HAND PAPERMAK ING
N E W S L E T T E R
Number 85, January 2009
Newsletter Editor: Shireen Holman Advertising & Listings: Mary Tasillo Desktop Production: Amy Richard
Columnists: Sidney Berger, Susan Gosin, Helen Hiebert, Elaine Koretsky, Winifred Radolan, Mary Tasillo, Pamela Wood.
Hand Papermaking Newsletter is published
four times per year. In summer and winter it is
mailed with the journal Hand Papermaking, and
in spring and autumn it is distributed separately.
Annual subscriptions include both publications:
$50 in North America or $75 overseas. Two year
rates are discounted: $95 in North America or
$145 overseas. To subscribe, send a check to the
address below, call or fax us to use Visa or Master-
Card, or visit our website. Foreign subscribers may
use a credit card, or pay in U.S. dollars via money
order or check marked payable through a U.S.
bank. For more subscription information, or a list
of back issue contents and availability, contact:
Hand Papermaking, Inc.
PO Box 1070, Beltsville, MD 20704-1070
Phone: (800) 821-6604 or (301) 220-2393
Fax: (301) 220-2394
E-mail: info@handpapermaking.org
Web: www.handpapermaking.org
The deadline for the next newsletter (April 2009)
is February 15. Please direct all correspondence to
the address above. We encourage letters from our
subscribers on any relevant topic. We also solicit
comments on articles in Hand Papermaking
magazine, questions or remarks for newsletter
columnists, and news of special events or activities.
Classified ads are $1.00 per word with a 10-word
minimum. Rates for display ads are available
upon request.
Hand Papermaking is a 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization. Staff: Tom Bannister, Executive
Director; Mina Takahashi, Magazine Editor;
Shireen Holman, Newsletter Editor; Mary Tasillo,
Ads & Listings; Deborah Selk, Portfolio Binder.
Board of Directors: Cathleen A. Baker, Sidney
Berger, Shannon Brock, Inge Bruggeman, Georgia
Deal, Gail Deery, Jim Escalante, Helen Hiebert,
Ann Marie Kennedy, Barbara Lippman, Andrea
Peterson, Margaret Prentice, John Risseeuw, Beck
Whitehead. Board of Advisors: Timothy Barrett,
Simon Blattner, Gregor R. Campbell, Mindell
Dubansky, Jane M. Farmer, Helen C. Frederick,
Elaine Koretsky, James Sitter, Claire Van Vliet,
James Yarnell. Co-founders: Amanda Degener
and Michael Durgin.
Dear Subscribers,
Quite a number of you have been loyal subscribers since Hand Papermaking’s first
magazine issues in the mid-1980s. Many more recent subscribers have opted to purchase a
complete set of back issues. You all know the tremendous value of the 23 volumes of Hand
Papermaking on your library shelf, and you know that we are honored to have a special place
in your collection.
But how do you find a particular topic within the magazines? How do you quickly locate
that brilliant article you remember reading years ago? The need for a current index is among
the most common remarks received from our annual mailing that requests your comments.
Well, we listened, formed a committee, discussed the matter, and ultimately came up with
something we think is better than an index.
Take a look at our new keyword search function at http://search.handpapermaking.org
and try a few words or phrases. For example, type “drying” and Claire Van Vliet’s Summer
1987 plans for a drying box is on top of the long list. Type “spirit” and that great sample of
Thai spirit money collected for us in Summer 1990 by Dorothy Field is the first match. Try
“Bill of Rights” and our Summer 2001 story with a sample of conservation support paper for
the historic document, is followed by an article on the controversial Summer 1992 Bill of
Rights broadside created by John Risseeuw and others at ASU’s Pyracantha Press. In addition
to topics, you can also search for names of authors and artists.
The results are weighted so that best matches are listed first. Clicking on the title tells you
where to find the article and usually offers the first paragraph or so as a taste. As always, we
welcome your suggestions for improving this new subscriber resource.
Tom Bannister
> IN MEMORIAM
Paul Robbert (1928-2008) was an internationally recognized artist and an early innovator in
paper art. While serving on the faculty of Western Michigan University, he established their
papermaking curriculum. He inspired many young artists with his experimental approach and
spirit, and was known as a dedicated mentor and advisor. Paul was also a founding member
of the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center. In addition, he was an inventor, and made and sold the
“Cranberry Lake” vacuum table, one of the only ones available at the time. See Paul’s exceptional
article on the theory, use, and construction of vacuum tables in the Summer 1991 issue of Hand
Papermaking. Paul was well loved by all who knew him and will be sorely missed.
