HAND PAPERMAKING

NEWSLETTER number 134 • april 2021

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, Candy Gonzalez,
Joan Hall, Lisa Haque, Kelly Taylor Mitchell, Darin
Murphy, Anela Oh. 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),
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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,

I have been very fortunate that I was able to start my papermaking journey with access to amazing equipment and educators. I learned about hand papermaking during my time as a student at Cooper Union with the wonderful Akemi Martin of Pace Paper. Cooper’s papermaking studio was small but it was well stocked with different sizes of moulds, blotters, and a variety of pulps to work with. I bloomed in the studio and spent many hours there in my last two years of school; the freedom to experiment was wonderful. I also got the chance to intern at Dieu Donné and experience the wonder of a professional studio. Things were pretty peachy and between Cooper Union and Dieu Donné, I didn’t think I would lose access to a studio anytime soon. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck New York City in March of last year, I ended up stuck in my tiny apartment with three months of school to go. I wanted to continue hand papermaking under lockdown, and knew it would take a bit of ingenuity.

I had saved and frozen a small amount of flax pulp the day before my school closed (so thankfully that area was covered). I decided to make my mould and deckle out of picture frames from the dollar store, and window screening from the hardware store, though it took a bit of wrestling to get the screen measured, cut, and stapled properly. I prepped my pulp and even tried to make some with just straight cardboard. I ended up making some sheets of straight flax and a few that were a cardboard-and-flax mix for some color variation. I was lucky enough to have a bathtub in my apartment so that’s where I worked. I didn’t have a proper vat, and I didn’t want to waste water and pulp by filling up my bathtub, so I used a takeout container to pour water over the mould. It definitely took a few tries to get
an even sheet. I couched my sheets onto cut-up scraps of fabric and just stacked them on each other. As I didn’t have access to a press, I sandwiched my papers between two sheet pans to keep them from warping or curling and set them out on my fire escape to dry. The sheets turned out less flat than normal but they were fun to work with. I used them to make some linocut prints that I hand rubbed (again, no press at home).

Overall the experience was constructive as I learned a lot about what are the bare basics you need to make usable paper in times of need. I have been working on a zine that goes into more detailing about making handmade paper with a severely limited set up with the hope that it will inspire more people to look into incorporating handmade paper into their practice.

Ess Dunye
Oakland, CA

exhibition review

Buzz Spector: Alterations

An Exhibition Review by Megan Singleton.

Buzz Spector: Alterations, currently on view at the Saint Louis Art Museum presents viewers with a collection of carefully considered works of art crisscrossing definitions of sculpture, painting, and books, woven together with common themes of literary value, memory, and humor. The collection of works date from the 1970’s to the present and the dominating material is paper, commercially printed and altered, found and altered, as well as handmade. A distinguished contemporary conceptual artist and writer, Spector creates the imagery and content of his altered books and paintings by tearing away pages and transforming them into sculptural objects, all while preserving a glimpse of a memory of the book that once was. In a recent interview he stated, “I see the work I do as commenting on the discrepancies between memory and public history.”1

Throughout the exhibit there is a continuity of softness projected through the color palette and gradients used in the works, which are counterbalanced by the boldness of texture and mark making of the tear. In the Authors series, black and white portraits are appropriated from the dust jackets of books and torn in a manner that one could say gives the illusion the portrait is being viewed under the crashing waves of a literary ocean. When discussing his process Spector states, “I want the work I do to come from an intimate caring absorption in the process, I tear stuff up, I stack things… The fundamental gesture of my work is that tear…”2  

Spector’s humorous wit is on full display in the works of art created using handmade paper. Actual Words of Art (sky blue), (brown), (maroon) is a series of three works hung as a vertical triptych made of handmade linen and cotton papers embedded with cotton yarn. Each piece consists of a white sheet of paper with the words “Actual words of art” delicately drawn in cursive writing across the panoramic sheet. The yarn breaks the edge of the sheet at the end of the statement, continuing on into a pool of color below the sheet, which highlights the slight tonal shift in the color of the text due to the overlay of a thin linen sheet which embeds the text within the sheet.

The exhibition brochure is in itself a token work of art viewers get to take away, the cover is a printed image of Painting 11 exhibited in the show, thoughtfully torn and altered by Buzz himself. A keepsake of an excellently curated collection of works exhibiting the breadth of Buzz Spector’s contemporary conceptual works of art in and of paper.

Buzz Spector: Alterations on view at the Saint Louis Art Museum until May 31, 2021 is curated by Gretchen L. Wagner, the former Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellow for Prints, Drawings, and Photographs; and Elizabeth Wyckoff, curator of prints, drawings, and photographs; with Andrea Ferber, research assistant for prints, drawings, and photographs.

1. Buzz Spector, “‘Buzz Spector: Alterations’ at the Saint Louis Art Museum,” HEC Happening Now, January 25, 2021, Video, 4:13, youtu.be/KJWO6hw3zz0.

2. Ibid.

along the paper road . . .

Rattan Paper

In this issue, Donna embarks on a new papermaking experiment with rattan.

I always like experimenting with unusual fibers for papermak- ing and my latest exploit has been working with rattan. I always used to associate the word rattan with wicker furniture and baskets made in Asia (and even thought the words rattan and wicker were interchangeable). I have since learned that wicker is a technique of weaving, whereas rattan is a plant that is often used to make wicker.

What sparked my fascination with rattan was learning that historically, rattan was a popular papermaking fiber in China for nearly a thousand years! Chronologically speaking, hemp was likely the earliest material used for papermaking (206 BCE), then paper mulberry (25 CE), and then rattan (265 CE).1 Bamboo, a papermaking fiber most people associate with China, was not used for papermaking until nearly five hundred years later. “Rattan paper, described as smooth, durable, with fine texture, and in different colours, was selected for bookmaking, documents, calli-
graphy, and other uses.”2 The scholar Tsuen-Hsuin, in his writings, cites numerous Chinese authors who mention rattan paper, including the famous eleventh-century calligrapher Mi Fu who said it was “the best in the world and can never be matched.”3 Mi Fu also said “the back of the rattan paper from Thai-chou can be written on, since it is smooth and hairless.”4

Rattan, native to tropical forests throughout Asia, is a vine from
the palm family. There are over 600 species of rattan and the type used for papermaking in China was the climbing rattan, Calamus rotang. It grew in the southeastern part of China and there were many papermakers in that area who supplied rattan paper to other areas of the country. Some districts were said to have sent out orders of 6,000 sheets at a time.5 However, over time the supply of
rattan was depleted, and bamboo replaced it as the fiber of choice. There were a few reasons for its downfall. First of all, rattan grew in a limited area in the tropical rainforest, and it grew slowly. Hemp, mulberry, and especially bamboo grow much faster and in many more locations. Additionally, the rattan supply was exhausted due to overcutting without proper cultivation. Rattan was often cut at a young age, preventing it from regrowing.

