLICATIONS, FILMS, VIDEOS

Retiring University of Iowa Center for the Book director, MacArthur Fellow, and renowned papermaker Tim Barrett reflects on his storied, 34-year career at Iowa. Watch Tim Barrett: The Story of a Papermaker on YouTube.

A film by Eyes and Ears, Two Rivers takes us inside a historic paper mill in Somerset, UK. Watch the short film at vimeo.com/409191271.

Paper Talk is an ongoing series of interviews by Helen Hiebert featuring artists and professionals who are working in the field of hand papermaking. New podcast episodes each month. Subscribe to Paper Talk in iTunes.

Mark Lander’s papermaking videos are soothing as they are educational. Watch the series Papermaking with Mark Lander on YouTube.

European Hand Papermaking: Traditions, Tools, and Techniques, by Timothy D. Barrett, offers a comprehensive “how-to” about traditional European hand papermaking aimed at a variety of audiences as the companion volume to Barrett’s Japanese Papermaking: Traditions, Tools and Techniques. For more information, visit thelegacypress.com/barrett-papermaking.html.

> ONLINE PROGRAMMING

Quarantine Public Library, a collaborative project dreamed up by Katie Garth and Tracy Honn, is a repository of books made by artists. The works published are for anyone to freely download, print and assemble—to keep or give away. Browse the dozens of artist’s books at www.quarantinepubliclibrary.com/by-artist.

Designed by Big Jump Press in response to the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, Read This Out Loud is a downloadable book template available for anyone to use. Make as many copies of this book as you can and disperse them in your community. Links to downloads and video demonstrations can be found at https://bigjumppress.blog/read-this-out-loud/.

The Rare Book School is now offering a varied series of free digital programs centered on bibliography and the history of the book. To find videos, visit rarebookschool.org/rbs-online/.

Each week, Fellows in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation are sharing tips on how people can care for their personal collections while they are staying safe at home! To read Attics and Basements and Closets, Oh My!, which includes posts on paper and pest management, visit www.artcons.udel.edu/outreach/public-outreach.

The inaugural Chantry Library Subject Bibliographies focuses on South Asian Paper. Compiled by Jasdip Singh Dhillon, this entry features familiar names such as Dard Hunter and Edo Loeber. The Subject Bibliographies aim to support the work of conservators by providing curated information through up-to-date lists of key information sources about a given subject, chosen by a specialist. Visit chantrylibrary.org/chantry-library-subject-bibliographies-2/ to learn more.

> MISCELLANEOUS

How well do you know the print world and the International Print Center New York? Test your knowledge at www.ipcny.org/crossword-challenge.

Seeking interns: Jim Croft, a bookbinder and papermaker who lives in the foothills of the Bitterroot Mountains in rural north Idaho, is seeking interns to help make books from raw materials. Particular focus will be on rebuilding a water-powered paper stamper. Also ongoing: flax, hemp, and cotton fiber processing; and medieval bookbinding using wooden boards and clasps. Interns have access to an extra wood-heated cabin with a board shear, guillotine, and fiber cutter. More information is available at cargocollective.com/oldway/Story-Place. Snail mail (Jim Croft, PO Box 211, Santa, ID 83866) is the best and quickest way to inquire about this internship opportunity.

> CLASSIFIEDS

Classifieds in Hand Papermaking Newsletter cost $2 per word, with a 10-word minimum. Payment is due in advance of publication.

Unbleached Philippine Abaca $6.00 lb. For samples, please send SASE to Ifugao Papercraft, 6477 E. Grayson, St., Inverness, FL 34452.

Need affordable paper for workshops? We offer authentic hanji, lokta, washi, and xuan. Mention this ad for 10% discount, paperwoman@paperconnection.com.

Cotton Linter Pulp. All quantities available. Call Gold’s Artworks, Inc. (910) 739-9605.