HAND PAPERMAKING publishes a series of limited-edition portfolios, each on a different
theme, showcasing distinctive handmade papers. The papers are protected in imprinted folders
and described in a handbound booklet; each set of papers reside in a custom-made clamshell
box. Editions limited to 150 and sell for $495.
Innovative Printmaking on Handmade Paper
The Art of Pulp Painting
Calligraphy and Handmade Paper
Insured postage is $15 in the US or $35 elsewhere. Ask about standing orders and our traveling
exhibitions program. Go to our website, call (800) 821-6604 or fax (301) 220-2394 to
place an order. To view images and complete prospectus, visit:
www.handpapermaking.org
ALONG THE PAPER ROAD...
This regular feature offers paper musings from
Elaine Koretsky—renowned paper historian,
researcher, and traveler. In this issue, she previews
her new research project, and describes the expanded
display venue for the Museum of International
Paper History.
I have just discovered, to my astonishment,
that this “Paper Road” column of mine has
already completed its tenth year. That means
forty articles in Hand Papermaking Newsletter,
plus a few in the magazine, and many more
in other publications.
Unfortunately, I am a very slow writer,
but I have so many new adventures and
misadventures “Along the Paper Road,” that
I simply cannot stop writing about them.
Right now I have already planned another
expedition to parts of China that I have not
yet explored. Undoubtedly, that will result
in further exciting experiences. First of all, I
plan to do more research into “rice paper,”
the material that has no connection with
rice, and is not paper. I have already written
about the subject in the April and July 2006
issues of Hand Papermaking Newsletter. This
misnamed rice paper is a paper-like material
that is shaved from the pith of Tetrapanax
papyriferum. My information was gathered
on a visit to Taiwan in 1987, which resulted
in a film that I produced showing how it
was made and its uses. An important use
of the material was in the making of small
paintings of Chinese scenes, which became
popular tourist souvenirs in the 1800s and
early 1900s. Now these
“pith paintings” have
become expensive collectors’
items, featured in
special museum exhibitions.
In my garden of
papermaking plants
I am cultivating two
magnificent specimens
of Tetrapanax, purchased
from “Plant Delights” in
North Carolina. The first
one I bought is two years
old, the trunk growing rapidly from twelve
inches to now over six feet in height, with
each leaf measuring nearly two feet across.
The nursery recently advertised another
species of Tetrapanax, which they called
Tetrapanax papyriferum (Steroidal Giant). I
could not resist buying it, although I asked
if the plant needed weekly steroids. That
was not necessary, and the young plant is
growing vigorously, already sprouting leaves
more than two feet across. Unfortunately,
the plants are not hardy in our northern climate,
and they will have to fight for indoor
space this winter in my house, competing
with seventy-seven other potted plants.
My new research will focus on Guizhou
Province in Southwest China,
where our friend Wu Zeng Ou
has located a tremendous field
of Tetrapanax papyriferum. In
addition, last year I discovered at
the Guangzhou Art Museum that
the Museum Director, Dr. Cunjie,
had visited a remote village in
Guizhou that still produced this
pith “paper.” That was about
six years ago, but Wu will try
to locate the place and maybe
we can find people who still are
involved in the use of the pith.
Donna Koretsky will be joining
my husband and me, and Donna
plans that next year she will lead
a group of papermakers to these
parts of China.
The other area that we shall
be exploring is Xishuangbanna
in the tropical, southernmost
part of Yunnan Province. There are many socalled
“minorities” who live there–Bai, Hui,
Yi, Hani, Miao, Yao, Lahu, et al. Each group
has its own culture and customs, and this
should be fascinating. In particular, I hope
to see a certain tree, Antiaris toxicaria (Upas
tree) that has been used in the past for bark
clothing. At a museum in Kunming, China,
I have seen displayed an entire outfit of
beaten bark from this tree. It was used by
people in Xishuangbanna because the bark
contains a poisonous substance that wards
off insects. I learned that the tree also grows
in Vietnam, where indigenous people used
its poison to make deadly darts. (Note: I am
not planning to add this plant to my garden
of papermaking plants.)
Meanwhile, I am starting a new endeavor
to display more works from my large collection
of papermaking artifacts. The collection
is housed in Brookline, Massachusetts, at the
Research Institute of Paper History & Technology,
which includes the Museum of International
Paper History that I direct. Only
part of the collection can be formally exhibited
at the Museum, so it is fortunate that
we have been offered another venue—the
newly renovated studio of Carriage House
Paper at 245 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn, New
York. Donna Koretsky has built a lovely gallery
space and I plan a new themed exhibit
there every six months or so. We had hoped
to open early in September, but construction
at the space was very slow. However, now we
have our first exhibit, “Before Paper,” on
view there. “Before Paper” features mankind’s
methods of communication before
the Chinese invented paper more than 2,300
years ago. World history has been recorded
on stone, clay, bone, animal skins, papyrus,
wood strips, metal, and even leaves—not
only palm leaves, but also leaves of tobacco
and mulberry (see photo above). Although
most of those materials fell into disuse as the
craft of papermaking spread out
from China, it is amazing that
some are still utilized even today
for special purposes. On view are
artifacts, books, tools, and writings
from many countries and
cultures.