Rattan now grows primarily in Indonesia where it continues to be threatened with exploitation due to the popularity of rattan furniture, but efforts are being made to make it more sustainable. It is a bast fiber, with long tough stalks that are extremely flexible and uniform in thickness. The rattan vines grow both vertically and
horizontally and can be as long as 500 feet. They are also often covered in spines which help the vine attach to and grow on other trees. Additionally the plant has leaves, flowers, and edible fruit. The vine is solid, unlike bamboo, which is hollow.

I would have liked to have gone to Indonesia to harvest rattan myself for this papermaking project, but I settled for searching online for “rattan” and purchased a 1,000-foot bundle of fiber, 2 mm in width. It sounded like it was going to be a lot of rattan when I ordered it, but once it arrived I weighed it, and discovered it was a paltry ½ pound of fiber. Nevertheless, the fiber looked promising and since I found no information on how paper was historically made
from rattan, I used my usual technique of processing seemingly difficult fibers.  

After cutting the rattan into half-inch lengths, I soaked it in water for a few days and then cooked it in a 20% solution of lye for three hours. Usually I cook fiber outdoors, but it had just snowed fourteen inches. So after shoveling, I exchanged my winter gloves for rubber gloves and carefully cooked the rattan indoors on my kitchen stove. After rinsing, the fiber was noticeably softer and I slowly added the half pound to my Reina beater, lowering the roll as quickly as possible. The fibers immediately sunk to the bottom and didn’t want to circulate with the water. Nonplussed, I turned off the beater, took out the fibers, turned it on again while adding a little bit of formation aid to make the water more slippery and again slowly and successfully coaxed the fibers to circulate. Twenty minutes later I thought I had pulp, until I realized there was still a clump of fibers that didn’t want to circulate. I managed to get them moving and fifteen minutes later, the pulp was ready.

I decided to make the sheets Western style rather than Asian style out of sheer laziness as everything was already set
up to make 8.5 x 11-inch wove sheets. I made 20 lovely sheets with a small amount of pulp leftover. Curiously, the 20 sheets weighed ¼ pound. I don’t know what happened to the other ¼ pound and I can’t believe I could have lost that much during the cooking process.

The finished sheets have good formation and the appearance of golden oatmeal with tiny dark flecks. Upon close observation one can see tiny fibers throughout, somewhat similar to rice straw paper. I can easily write on both sides of the paper but I have to disagree with the other half of the famous calligrapher Mi Fu’s observation of rattan paper. My rattan sheets are not smooth and hairless.

1. Joseph Needham and Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin, Chemistry and Chemical Technology: Paper and Printing, Vol. 5, Part 1, Science and Civilisation in China (Cambridge University Press, 1985), 52.

2. Ibid, 55.

3. Tsien Tseun-Hsuin, Written on Bamboo and Silk (The University of Chicago Press, 1962), 163.

4. Needham and Tsien, Paper and Printing, 56.

5. Ibid, 55.

–Donna Koretsky

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.

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teaching hand papermaking

One Year Later

In this issue, Winnie reflects on how her practice has had to evolve during the past year.

We are quickly approaching the one-year anniversary of March 12th, the day when the life we previously knew changed radically. In my area it was the day that mandatory shutdowns, confinement, and social distancing protocols were announced to combat the rapidly spreading pandemic. The past year has provided us with many challenges, necessary adjustments, and opportun-ities to rethink and reimagine the ways in which we walk through our world.

After the announcement during our class, my papermaking studio artist and I were draining vats, washing moulds and deckles, and stowing supplies for what we believed would be a two-to-three-week dry spell. A year later, I find myself filling my empty pulp bucket with melting snow to water my orchids! While it’s been a long year, it has been super short on papermaking for me!

Since last March I have patiently learned a number of new ways to reach out. I taught a few months of dog-training workshops through a private Facebook page. I am still teaching an ongoing Zoom Bookmaking Series for Abington Art Center, which has been very rewarding for me too. I gave an Instagram Live tour and demonstration of washi for Hand Papermaking. And our Guild of Papermakers has had a few meetings to share creative efforts and stay in touch, also on the Zoom platform.

Like so many other organizations, our Guild of Papermakers eventually joined the “Zoom Age” to stay connected with our membership. Our first Zoom meeting was hosted by Abington Art Center, in Jenkintown, PA, and was scheduled after a few months of collective isolation. Much like our “live” meetings, we have attemp-ted to gather on a bi-monthly basis.

In order to maximize group participation, we asked members to submit digital imagery and a few words of identification prior to the meeting. Marlene Adler, our “technical wizard,” was kind enough to organize and compile all imagery to a screen-sharing format. During the virtual gathering, as each member saw their imagery appear on the screen, they were unmuted and prompted to speak of the work for about three minutes. Time at the end was reserved for questions and camaraderie.

We kept our virtual meeting to just about an hour’s time so that it would be convenient and comfortable for everyone. But we discovered, at the end, that it was difficult to “Leave” the meeting. Everyone has been so hungry for feedback and creative community!

In the fall my Papermaking Studio class held open-air sessions on the Art Center’s pavilion. And I am optimistic that by sometime in April we will once again be back in the vats and creative community together, still masked and physically distanced, but splashing about in pulp! I can hardly wait!

–Winifred Radolan

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.

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decorated paper

Helen Hiebert

In this issue, Sid honors one artist’s contributions to the decorated paper and papermaking communities.

In the world of decorated paper, as many of my previous columns have shown, there is a host of imaginative, creative, and dedicated people creating the papers and using them in marvelous ways. Helen Hiebert is one of them. The papers she makes are breathtaking, but beyond them is a world of inspired crafts that showcase the papers to their best advantage.

The extensive reach that Helen has is revealed in her self-statement: her “mission is to share and expand the love of hand papermaking and paper crafts with newcomers and to expand the knowledge of experienced artists through artwork, online and in-person classes, retreats, videos, how-to books, a blog and a podcast.”1 She follows this with a truly revealing statement: “I’m Helen, and I’m obsessed with paper.” (A sentiment that many Hand Papermaking Newsletter readers understand!)

This obsession is manifest in all of Helen’s activities in the paper world. As her statement says, she reaches out to a wide community of newcomers and experts, offering her knowledge about paper and its possibilities. One of my first encounters with her came with my acquisition of her wonderful book Papermaking with Plants: Creative Recipes and Projects Using Herbs, Flowers, Grasses, and Leaves.2 As I have noted in previous columns, a sheet of paper does not have to have surface decoration to be decorative; and Helen’s beautiful papers, made with a host of fibers, illustrate this. The list she provides of the scores of plants she uses is impressive, and the many papers depicted in this volume create a virtual botanical garden.