HAND PAPERMAKING

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SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR DONORS

Hand Papermaking acknowledges these recent

contributors to our non-profit programs. All

donations are greatly appreciated and tax

deductible. Our tax ID number is 52-1436849.

Call or write for information on annual giving

levels, automatic monthly gifts, or about adding

Hand Papermaking to your estate plan.

benefactors: Lisa Cirando, Mark Tomasko

patrons: Tom Balbo, Sid Berger & Michèle

Cloonan, Colin Browne

underwriters: Lois & Gordon James, Betsy

Miraglia, Teri Williams

sponsors: John Cirando, Gail Deery, Susan

Mackin Dolan, Michael Durgin, Michael Fallon,

Jane Farmer, Kathleen Fitzgerald, Sue Gosin,

Joan Hall, Helen Hiebert, Kyoko Ibe, Peter Newland

& Robyn Johnson, Laura Merrick Roe, Mary

Schlosser, Mina Takahashi

donors: Christine Aaron, Marlene Adler,

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Sullivan Jr., Betty Sweren, Thomas Taggart, Claire

Van Vliet, Aviva Weiner, Beck Whitehead,

Kathy Wosika

supporters: Timothy Barrett, Nancy Cohen,

Jennifer Davies, John Dietel, Karla & Jim

Elling, Helen Frederick, Sara Gilfert, David

Lance Goines, Robert Hauser, Mildred Monat

Isaacs, Kristin Kavanagh, Sue Kanowith-Klein,

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Winifred Lutz, M. P. Marion, Edwin Martin,

Lynne Matott, Anne Q. McKeown, Susan Melczer,

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friends: Annie Alexander, Jack Becker,

Mona Dukess, Christopher Eley, Shireen

Holman, Betty L. Kjelson, Sandra Miller,

Sue Miller, Judith Glazer Raymo, Sally

Rose, Peter & Donna Thomas, Virginia Yazbeck

in-kind: Adobe Systems Inc., Mary Ashton,

Tom Balbo, Drew Cameron, Amanda Degener,

Janet De Boer, Kathleen Flenniken, Peter

Ford, John Gerard, Shireen Holman, Dard

Hunter III, Microsoft Corporate Citizenship,

Steve Miller, Radha Pandey, Ali Pezeshk,

Tedi Permadi, Andrea Peterson & Brian

Beidler, Alta Price, Jessica Spring

founding contributors to the

hand papermaking endowment: 49er

Books, Shirah Miriam (Mimi) Aumann,

Cathleen A. Baker, Tom Balbo, Timothy

Barrett, Sidney Berger & Michèle Cloonan,

Tom & Lore Burger, Jeffrey Cooper, Jeanne

M. Drewes, Jane M. Farmer, Fifth Floor

Foundation, Helen Frederick, Sara Gilfert,

Tatiana Ginsberg, Susan Gosin, Joan Hall,

Lois & Gordon James, Sally Wood Johnson,

David Kimball, Elaine Koretsky, Karen

Kunc, Barbara Lippman, Winifred Lutz,

Susan Mackin-Dolan, David Marshall, Peter

Newland Fund of the Greater Everett Community

Foundation, Margaret Prentice,

Preservation Technologies L.P., Michelle

Samour, Peter Sowiski, Marilyn Sward,

Betty Sweren, Gibby Waitzkin, Tom Weideman,

Beck Whitehead, Paul Wong & John

Colella, Pamela S. Wood

contributors to the hand papermaking

portfolio archive fund: Tom Balbo,

Simon Blattner, Tom & Lore Burger, Jeffrey

Cooper, Susan Mackin Dolan, Drachen

Foundation, Michael M. Hagan, Joan

Hall, Joyce Kierejczyk, Betty Kjelson, Ann

Marshall, honoring David Marshall, Julie

Reichert, Laura Merrick Roe, Richard

Schimmelpfeng, Mary Schlosser, Mina

Takahashi, Aviva Weiner, Beck Whitehead

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