A special feature at the exhibit
is an unusual and very humorous
film that was produced in
France in the 1960s. The title is
“Un Monde Sans Papier,” which
means literally “A World Without
Paper.” I had seen the film a couple
of times in Europe, when my
friend Fred Siegenthaler, a Swiss
paper artist, showed it at paper
conferences; ever since then I
hoped to locate a copy of it. A
few months ago I telephoned
Fred and asked what happened
to his film. He replied that he
had donated it to the Basel Paper Museum
in Switzerland, but he would ask the museum
people about it. When I spoke with Fred
again, he said that the film was still at the
museum and nothing had been done with
it, but if I were interested, the museum was
willing to have it converted into DVD form,
provided I would share the cost with them.
I readily agreed, and eventually received my
copy. The film was just as funny and clever
as I remembered, and I think papermakers,
as well as others, will truly enjoy it.
The second exhibition at the gallery will
concentrate on the origin of paper in China,
with subsequent exhibits focusing on particular
countries and processes. Undoubtedly, I shall
never run out of ideas or materials for these
future exhibitions or articles.
I’m often wary of teaching a papermaking
workshop in a studio I’m not familiar
with or in a space that has no papermaking
equipment. I guess I’m spoiled because I
learned to make paper in a studio that was
well equipped and I’ve got professional
equipment in my own studio. So when
asked to teach papermaking elsewhere, I
find myself intimidated with the prospect
of carting pulp and equipment to and fro.
Paper artist Mary Leto has some unique
methods for taking her papermaking workshops
on the road, and I’d like to share a
few of them with you.
I remember visiting Leto in her studio
years ago and seeing her cute little drying
system. It is tiny—just 12” x 12”—but what a
perfect size for drying small sheets made by
participants in a workshop. She uses triwall
cardboard cut to 12” x 12” and 12” x 24”. Her
blotters are cut to the same size and nestled in
between the cardboard, and the whole system
fits nicely into a milk crate for easy transport.
And she can just store them as is
in her studio, ready to go to the
next workshop.
Triwall is a triple layer of
normal cardboard that is glued
together commercially to make
a heavy corrugated board.
You can find it at commercial
packaging suppliers, but their
minimum order is often high. Leto makes
her own triwall by cutting up cardboard
cartons that are made up of single or double
corrugated sheets. After cutting them to
size (for example, 12” x 12”) she holds three
single sheets together and joins them on
two opposite sides using different colored
duct tapes. The duct tape holds up for years,
keeps the cardboard from warping, and
doesn’t interfere with the air flow or drying
(the sides which are not corrugated are
taped together, leaving the corrugation open
for air flow). She varies the color of the duct
tape to help sort the paper she is drying—by
student or paper type. For this drying system,
Leto uses a small box fan; she also uses the
same system for a larger drying box utilizing
a 20” box fan. If you are not familiar with
this type of drying system, it is described in
detail in my books, Papermaking with Garden
Plants & Common Weeds and The Papermaker’s
Companion.
As you can see, Leto is organized. She’s got
a great system for her traveling felts, too. She
collects old army blankets and other smooth
wool blankets and cuts them to size, again
organizing them by color (one color blanket is
cut to one size for easy identification). When
she teaches adults, she gives each student
a different colored stack to make individual
posts and to prevent mix-ups.
For young children and difficult locations
(like teaching outside in a windy setting),
Leto creates “felt posts.” She stacks five felts
(12” x 12” squares) and, using a darning
needle, loosely sews a loop of yarn (this
can be color coordinated, too) through all
five pieces at one corner. She then ties the
felts together, making as many bundles
as needed for the class (see photo). Each
student can make three sheets of paper with
one of these bundles—two
pieces of felt are
on the bottom, a sheet of paper is couched
on them, the next felt is flipped over, another
sheet is couched, etc., with one felt left
on the top.
Mary had an intern construct a simple
portable hydraulic press (based on designs
by Jana Pullman—more on that in another
column). The felt and paper posts can all
be loaded into it for pressing—the press is
Based in Philadelphia, Winifred Radolan operates
an itinerant teaching papermill, and has taught
papermaking to thousands of adults and children.
In this column, Winnie describes an adult enrichment
workshop she taught at the Yale Center for
British Art.