Helen was an intern at Dieu Donné Papermill in 1991, and she has been one of the most innovative and assiduous paper artists since then. My image of a garden is appropriate: her early work at Dieu Donné included a project called The Papermaker’s Garden, funded by the New York State Council for the Arts. The aim was to teach children how to make paper from garden plants. The teaching has shaped her career, and she now gives classes on the creation of many kinds of artistic objects using her handmade papers. For example, she has been fascinated by light, so she created a host of structures incorporating it into her art. Her book Paper Illuminated: 15 Projects for Making Handcrafted Luminaria, Lanterns, Screens, Lamp Shades and Window Treatments is a tour de force of invention.3 It all stemmed from an experience she had many years ago, as she explains: “My initial interest in paper began on a trip to Japan 30 years ago when I was inspired by light filtering through traditional shoji screens. I took classes at the NY Center for Book Arts with Hedi Kyle, Susan Share, Barbara Mauriello, and others.”4

And for sheer amazing beauty there is her book Interluceo, a collaboration with Tom Leech (who printed it), Claudia Cohen (who bound it), and Béatrice Coron (who did the papercuts).5 The watermarks and the whole concept must be attributed to Helen, whose color sense and design are on full display here. (She did only 25 copies of this gem.) The colophon of Interluceo says, “This book derives from my eternal interest in geometry and light. The watermarking technique gave me the method for melding these fascinations, and the book form provides the structure for expanding on these ideas.” Helen’s artistry with paper led to her being the author of “Hidden Imagery: The Mystery of Watermarks,” the introductory essay in the brochure that accompanied Hand Papermaking’s Portfolio 5, Watermarks in Handmade Paper: Modern and Historic.6

Over the years, Helen has kept me on her email list, and I have had the ongoing pleasure of seeing the myriad ways she employs papers in decorative fashions, and I have seen advertisements for the many workshops she teaches, sharing her techniques with a new generation of artists and craftspeople. As one of her 2019 blog posts says, “You are invited to my studio in the heart of the Rocky Mountains to cut, fold, layer, collage, weave, glue and make paper as you explore its potential in two and three dimensions.”7 The extent of her inventiveness is revealed here, and also in the great number of objects she creates in paper. A more recent message from her invites people to a free online workshop in making woven handmade-paper Valentine’s Day cards, to tell people of her woven-paper-art workshops—yet another way that she uses decorated papers in her ingenious art.8 And she spreads the word about decorated papers and their many uses with her weekly blogs (called The Sunday Paper) and interviews with paper artists, along with her featuring of a paper artist of the week on this blog.

In many of my columns about great paper artists, I have talked about their work. With Helen Hiebert I add another dimension to that: not only the work she has done (and is still doing), but also the people she teaches and inspires, and the people in the wider circle of paper artistry that she has been a major part of for nearly 30 years.

Helen’s talents are accessible not only in person at one of her many workshops, they can also be savored in her videos. I love the papers she produces, and I love the enthusiasm and scholarly interest, her sharing, and the works she creates with her astonishing papers. Hand Papermaking is not merely an organization, it is a community, and few people represent the world of community with the zest and talent that Helen brings to this world.

1. “About,” Helen Hiebert Studio, helenhiebertstudio.com/about/, accessed November 4, 2020.

2. Helen Hiebert, Papermaking with Plants: Creative Recipes and Projects Using Herbs, Flowers, Grasses, and Leaves (Pownal, VT: Storey Books, 1998).

3. Helen Hiebert, Paper Illuminated: 15 Projects for Making Handcrafted Luminaria, Lanterns, Screens, Lamp Shades and Window Treatments (North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 2001).

4. “All About The Paper Year 2021,” Helen Hiebert Studio, helenhiebertstudio.com/all-about-the-paper-year-2021/, accessed February 8, 2021.

5. “Interluceo,” Helen Hiebert Studio, helenhiebertstudio.com/product/interluceo/, accessed February 8, 2021.

6. Helen Hiebert, “Hidden Imagery: The Mystery of Watermarks,” introduction to Portfolio 5: Watermarks in Handmade Paper: Modern and Historic (Hand Papermaking, 2001).

7. “2019 Red Cliff Paper Retreat,” Helen Hiebert Studio, helenhiebertstudio.com/red-cliff-paper-retreat/, accessed February 8, 2021.

8. “Happy Valentine’s Day!” Helen Hiebert Studio, helenhiebertstudio.com/happy-valentines-day/, accessed February 8, 2021.

–Sidney Berger

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 University 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.

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paper conservation

Mesoamerican Codices

In this issue, Maria Olivia interviews Mary Elizabeth (Betsy) Haude, Senior Paper Conservator at the Library of Congress. The interview took place on February 9 via telephone.

Maria Olivia (MO): How did you come to art conservation?

Mary Elizabeth  (ME): I discovered conservation about thirty years ago when I was working as a lithographic press assistant at Landfall Press, a fine arts printing company on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. We did limited-edition artist prints, and in fact, on one floor below us was a private conservation studio. One time we actually printed a large fill for a movie poster treatment; that was particularly memorable. We also did an edition on Twinrocker paper and I believe that was the first I heard about handmade paper and the world of hand papermaking. After moving back to Austin, Texas (having decided I did not do well with Chicago’s winters), a friend told me about the library and archive conservation program at the University of Texas.

MO: What is your day-to-day work like at the National Gallery of Art?

ME: I found it was a natural extension of my undergraduate art studies. Though I initially focused on painting on canvas, I ended up gravitating towards painting on paper, and then to lithography. There are many different avenues to art conservation; some people start in science or anthropology, and a lot of us, including me, come from studio art or art history. Lithography and printing led me to paper conservation, so I decided to pursue a degree in it. I completed my master’s in library and information science with an advanced certificate in conservation from the University of Texas at Austin. After graduating, I worked at the Huntington Library in Pasadena, California for several years. I then moved to the East Coast where I have been a paper conservator at the Library of Congress for the past eighteen years.

MO: Can you talk a bit about your interest in amate (Mexican bark paper)?

ME: It was only really the last four years that I started working with amate specifically, although I got into this specialization during my graduate studies doing pigment analysis on early 16th-century Mexican maps. Originally, I focused on the paintings or drawings made by Indigenous artists, and then transitioned into learning about the papers themselves. Mesoamerican manuscripts have come into their own again recently, with much needed research being done. Sylvia Albro, a fellow paper conservator at the Library of Congress, also shares a love for this material, and did a fair amount of initial examinations, including pigment and fiber analysis on two Library of Congress Mexican manuscripts (the Huexotzinco Codex and the Oztoticpac Lands Map). Since these manuscripts are currently in good condition, my work is not about conserving them, but continuing analytical research and working on a technical study of the materials, including the papers and pigments used.1

MO: Where has your research led you?