> TEACHING HAND PAPERMAKING
I thoroughly enjoy every opportunity I have
to introduce a new audience, youngsters
and adults alike, to the magic of creating paper
by hand. But every now and again I have
an extraordinary teaching adventure such
as the one I embarked upon on Saturday,
November 18, in New Haven, Connecticut.
I was asked to conduct the first in a series
of three adult enrichment workshops in
conjunction with the Yale Center for British
Art’s exhibit, “Sun, Wind and Rain: The Art
of David Cox.”
David Cox (1783 – 1859) was a pre-eminent
British landscape and watercolor artist during
the first half of the nineteenth century. His
magnificent watercolors exemplified his lifelong
concerns of capturing the atmospheric
effects of light and weather on the English
and Welsh countryside. While his frequent
substrate was fine Whatman Mill handmade
wove paper, he also developed a fondness
for using lesser quality ream wrappers,
made of linen sailcloth. He often used the
imperfections in this packaging grade paper
as opportunities, such as when he added
wings to an encapsulated speck to create a
bird in flight.
Entitled “Pulp and Paint Transformed:
the Art and Preservation of Watercolors,”
the free workshops offered museum patrons
three opportunities to experience methods
and materials associated with Cox’s art
form. In addition to attending “The Art of
Papermaking” with me, participants could
take “Watercolor Painting, Techniques and
Processes” with Chris Engstrom, of the Creative
Arts Workshop, the following Saturday.
On the third Saturday, the British Museum’s
Chief Paper Conservator, Theresa Fairbanks
Harris, provided an in-depth insider’s look
at the “Art and Preservation of Watercolors”
in the conservation labs.
When planning for my 3-hour workshop
I decided to pack two short introductory
videos plus a small sampling of handmade
papers skimmed from the top of my “bursting
at the seams” teaching box. The first
video, “The Paper Trail,” designed for a
young audience, condenses the more than
two thousand-year history of papermaking
down to only four minutes, enthusiastically
delivered by a fourth grader from Atlanta,
Georgia. Produced by the Institute of Paper
Science, it features many artifacts from
the collection of the American Museum
of Papermaking. After viewing the second
video, a Dutch re-enactment of paper
production in a hand papermill, everyone
would have a rudimentary understanding
of the intense labor involved in making
the paper that Cox used for his paintings.
I packed examples of linen and cotton rag
papers as well as unusual plant fiber sheets.
I also included some samples of paper art
that featured techniques of pulp layering,
embedding, embossing, stenciling, and pulp
painting. Expectations for the workshop
were not to make watercolor paper, but to
introduce the creative possibilities involved
in the art of hand papermaking.
Because this was not my first workshop
for the British Museum, I called ahead to
remind the education team that their space
and my equipment could be “maxed out”
with fifteen adults. Wanting me to have a
good turnout of participants, and allowing
for the probability of a few “no-shows,”
the staff registered eighteen for the day.
Of course, in a testament to the allure and
magic of papermaking, all eighteen people
materialized. I hoped that the group would
include a couple or family who wouldn’t
mind sharing moulds and deckles and
couching stations.
Museum Education staff members Jennifer
Kowitt and Amy Gelbach scrambled to help
arriving students settle in. We quickly set
up an additional table on which to place the
three vats of pigmented cotton/abaca pulp.
When Chris Engstrom, watercolor instructor
for the next workshop, asked if he could observe,
I enthusiastically welcomed him and
put him right to work. The water for the vats
was in unwieldy 5-gallon watercooler jugs, so
his first great service was some weight lifting,
followed by careful pouring.
I kept my introduction as brief as possible
so that we could engage the cozy and
anticipatory group with pulp as soon as possible,
giving everyone ample time to make
and embellish several sheets of paper. As
soon as each person had successfully pulled
and couched a plain sheet, I demonstrated
simple layering techniques and turned
them loose on the vats. I set up a couple of
smaller vats containing pigmented shortfiber
cotton on the couching tables around
the room. I was glad to have packed my premade
screen stencil designs for use in these
mini-vats, as this cut down on crowding
at the bigger vats. And finally, I dispersed
the small containers of pulp paint amongst
the work stations. This finely beaten and
pigmented cotton, thickened slightly with
methylcellulose, could be applied directly
to the couched sheet, or first squirted by
pipette onto the mould, then transferred to
the layered base sheet of paper.
The time passed quickly as this wonderfully
enthusiastic group shared pulp,
equipment, and creativity in making paper.
Jennifer, Chris, and Amy anticipated every
need as they circulated through the room
to assist with any minor pulp emergencies.
Almost before I realized, it was time to
press everyone’s post and explain drying options,
then mobilize the clean-up efforts.
To press the paper, I had my portable Arnold
Grummer press, and some dry synthetic
chamois to sandwich around their posts. I
have always offered two drying options, each
requiring a different amount of pressure/
water removal in the press. In Option 1, the
fast overnight method, lightly pressed sheets
are laid flat next to one another on a Formica
counter or facsimile. A dry towel is placed
over the paper, which is then rolled over
by a rolling pin to adhere it to the counter.
This method yields a two-sided (smooth and
textured) sheet, which is dry by the next day
and can easily be peeled from the counter
top. Generally, most students opt for this
method. In Option 2, I press as much water
out of the paper as Arnold’s press and my
muscle will allow. I instruct students to layer
their hard-pressed papers between blotters
or paper towels and underneath a stack
of all the heavy books at their disposal. If,
every day, for up to a week (depending on
atmospheric conditions), the wet blotting
materials are replaced with dry ones and the
drying paper is re-stacked under constant
weight, flat paper that is identical on both
sides can be achieved. For the very first time
in my papermaking years, the entire group
chose the more labor intensive Option 2 for
drying their production of about eight sheets
of paper apiece. I didn’t know whether to admire
everyone’s commitment, or suspect an
across-the-board lack of home counter space!
Thanks to the great organizational skills
of Jennifer, Amy, and Chris, cleaning up
was accomplished swiftly. This allowed me
just enough time to visit the gallery and
have a peek at the outstanding watercolor
and oil landscapes of David Cox. And I’m
also grateful to Linda Friedlander, Curator
of Education, and Theresa Fairbanks
Harris for giving me the opportunity to be a
part of the programming surrounding this
fabulous exhibit!
This newsletter column began 12 years ago when
the wonders of the Internet were still new for
many of our readers. This will be Pam’s final
column and we greatly appreciate all her work.
In my wanderings through the Internet I
can be amazed by what I find. This time
I have found the site of a large paper company
based in Germany. It is a commercial
paper company; however, I really think it
merits a closer look. Let’s enter by going to
www.gmund.com.
On the top right you have a language
choice of English or German. The opening
splash page is simple, with a horizontal
band of menu items. I am going to save the
best for last, so we will work around and
skip past “Slide Show” for now. Why have
your cake first? Click on the first item—a
stack of paper called “Products.” Up pops a
wonderful close up photo of rolls of colored
paper. Press the dot that says “more,” and
you get a photo of a stack of swatch books,
as well as a complete product list above. By
clicking on any one of the Gmund products,
you get the information contained in the
corresponding swatch book, including all
the specifications, usages, resources, and
applications for that paper. These are essentially
virtual swatch books.
Skipping “Slide Show” for now, we move
on to “Environment.” Here is the complete
corporate charter on the production of their
paper. Water, raw materials, and waste
are critical issues; they want us to know
that they are an environmentally friendly
company.
The next three menu items are new papers
from their product list that have been
singled out. The first, Gmund Shade, seems
rather unique. It is a commercial paper that
has the delicate look and feel of traditional
Japanese paper. This is where I hate the
web—I am definitely a person who must
touch. This is a paper I would want to hold
and feel. Gmund 3, another new product, is
reminiscent of woven fabric. It is made by a
multi-stage embossing process that reveals
different facets in the paper from every
angle. Once again, I’d love to get my hands
on this paper. Gmund’s papers have been
primarily developed for offset, letterpress,
engraving, or silkscreen printing. However,
they now have another new product,
Gmund Digital, for small print runs for
digital projects. It looks as though I will be
checking these out at a future time. The last
item is the shopping, which looks very easy.
Having saved the best for last, we move
back to the “Slide Show.” I must admit, the
biggest reason I loved this site is the photography.
The photos in the slide show are
remarkable. You can pretend to be getting
the tour with a guide and you will be walking
from room to room in their production
plant. A wonderful detail is the blue enamel
wall signs in three languages, German, English,
and French. The first part of the tour
clearly shows an older area where paper is
made by hand. There is even an old-fashioned
telephone next to an ancient desk.
The slides include a nice balance of closeups
and wide-angled shots. You then move
on to the modern equipment, peeking into
the “Hollander Hall” and the “Ink Metering”
room, looking close up at gears and grinders
and huge rolls of paper, and watching
employees pigment, stack, count, sort, and
wrap sheets and sheets of paper. Even the
sample room is an organized dream.
This is a very interesting site, showing
a commercial paper company with a hand
papermaking production component.
Gmund documents its production fabulously—
the only things missing are water,
sound, and smell.
Our Paper History column began in 2003, written
by Peter Hopkins. Cathleen Baker took over three
years ago, and we thank her sincerely for her
insight and inspiration. She passes the baton to
Maureen and Simon Green who will write on the
topic beginning with the next issue.