ME: The Huexotzinco Codex actually has two papers, the more traditional amate (made from bark of the ficus tree), as well as maguey (made from agave). This codex depicts the legal case that Hernan Cortez filed against the high court in Mexico and includes eight pictographic paintings produced with native materials by Indigenous scribes from Huexotzinco, Puebla. Four of the paintings are on amate, and four are on maguey. While there is a lot known and written about amate, there isn’t much information on maguey.

In 2019, I traveled to Mexico and visited the National School of Conservation, Restoration and Museography where I met with a paper conservator and a chemist who generously provided me with samples of pigments and dyes historically used in Mexico to aid in my research. I also visited the National Library of Anthropology and History and met with the director to learn more about the history of the Huexotzinco Codex, and about the use of maguey as a support.
Maguey paper is rare, and there are only a handful of codices known to be on this paper worldwide, making the Huexotzinco Codex all the more special.  

In 2016, I traveled to the amate papermaking village of Pahuatlán, Puebla. This was an incredible experience because I saw the entire process of making amate, from stripping the bark from
a live tree to the formation of a sheet of paper. I
even made a sheet of amate myself. While the process of making amate has changed somewhat since the 16th century, it is still made by pounding the softened inner bark fibers with a striated stone on top of a wooden board. Maguey papers were also made by pounding and flattening with stones, but from the inner fibers of agave leaves. While the codex’s amate and maguey papers have some similarities, they also have differences. I have been using multispectral imaging to reveal the various characteristics of these two types of supports that are not evident to the naked eye. I have also been collaborating with a conservation scientist at the Library of Congress to identify and characterize the materials of the Huexotzinco Codex using various non-invasive analytical tech-
niques (i.e., techniques that do not alter an artifact).

In 2019, the Library of Congress participated in “Mesoamerican Codices: New Discoveries and New Directions,” a colloquium sponsored by the Pre-Columbian Studies of Dumbarton Oaks in 2019. My co-collaborator and I presented our preliminary research findings to a group of international Mesoamerican scholars, including ethno-historians, art historians, conservators, and conservation scientists. Going forward, I have been learning Spanish so that I can engage with current and past scholarship, and communicate with scholars and artists in Mexico about these handmade papers. It really is a dynamic time for Mesoamerican codices as they are finally getting their due, and I am excited to add to the body of knowledge out there. I hope to share my work with the scholarly community and the public in the near futur

MO: What is your most memorable project involving handmade paper?

ME: The Huexotzinco Codex certainly, as I am learning so much from examining it. Unlike European paper, there isn’t as much written about these Indigenous Mexican papers, and so a whole other world of paper has opened up for me. It is humbling to spend time with an object that is almost 500 years old, produced by scribes from non-European cultures who had advanced record keeping and exceptional artistic skills. It truly makes this codex a prime example of one small part of a larger history. I also want to clarify that my colleagues and I
do use the word paper to describe amate and maguey, however we also use the terms “support” and “substrate” that aren’t as well known outside conservation circles.

MO: How has the pandemic impacted your conservation work?

ME: I was quite fortunate that I had this Mesoamerican codex project already going. I often don’t have time to sit and write in the conservation lab, and teleworking during the pandemic has allowed me time to write,
research, and work with the conservation scientist more than my pre-pandemic schedule allowed for. Thankfully, I had already taken multispectral images of the eight codex paintings, and had access to them for my research. I also wrote a blog post about how I virtually examined and wrote a conservation condition report for another Library of Congress 16th-century Mesoamerican manuscript, the Codex Quetzalecatzin, using a high-quality digital image from the Library of Congress website. Examining the manuscript in person can be a bit overwhelming as it is large and has many previous repairs and restorations. Working virtually with a high-resolution image was really informative because it easily allowed me to focus on one area at a time.
While I certainly prefer to work directly with physical objects, this experience gave me the opportunity to explore a new virtual avenue of conservation.2  It has been interesting to learn how to adapt my skills to a changing environment, and fulfilling to have the chance to expand on research I had already started. The pandemic has changed the direction of my work, and I am excited to continue with my research.

1. Editor’s note: For an in depth discussion of the three Mesoamerican codices at the Library of Congress use of the deep red colorant nocheztli, the Nahuatl term for cochineal, visit Mary Elizabeth Haude’s Story Map at www.loc.gov/ghe/cascade/index.html?appid=a4fb6d38afd64e3ebe4618c776b70e7f.

2. Mary Elizabeth Haude, “A Conservator’s Virtual Examination
of the ‘Codex Quetzalecatzin’,” 4 Corners of the World: Inter-
national Collections (blog), June 4, 2020, blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2020/06/a-conservators-virtual-examination-of-the-codex-quetzalecatzin/

–Maria Olivia Davalos Stanton

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

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studying hand papermaking

Resilience

In this issue, Amy continues to meditate on how the hand papermaking community has shifted to online learning.

Continuing the thread about distance learning/studying/teaching, I decided to do a little research to get a sense of how the papermaking community has been adjusting to the seismic shift we’ve all been experiencing due to this wretched pandemic.

I began by digging into the classifieds from the January issue of Hand Papermaking Newsletter (Volume 133). Greatly relieved, it seems most of the familiar names of artists and organizations have transitioned partially, if not entirely, to providing online learning opportunities. Of course some folks are ahead of the curve and have been doing so for a while now. Being the Luddite that I am, I was a little surprised to see how quickly things shifted online but I shouldn’t have; artists are famous for being adaptive. Seeing how creatively the various schools, organizations, and individuals have been dealing with this difficult time was also inspiring.

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts is a good example. When the virus was surging last spring and it was clear in-person classes weren’t possible, Haystack got busy and began using their FAB lab to produce free face shields and ear savers for healthcare workers who were desperately in need of PPE.1 A full year later, they still had to make the difficult decision to approach the coming summer workshop season in a new way. Rather than holding classes on campus, they are launching a series of dynamic online workshops, lectures, and panel discussions. Specifics are due to be posted very soon if not before this printing.

Penland School of Craft, another long-time innovator for providing exceptional creative learning experiences is changing their format as well after having to cancel their spring concentration sessions due to the intense COVID-19 surge this winter. Moving forward, their plan is to offer a hybrid approach of remote classes with a new “Penland Everywhere” initiative while also (hopefully) reconvening for a special six-day session in May. A reduced menu of classes is being offered this summer, following strict COVID-safety protocols, and a limited number of artist residencies/studio rentals are still available.