> PAPER HISTORY
> PROFILES IN PAPER
Susan Gosin co-founded Dieu DonnО Press &
Paper in 1976. She regularly lectures and teaches
papermaking, and has compiled a significant
collection of interviews with noted personalities
in the hand papermaking community. This is the
continuation of the column about VictШria Rabal,
begun in the last issue.
In 1986 Victòria joined European colleagues
Fred Siegenthaler, Sophie Dawson, John
Gerard, Anne Vilsbøll, Julie Lawson, Dorothea
Eimert, and Ray Tomasso to form the
International Association of Papermakers
and Artists (IAPMA). As she was preparing
for the first IAPMA conference, which was
to take place at Capellades in June 1987, she
suffered a terrible accident. While taking
a tour group through the cellar of the museum,
which houses the eighteenth century
mill, she was pulled into a working stamper.
She broke bones in her head, spine, and
back. She was pregnant at the time, and,
miraculously, not only did she survive, but
so did her baby. With characteristic determination
she overcame partial paralysis in
time to greet her IAPMA friends for the
conference at the Capellades Museum.
Although this kind of personal detail is not
always included in a professional profile, I
thought that this incident was so revealing
of Victòria’s heroic character as well as of her
deep commitment to and love of handmade
paper and the art that springs forth from it,
that it is as much a part of her professional
story as it is of her personal life.
As director of Capellades, and aided by
her capable staff which has now grown to
twelve, Victòria has continued to expand the
programs she first envisioned in the 1980s.
The four floors of the museum, and the
basement floor that houses the eighteenth
century mill have been renovated. Visitors
are greeted at the entrance with a professionally
designed permanent exhibit highlighting
the history of papermaking. There
is also a store on the ground floor, stocked
with books about paper and printing,
children’s books, artists’ books for serious
collectors, stationery, sheets of Capellades
handmade paper, and a wide range of handmade
paper products.
Many of the 22,000 schoolchildren and
10,000 others who visit the museum yearly
make their way downstairs to the working
historic mill to make a few sheets of white
and colored cotton paper as part of their
tour. The mill is also used to manufacture
limited quantities of production paper,
which is sold in the Capellades store and to
international paper vendors.
In the fall of 2008, the floor directly
above the permanent paper exhibit and
store will be opened to the public with a new
permanent exhibition of the history of printing
and its relationship to papermaking.
Classes in calligraphy and printing will be
added to complement the roster of classes
offered in papermaking.
The second floor, above the printing
exhibit, is reserved for the permanent collection
of fine books, including a Diderot
first edition. The second floor also houses
a library of books on papermaking and printing,
which is available online to scholars at
the University of Barcelona. A permanent
archive of paper includes an extensive collection
from area mills as well examples of
paper dating back to the thirteenth century.
On the same floor as the library and archive
is a professionally equipped laboratory for
testing pulp and paper.
Victòria has always been interested in the
multiple facets of papermaking, in its colorful
history as a commercial endeavor throughout
the world, and its cultural distinction in the
history of mankind. In 2005, with the help
of the European Commission, she collaborated
with her colleagues at Papiermühle Alte
Gladbach in Germany and Kuovola Region
Federation of Municipalities in Finland to
create a three-year program of meetings for
European paper museums. This resulted in
the publication of an informative and beautifully
designed brochure and map identifying
European papermill museums that make
paper, historic papermills and paper museums,
and technical museums of papermaking. Any
paper enthusiast interested in European handmade
papers will find this a valuable resource.
Victòria’s role as curator and collaborator
includes her responsibilities on the top floor
of the museum, the mill’s former drying
loft, which now serves as a noncommercial
gallery for the exhibition of contemporary
art. Since 1993, the 440-square-meter loft has
been the exhibition site of three or four shows
a year that showcase art using handmade
paper as a critical component of the finished
work or as the vehicle of artistic expression.
In addition to her various collaborations as
director of Capellades, Victòria designs handmade
paper costumes for operas and musical
productions, and produces pulp-painted
images for limited editions of artists’ books
published by John Gerard. Examples of her
pulp painting imagery can also be found in
Hand Papermaking’s portfolio The Art of Pulp
Painting. Currently, she exhibits her art in
Barcelona at N2 Galeria.
For a quarter of a century, the Museu
Molí Paperer de Capellades has flourished
under the guiding vision and clear leadership
of its gifted director. It is unique
among other European paper museums
and historic mills because of the quality
of its educational programs and archival
production paper, and also because of the
contributions it makes through artistic
collaborations and exhibitions. Victòria
Rabal’s identity, first and foremost as
an artist, has motivated her to embrace
the myriad possibilities that hand
papermaking offers to students, teachers,
historians, scientists, and artists. I encourage
any paper enthusiast traveling to
Europe to visit Capellades and, if possible,
the director herself. For Internet travel-
Sidney Berger, a professor at Simmons College
in Boston and Director of the Phillips Library at
Peabody Essex Museum, has been collecting and
researching decorated paper for over thirty years.
This column continues Sid’s discussion of crepe
paper and its various uses, especially the marvelous
Hasegawa books.
> DECORATED PAPER
In my last column I spoke of crepe paper
as a decorative art, with a glance at crepe
paper books. These papers are quite lovely,
with their ability to stretch like Spandex and
their cloth-like touch. I can find little about
its history, though on the Web I did find the
following:
“Crepe” or “crêpe” generally refers to a
specific weave of lightweight fabric, originated
in the late 1700’s, which is crinkled
and slightly elastic in the hand. Crepe
paper is a general descriptive term for
paper that imitates the effect of the fabric.
Crepe paper is made by a water process,
which imparts the texture onto ordinarily
smooth paper. It was critical to the invention
of masking tape! The accordioned
texture allows the tape to partially adhere
to the surface, making it easily removable.
ers, please visit www.mmp-capellades.net
and www.victoriarabal.com to see some of
Victòria Rabal’s work.
(http://www.wilsonart.com/design/
statement/viewarticle.asp?articleid=45)
Unfortunately, this is not explicit about the
invention of crepe paper nor does it discuss its
actual manufacture, except in general (and not
terribly convincing) words.
In a website on paper dolls, the following
appears:
“[I]n the 1880s, Dennison Manufacturing
Company added crepe paper to their line,
starting a trend that lasted for about forty
years. Crepe paper added dimension to
the costumes of paper dolls and provided
countless hours of fun for children at
home and in schools” (http://www.opdag
.com/History .html).
Again, nothing on history or manufacture,
though a date is given. But this does not indicate
when or where the paper was invented.
Another website (http://int.kateigaho.com/
spr05/chirimenbon-books.html) says,
“Although crepe paper had been used in
Japan as early as 1800 for single-sheet
prints, Hasegawa is thought to be the first
to use it for complete books.”
By 1893, this lovely paper was being
used to make flowers and other decorative
products. In a June 18, 1893, article titled
“Evolution of Crepe Paper,” in The New York
Times we find:
When success in working in the plain surface
paper was achieved [in making paper
flowers] it was an easy step to wider fields.
The exquisite Japanese crêpe paper was
seized upon, opening up an almost unlimited
vista of decorative possibilities. This
paper is a delicately finished product of
the manufacturer’s art, made with what
might be called a corrugated surface. It is
soft to the touch, yet very strong in fibre.
It was, of course strong because it was
certainly made of kozo fibers, those long,
thin, strong fibers used in conservation
papers and for prints and paintings.
The manufacture is described this way:
The corrugation is simply the result of
some mechanical manipulation which
creases the originally smooth paper into
tiny folds or tucks that run across its width
so that lengthwise a piece of it is capable of
being stretched to twice its length. It is this
quality of stretching which gives it special
value in making many of the dainty things
produced by the clever fingers that have
become skilled in its use....It is hard to
convey an idea of the beauty of the material
and its brilliant softness; as, however, it
looks more like the fabric it undertakes to
imitate—the woven crêpe—than anything
else, this comparison is adequate description
and sufficient praise.
(See the full article with a query of
nytimes.com.)
Though crepe paper had many uses,
perhaps its most exquisite use was in the
lovely books produced in Japan for export,
mostly printed by “Takejiro Hasegawa, Meiji
Japan’s Preeminent Publisher of Wood-
Block-Illustrated Crepe-Paper Books.” This
is in quotation marks, because it is the title
of a wonderful exhibition catalog of these
books. The author, Frederic A. Sharf, did a
remarkable job pulling together information
about these books and their publisher
(Salem, MA: Peabody Essex Museum, 1994;
Peabody Essex Museum Collections, Vol. 130,
No. 4). Much of the following information is
drawn from this source.
In 1884, Takejiro Hasegawa set up a
publishing house in Tokyo; he was 31 years
old. He recognized an enormous Western
audience for his books, and he hit on the
idea of doing many books aimed at them.
He knew Western scholars who could do
translations for him, and he knew some of
the finest wood-block illustrators of his day
in Japan. He had fine illustrations done on
wood blocks, printing done by a Japanese
printer with Western equipment, and binding
done in Japan, “probably performed in a
cottage-industry setting” (Sharf, 11).
The earliest books were the Japanese
Fairy Tales Series, rendered into English,
German, and French, and all copyrighted
on August 17, 1885, under the imprint
of Kobunsha. These early volumes had
black-and-white illustrations and had plain
brown-paper wrappers.