While the past year was nothing short of heartbreaking for so many reasons, there have been silver linings, and the distance learning/teaching trade is one of them. As Penland’s new theme alludes to, some of the classes that were formerly inaccessible due to their geographic location are now available to many more people who may have not been able to attend under the old “normal” circumstances. While it’s not the same as traditional in-person learning there is something to be said for being able to explore a new process from the comfort of your own home or studio during times like these. As I recently discovered, online learning has the potential to create much-needed community in a new way that some of us might not have considered before (myself included). It wasn’t lost on me when my own online-class students said that one of the main reasons they wanted to take the class (i.e., in addition to learning a new skill) was to connect with other papermakers and artists.

This sentiment was underscored in a recent newsletter I received from marketing guru and strategist Jeanine Blackwell who shared some of her own research about the drastic uptick in online learning/commerce.2 “The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we connect, how we serve our clients, how we share our expertise, and how we conduct business in general. It has shown us that it is no longer optional to have an online way to serve clients.” She provided a few statistics to make her point. While many were business-oriented (e.g., communication skills classes were up 606%) a few others caught my eye: meditation classes increased 111%, photography classes 347%, and online drawing classes increased by 920%!!

Spending a few hours perusing the listings in just one issue of Hand Papermaking Newsletter renewed my faith that we will survive these difficult times while still growing creatively. In case you haven’t looked lately, I wanted to provide a little nudge to encourage readers to check out the smorgasbord of options, especially if we are unable to travel—or better yet, test out this “new normal” and consider trying a new online learning experiences, if you haven’t done so before.

Along with the various “live” papermaking workshops offered there are a host of classes for related disciplines including: artist books; marbling; ink making; natural dyes;3 Cyanotype printing; working with kakishibu, konnyaku, and washi;4 even negotiation skills training (we could all use that, right?).5 Some classes (priced at $35–$45) are focused on single projects such as making woven paper lanterns,6 and others offer longer, more in-depth experiences at traditional workshop prices. Many are including kits with materials to mitigate the lack of studio infrastructure. There are plenty of physically distanced in-person experiences offered as well.7

A number of “alternative” formats looked interesting including an online artist intensive at Banff’s Centre for Arts and Creativity that facilitates the creation of an online community of peers allowing artists to share previous work, continue work in progress, and partake in online studio visits, conversations, presentations, etc.8

While poking around on Dieu Donné’s website, I was spellbound by numerous videos from their “Inside the Workspace” series, featuring conversations with artists who have participated in their residencies over the years.9 The video channel is a treasure trove of 30 years’ worth of papermaking demonstrations, conversations, and imagery for recharging one’s creative battery. After such a long, stressful year, maybe it’s time to implement weekly artist dates with ourselves again, as Julia Cameron suggests in her perennial book The
Artist’s Way—time to carve out a couple hours a week for nurturing “our creative consciousness, our inner artist… to maintain our artistic ecosystem.”10

So, if you’ll excuse me…

1. Anne West, “Episode 7: Talking with Paul Sacaridiz, Executive Director Haystack Mountain School of Crafts,” December 11, 2020, in Island Health & Wellness Foundation: Just For The Health Of It Community Discussions, podcast, MP3 audio, 35:17, ihwf.org/just-for-the-health-of-it-episode-7-paul-sacaridiz/.

2. Jeanine Blackwell, “Positioning your Course to Sell Right Now,” Newsletter email, jeanineblackwell.com/, February 2, 2021.

3. Maiwa School of Textiles, maiwa.teachable.com/courses, accessed February 21, 2021.

4. Book Paper Thread, bookpaperthread.com/online-workshops, accessed February 21, 2021.

5. Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, www.banffcentre.ca/programs/, accessed February 21, 2021.

6. Helen Hiebert Studio, helenhiebertstudio.com/product-category/class/, accessed February 21, 2021.

7. John C. Campbell Folk School, classes.folkschool.org/Browse.aspx and Hook Pottery Paper, hookpotterypaper.com/, both accessed February 21, 2021.

8. Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, www.banffcentre.ca/programs/emerging-visual-artist-intensive-online/20210308l, accessed February 21, 2021.

9.  Dieu Donné, Youtube channel, www.youtube.com/c/DieuDonne-
PaperMill/videos.

10. Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, (New York: Penguin Random House, 2016), 18–24.

–Amy Richard

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 oppor-tunities for studying papermaking in colleges, universities, and other established art centers in the United States and abroad.

LISTINGS

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 July 2021 newsletter is May 15.

CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA, (215)
887-4882, www.abingtonartcenter.org. Classes, workshops, and exhibitions in a variety of media. For all remote learning
opportunities and select in-person workshops, visit abingtonartcenter.org/school.

Papermaking, Thursdays April 8–June 12, with Winnie Radolan. Weather permitting, join fellow paper enthusiasts and instructor who will guide you through the papermaking process at your own pace.

Amy Richard Studio, Gainesville, FL, www.amyrichardstudio.com. Amy specializes in Japanese-style papermaking and sculptural paper, teaching online classes as well as private instruction/independent study oppor-
tunities (currently online only). For workshop information, visit www.amyrichardstudio.
com/teaching or email amymiami.richard-
@gmail.com>.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN, (865) 436-5860, www.arrow-
mont.org. Classes and workshops in a variety of disciplines, including papermaking. Visit www.arrowmont.org/workshops-classes/ for information about additional remote learning opportunities.

Unearthing Pigment: Natural Dyes and Earth Pigments, June 20–25, with Kenya Miles. Discover the process and transformative material uses of earth pigments and natural dyes.

Sculptural and Installation Art with Handmade Paper, July 25–30, Sanaz Haghani. Explore new approaches to sculptural applications of paper by using different techniques of papermaking with natural fibers.

The Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, Canada, (403) 762-6100 or (403) 762-6180, www.-banffcentre.ca. The Centre is a learning organization leading in arts, culture, and creativity across dozens of disciplines. Artist residencies in fully equipped print, textile, fiber, and papermaking studios.

Book Arts Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, (310) 722-9004, www.-bookartsla.org. Classes in printing, bookbinding, and other crafts in the Culver City neighborhood. For remote learning opportunities, visit bookartsla.org/collections/all.

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 additional remote learning opportunities, visit bookpaperthread.com/online-workshops.

Brainbridge Artisan Resource Network, Brainbridge Island, WA, (206) 842-4475, https://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, visit bainbridgebarn.wildapricot.org/.

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.Visit their YouTube channel for Folk School webinars and garden videos from Farmer Teddy, or join for Friday Virtual Morningsong on their Facebook page. For additional course information, visit classes.folkschool.org/Browse.aspx.

Paper to Books, May 30–June 5, with Matthew English. Turn your own hand-
made paper into books. Go hands-on
into the pulp in a wet and active process as you make papers of different materials and sizes for book pages and covers.

Papermaking: East Meets West, July 11–July 17, with Claudia Lee and Matthew English. Sample Japanese, Nepalese, and western papermaking techniques. Learn to mix pigments, color plant fibers and pulps, and explore ways to achieve very thin papers, heavy-weight sheets, and textured and decorative papers.

Batik from Cover to Cover (Intergenerational), July 18–24, with Emily Ayers. Learn to batik on paper, then use your papers to create covers for a Coptic style binding. This class is for 12-17 year olds to attend with a parent, grandparent, or guardian.

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

Pulp Pouring, Apr 18 or Jun 20. Pulp pouring is an ideal way to make large consistent sheets of paper without breaking your back.

Pulp Painting, Apr 19 or Jun 21. Using multiple moulds and vats of pigmented pulp, along with contact paper, dental syringes, paint brushes and squeeze bottles, participants will develop images by layer-
ing and overlapping thin veils of pulp.

Contemporary Watermarks, Apr 5. Create personal watermarks using wire, magnetic sheeting, and puff paint.

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

Cottage Industry Technology Center, 20 Russet
St., SSS Village, Marikina City, Philippines. Workshops, demonstrations, and technical consultancy in a variety of crafts and livelihoods, including hand papermaking and related crafts. Contact Loreto D. Apilado at Lor-Eto.DA@-gmail.com or bookends-here2002@yahoo.com or (632) 942-3974.

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

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle,
ME, (207) 348-2306, www.haystack-mtn.org. Haystack offers workshops in various disci-
plines, including papermaking and book arts.
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. Haystack is completely re-envisioning programming for the coming season, and will make an announcement on their online programming and remote learning opportunities shortly.

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 oppor-
tunities, visit helenhiebertstudio.com/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, work-
shops, and experiences at Hook Pottery Paper,
visit www.hookpotterypaper.com/classes/.

Jane Ingram Allen Studio, Santa Rosa, CA,
(857) 234-2432, info@janeingramallen.com.
For more information on papermaking work-
shops, 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, print-
making, 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/#Work-
shopSchedule.

Maiwa School of Textiles, Vancouver, British Columbia, (604) 669-3939, www.school-
of-textiles.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. Listen to Voices on Cloth: Podcasts from Maiwa at www.schooloftextiles.com/podcasts. For free online lessons, visit maiwa.teachable.com/courses.  

Massachusetts School of Art and Design, Boston, MA, (617) 879-7200, pce.massart.edu.
MassArt’s Professional and Continuing Edu-cation offers courses and workshops in fine art and design including book arts and printing, professional design certificates, summer immersive programming, and more. For more information, visit pce.massart.edu/catalog/spring- 2021/categories/.

The Art of Making with Paper, Saturdays Apr 17–May 8, with Joseph Ray. Let’s make paper and learn ways of using this ancient
craft in your own practice. This course ex-
plores the topic of paper as a medium incorporating its traditional and non-tradi-
tional uses.

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/adults-families-virtual.

Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory and Educational Foundation, Cleveland,
OH, (216) 361-9255, www.morganconserv-atory.org. The Morgan Conservatory Open Studio program provides artists and students access to studio space and equipment;
gives them with an opportunity to create art in areas of papermaking, letterpress printing,
and bookbinding; and presents regular work-shops in papermaking, printing, book arts, and mixed technique. For free online lessons,
visit www.morganconservatory.org/online-
classes.

Papermakers of Victoria, at Box Hill Community Arts Centre, Whitehorse, Victoria, Australia, phone 9885 2479, www.papermakers.org.au.
Papermaking studio offering workshops, exhi-bitions, and studio access.

Watermarks, Apr 25. Learn about the his-
tory of watermarks and how to make permanent and temporary watermarks for your own moulds.

Hanji Lamp, May 15–17, with Jan Coveney. Participants will acquire a good knowledge of what hanji paper and craft is, its origins, strengths and practicalities as well as discovering a completely new craft and set of skills.

The Papertrail, New Dundee, Ontario, Canada, (800) 421-6826, www.papertrail.ca. Workshops taught in English or French in papermaking,
marbling, related arts, and studio rental sched-
uled 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, pro-
grams, 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. Work-
shops in English and German taught by paper
specialists in downtown Vienna. For informa-
tion about upcoming workshops at PapierWespe, visit www.papierwespe.at/workshops.

Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC, (828) 765-
2359, www.penland.org, is an international center for craft education, offering a full program of workshops, including printmaking, papermak-
ing and paper and arts. For workshops and remote learning opportunities, visit penland.org/workshops/overview-of-penland-workshops/.

Paper Plus, May 9–15, with Bhavna Mehta. This workshop will combine paper and thread in a unique process. Using a combination of cotton and abaca pulp, we’ll form small sheets of paper in various sizes and use colored cotton thread to make marks, patterns, and images.

Papermaking in the Field, June 20–July 1, with Andrea Peterson. This workshop will dive into making paper from garlic leaf, field pea stem, sisal, cattails, hay, and wheat straw. Topics will include the selection and gathering process, intensive cooking, beating, pigmenting, and sheet forming.

Handmade Paper and Artist Books, July 4–15, with Frank Hamrick. In this workshop, we’ll make rag paper from your old cotton and linen clothes and incorporate it into various book structures including hardcover
pamphlet, accordion, longstitch, case bound,
Japanese, and Coptic bindings.

Pulp & Deckle, Portland, OR, is a papermaking studio that focuses on sharing the art, craft, history and science of paper as a creative medium and offers workshops, demos, lectures, custom collaborations and an artist residency program. Visit www.pulpanddeckle.com for more info.

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

Robert C. Williams Paper Museum. Atlanta, GA, (404) 894-5726, http://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.

Virtual Pulp Painting Demonstration Lecture, May 25, with Chad Heyward. Why make pictures with paint when you can paint with paper pulp?

San Diego Book Arts, 8680 Washington Ave., 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 information on upcoming workshops, visit www.sandiegobookarts.com/classes.

San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA, (415) 565-0545, www.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, and for information on upcoming workshops, visit sfcb.org/workshops.

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. For workshop information, visit www.sitkacenter.org/workshop/workshopslist.

Snow Farm: The New England Craft Program, Williamsburg, MA, (413) 268-3101. www.snow-
farm.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.

Creative Papermaking, June 25–28, with May Babcock. This workshop is part of the Art Retreat for Educators. Learn the basics of hand papermaking!

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, visit www.eventbrite.com/o/the-soapbox-community-print-
shop-amp-zine-library-26170124449.

The Society for Contemporary Craft,  Pittsburgh, PA, (412) 261-7003, www.contemporarycraft.org. Classes in fiber, book art, and other media in Pittsburgh’s historic Strip District. For work-
shop information, visit contemporarycraft.org/
education/, and for remote learning opportu-nities, visit contemporarycraft.org/cc-online-resources/.

SERIES: Paper Making 101, Apr 13–May 18, with Katy Dement. Take just one or take them all, this six week series will cover everything you want to know about hand-
made paper?

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. For more information on upcoming classes, visit www.swschool.org/community-classes/adults.

Textile Art Center, New York City, New York, http://textileartscenter.com. NYC–based resource center for textile art which offers classes, work-
shops, open studio rentals, and events. For remote learning opportunities, visit textileartscenter.com/adult-classes.

West Dean College, Chichester, West Sussex,
U.K., (0)1243 811301, short.course@westdean.-
org.uk, www.westdean.org.uk. West Dean College of Arts and Conservation provides course work and degrees in creative arts and conserva-
tion fields, including papermaking, bookbinding,
and printmaking. For remote learning opportun-
ities, visit www.westdean.org.uk/study/online-hub.

Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY,  (845)
658-9133, info@wsworkshop.org, www.wswork-
shop.org. The Women’s Studio Workshop has been a professional artist studio dedicated to
the creation of community, opportunity, empower-
ment, and development for all women, trans, and genderfluid artists, with studio spaces including papermaking and book arts. WSW is planning a full Summer Art Institute program for summer 2021 which will include both onsite and virtual courses.

EVENTS

Join the Arizona Sonoran Collective Paper-Works’ monthly meeting on April 8 and learn about Cave Paper’s transition. In addition to speaking about Cave’s story and her plans as the next generation owner, Zoë Goehring will give a virtual tour of the new Tucson studio and walk through Cave’s papermaking process, from raw fiber to decorated sheet. For more information, visit paperworks.info/programs.html.

CODEX VIII Extraction: Art on the Edge of the Abyss has been moved to 2022. Registration will re-open Summer 2021; new dates for the Book Fair and Symposium will be announced by Spring 2021. For more information, visit www.codexfoundation.org/codex-2021.

EXHIBITIONS

Buzz Spector: Alterations, on view at the Saint Louis Art Museum until May 31, 2021, spans the artist’s career from the 1970’s to the present
and includes drawings, altered books, postcard assemblages, collages, and more. For more information, visit www.slam.org/exhibitions/buzz-spector-alterations.

Explore the online exhibition, Washi, a History of Japanese Papermaking, at the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking at paper.gatech.edu/washi.

PLACE: Community, Environment, Cogitate is an exhibition in which artists Chad Hayward, Lea Basile-Lazarus and Andrea Peterson explore the idea of situation, region, and circum

‍
stance through each of their own personal lens. A range of plant fibers has been used as pulp to create the works including cotton rag, flax, abaca, phragmites, and millet straw. On view at Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking May 1–August 1, for more information, visit paper.gatech.edu/place-community-environment-cogitate.

Ruminate, with paperworks by Andrea Peterson, Lea Basile Lazarus, and Chad Hayward, explores how the three artists use pulp as an imaging device–pulp drawing, pulp painting, pigmented pulp being applied to a handmade base sheet.
On view at Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking May 6–August 6, for more information, visit paper.gatech.edu/ruminate.

CALLS FOR ENTRIES

The Kalamazoo Book Arts Center invites printmakers to participate in their Poets in Print broadside series. Find out more about this collaborative opportunity by contacting Katie Platte at katie@kalbookarts.org or
by visiting kalbookarts.org/opportunities.

The Museum of Craft and Design has launched a new artist opportunity with Call & Response: Craft as a Tool for Activism, a nationwide juried exhibition and artist marketplace. This juried
exhibition intends to highlight artists that
are working at this crucial intersection of
craft and activism, uplifting their political ideals and their communities through their medium of choice. The deadline to enter is May 31, 2021. For more information, visit sfmcd.org/callandresponse.

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

Artists Book House is a new organization devoted to the Book Arts: writing, reading,
printing, bookbinding, papermaking, typo-
graphy, calligraphy, poetry, fiction, memoir,
artist’s books, publishing, comics, zines, and
much more. Soon to be located in the Harley
Clarke House on Lake Michigan in Evanston,
Illinois, Artists Book House is a place where artists, writers, readers, and other thoughtful
people can gather to learn and create. Through education, exhibitions, publications, and events, this new organization expands the  community, promotes the literary arts and the crafts of book making, rejoices in the phys-
sical form of the book, and embraces an
interdisciplinary approach to the book arts.
We are committed to conservation, knowledge, and understanding the history and craft of
the book, and we celebrate diversity and are committed to empowering people to tell their stories and to transform their worlds into books. For more information, visit https://artistsbookhouse.org/

Pyramid Atlantic Art Center Papermaking Associates are crucial to keeping the papermill thriving, relevant and dynamic. This work-exchange position offers a unique opportunity to engage with Pyramid’s creative community, and work alongside professionals in a sharing/collaborative environment. Position open until filled. To apply for the position, please send letter of interest and resume to Gretchen Schermerhorn at <gschermerhorn@pyramid-atlantic.org>. For more information, visit www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org/papermaking-associate.

Pyramid Atlantic Art Center Bookmaking Associates are crucial to keeping the bindery thriving, relevant and dynamic. This Artistic Associate position offers a unique opportunity to engage with Pyramid’s creative community, and work alongside professionals in a sharing/collaborative environment. To apply for the position, please send letter of interest and resume to Gretchen Schermerhorn at <gschermerhorn@pyramid-atlantic.org>. For more information, visit www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org/bookmaking-associate.

The Print, Paper, and Graphic Arts Department at School of Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University is looking forward to hiring 1 or 2 Part-time Lecturers in Papermaking to teach Introduction to Hand Papermaking and Exploring Paper in Fall 2021. To apply, please submit a cover letter, CV, professional website with examples of work, and the names of 3 references. All applications must be submitted via Interfolio, find more information at apply.interfolio.com/83017 and apply.interfolio.com/83019.

PUBLICATIONS, FILMS, VIDEOS

European Hand Papermaking: Traditions, Tools,
and Techniques, by Timothy D. Barrett has just been released by the Legacy Press. In this important and long-awaited book,
Barrett offers a comprehensive “how-to” book
about traditional European hand papermaking aimed at a variety of audiences: artisans and craftspeople wishing to make paper or to manufacture papermaking tools and equipment, paper and book conservators seeking detailed information about paper-production techniques, and other readers with a desire
to understand the intricacies of the craft.
European Hand Papermaking is the companion volume to Barrett’s Japanese Papermaking: Traditions, Tools and Techniques. For more information, visit http://thelegacypress.com/barrett-papermaking.html.

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.

Watch the PBS special The Book Makers at www.pbs.org/video/the-book-makers-bzy8li/. From the esoteric world of book artists to the digital library of the Internet Archive, the film spins a tale of the enduring vitality of the book.

Podcast time! Paper Talk is an ongoing series of interviews by Helen Hiebert featuring artists and professionals who are working in the field of hand papermaking. Subscribe to Paper Talk in iTunes.

ONLINE PROGRAMMING

From 1619 to beyond, black craftspeople, both
free and enslaved, worked to produce the
valued architecture, handcrafts, and decor-ative arts of the American South. The Black
Craftspeople Digital Archive seeks to enhance what we know about black craftspeople by telling both a spatial story and a historically
informed story that highlights the lives of black craftspeople and the objects they produced. View the project at blackcraftspeople.org.

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 bigjumppress.blog/read-this-out-loud/.

Each week, Fellows in the Winterthur/Uni-
versity 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

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

Equipment needed to make handmade paper
at home. Includes press, papercutter, two moulds and deckles, hand mixer, cotton linters, and so on. $500. Contact Mary Bates by
phone at 603-995-4351 or via email at marybatessnh@gmail.com.

Pure wool handmade papermaking FELTS, 36" by 48", weight a minimum of 1.1 pounds each. To learn more, visit www.LanaDura.com, and contact Minna White at landlamb-
@gmail.com

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

loves to hear from readers:

newseditor@handpapermaking.org

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR DONORS

Hand Papermaking acknowledges recent contri-
butors to our nonprofit 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, and other ways to support us.

benefactors: Anonymous (in tribute to Scott Myers), Lisa Cirando, Mark Tomasko

patrons: Tom Balbo, Sid Berger & Michèle Cloonan, Colin Browne, Sue Gosin

underwriters: Amanda Degener, Michael Durgin, Lois & Gordon James, Betsy Miraglia

sponsors: John Cirando, Gail Deery, Susan
Mackin Dolan, Michael Fallon, Jane Farmer, Kathleen Fitzgerald, Joan Hall, Helen Hiebert, Kyoko Ibe, Darin Murphy, Peter Newland &
Robyn Johnson, Laura Merrick Roe, Mary Schlosser,
Mina Takahashi

donors: Christine Aaron, Marlene Adler, May Babcock, Tom Bannister, Ines Ballugera, James Barton, Tom & Lore Burger, Ann Cicale,
Kerri Cushman, Katy Dement, Marian Dirda,
Devie Dragone, Catherine Futter, Lata Gedala, Lori B. Goodman, Lisa Haque, Winsome Jobling, Sarah Johnston, Jamie Kamph, Thomas Lang, Mary Lannin, Katie MacGregor, Caroline
Macmoran, Mary Lou Manor, Julie McLaughlin, Todd Moe, Elaine Akiko Nishizu, Pat Owens, Nancy Pobanz, Melissa Potter, Brian Queen, Jackie Radford, Sandra Reese, Renee Rogers, Ingrid Rose, Michelle Samour, Kimberly Schenck, Kim Schiedermayer, H. Paul Sullivan Jr., Betty Sweren, Claire Van Vliet, Aviva Weiner, Beck Whitehead, Kathy Wosika

supporters: Timothy Barrett, Nancy Cohen, Jennifer Davies, John Dietel, Helen Frederick, Barbara Futter, David Lance Goines, Karla & Jim
Elling, Dorothy Field, Sara Gilfert, Robert Hauser, Mildred Monat Isaacs, Kristin Kavanagh, Sue
Kanowith-Klein, David Kimball, Steve Kostell, Aimee Lee, Winifred Lutz, M. P. Marion, Edwin
Martin, Lynne Matott, Anne Q. McKeown, Susan Melczer, Kathryn Menard, Catherine Nash, Dianne L. Reeves, Caroline Riley, Robbin Ann Silverberg, Deborah Stone, Kathleen Stevenson, Thomas Taggart, Nickolas Waser, Pamela Wood, Jennifer Woodward

friends: Annie Alexander, Jack Becker, Catherine Boyne, Mona Dukess, Christopher Eley, Mary Hennigan, Shireen Holman, Betty L . Kjelson, Chris Leatherwood, Sandra Miller, Sue Miller, Judith Glazer Raymo, Sally Rose, Peter & Donna Thomas, Virginia Yazbeck

in-kind donations: Adobe Systems Inc., Mary Ashton, Tom Balbo, Marco Breuer, Drew
Cameron, Amanda Degener, Janet De Boer, Michael Durgin, Kathleen Flenniken, Peter Ford, John Gerard, Shireen Holman, Dard Hunter III, Microsoft Corporate Citizenship, Steve Miller, Radha Pandey, Ali Pezeshk, Tedi Permadi, Brian Beidler and Andrea Peterson, 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 Foun-
dation, Michael M. Hagan, Joan Hall, Joyce Kierejczyk, Betty Kjelson, Ann Marshall, honor-
ing David Marshall, Julie Reichert, Laura Merrick Roe, Richard Schimmelpfeng, Mary Schlosser, Mina Takahashi, Aviva Weiner, Beck Whitehead

contributors to our paper wheel of fortune and papermakers swap meet fundraising events: Annie Alexander, Jane Ingram Allen, Arnold Grummers’ Papermaking, May Babcock, Tom Balbo, Suzi Ballenger, Timothy Barrett, Colin Browne, Bruce Bunting, Ingrid Butler/Moth Marblers, Jazmine Catasus, Lisa Cirando, Nancy Cohen, Elaine Cooper, Kate Couturier, Melissa Jay Craig, Amanda Degener, Katherine DeLamater, Pam Deluco, Katy Dement, Ilze Dilane, Susan Mackin Dolan, Nicole Donnelly, Linda Draper, Emily Duong, Jane Farmer, Helen Frederick, Lata Gedala, Tatiana Ginsberg, Zoe Goehring, Sue Gosin, Joan Hall, Mary Heebner, Beth Heesacker, Lesa Hepburn, Helen Hiebert, Kyle Holland, Dard Hunter III, Lois James, Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, Ann Marie Kennedy, Donna Koretsky/Carriage House Paper, Susan Kristoferson, Barbara Landes, Aimee Lee, Thomas Leech, Anne McKeown, Todd Moe, The Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory & Educational Foundation, Catherine Nash, Jill Odegaard, Bridget O’Malley, The Paper Circle, Paper Connection International, Andrea Peterson, Alta Price, Brian Queen, Jackie Radford, Erica Spitzer Rasmussen, Margaret Rhein, Amy Richard, Steph Rue, Gretchen Schermerhorn, Peter Sowiski, Jennifer Spoon, Gail Stiffe, Lynn Sures, Mina Takahashi, Judy Tobie, Twinrocker Handmade Paper, Gibby Waitzkin, Beck Whitehead, Michelle Wilson, Paul Wong, Jenn Woodward/Pulp & Deckle Papermaking Studio

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