> TO BE CONTINUED in the next issue.
> FOR BEGINNERS
Green living is increasingly on the
mind, especially in the post-industrial
countries that have, on the whole, forgotten
how to do this. My art practice is the one
area in my life where I will make all exceptions.
I will waste as much paper as I need
to in order to get a print to the right quality
and shape; I will, as one friend put it, easily
spend more money on book cloth than on
a pair of pants; and I will happily order my
fibers from distances across which I would
never source my food.
Recently I have been thinking that there
is no reason to leave sustainable practices
out of this area of my life. While I deeply
value artistic production, and even the
production of multiples, this practice does
not take place outside the ecosystem upon
which we depend. Further, what we might
consider to be good for a piece of paper, e.g.,
the longevity of its color through pigmenting,
might not be as good for our health
or the environment’s. I tended to be rather
casual about my contact with commercial
pigments, until I was at Penland School of
Craft, where any water containing pigment
is disposed of as a hazardous material. I’m
a little more likely to wear gloves while pigmenting
these days.
Papermaking is a medium with substantial
opportunity to develop an environmentally
responsible art making practice. I recently
had the opportunity to speak with Washington
DC-area artist Patterson Clark about his
papermaking process using fibers and fuel
from local invasive plants. Thus, not only is
he making paper from local fibers, but he is
also removing non-native species that threaten
the balance of the local ecosystem. Clark
has developed a working system that might
spark some ideas for your own process.
To cook the bast fibers that he harvests,
Clark burns the woody leftovers from the
plants (Paper and White varieties of Mulberry,
Tree of Heaven, English Ivy, Rose of
Sharon) on a portable wood stove.
The fibers are cooked in rainwater, collected
in a barrel, with potash lye made from wood
ash from the stove. When the fire dies out,
Clark allows the fibers to steep for ten hours
in the cooking liquor, wrapping the cooking
pot in two thick wool blankets to conserve
heat as the bast completes its cook.
Some bi-products of this process lend
themselves to other parts of Clark’s art making.
The black cooking liquor can be neutralized
with vinegar and rendered into a pHneutral
potassium acetate ink for printing
or drawing. Charcoal from the woodstove
can also be used for drawing or ink. The
downed weed trees that Clark sometimes
uses as firewood can also be milled into
lumber for printing blocks, picture framing,
or bas-relief carving. Wiry bast fibers from
some plants, once cooked, can be used to
make brushes, as well.
If local plant fibers are unappealing or
inaccessible (i.e., you live in the midst of
urban concrete), consider what materials
you might recycle. Printmakers and book
artists produce plenty of scraps of cotton rag
that can be re-processed into new papers.
In fact, are you re-processing scraps and
junk sheets of your own papers? Quilters
and sewers also produce scrap fibers,
which are often natural fibers suitable for
papermaking. How can you tap into these
supplies and make use of the waste of other
creative practices? Also investigate industrial
sources. If you are anywhere in the
vicinity of a paper or fabric mill, can you
access their off-cuts?
How can you conserve your water and
electricity use? I suggest re-using water that
you’ve strained from your vats or your beater
when you can. Cut a little off your electricity
usage by adding torn and cut fibers to the
beater before starting the beater rather than
tearing linters as the beater circulates.
Finally, know what you are putting into
your paper and in contact with your skin.
Material Safety Data Sheets should be available
for any additives you purchase to put
into your paper. These can help you determine
how to properly handle and dispose
of chemicals, polymers, and pigments. And
as Monona Rossol, a materials safety expert
who conducted a fantastic training I had
the opportunity to attend, says: “remember,
Mother Nature is not on your side.” That is
to say that using natural materials does not
mean you should abandon all precaution.
This statement was made in the context of
discussing citrus-based cleaners, which do
have toxins that will sit in your liver. There
is nothing wrong with using vinegar, baking
soda, and water when doing some serious
scrubbing in the studio. I know a papermaker
who experienced a severe reaction when
making paper from green gingko leaves. So,
experiment—one can’t innovate without bold
experimentation—but proceed with at least a
little bit of caution!
And finally, build on the knowledge
of your fellow papermakers. The Yahoo
Papermaking group, for example, is a great
resource for finding out about local plants
that are good for papermaking in your area.
Incorporating some of these ideas into
your art making will put you on your way to
incorporating your art practice into a more
sustainable life.
> more for beginners at:
handpapermaking.org/beginner
Listings for specific workshops and other
events in the following categories are
offered free of charge on a space-available
basis. The deadline for the April Newsletter
is February 15. Contact each facility
directly for additional information or a
full schedule. Teachers: Tell your students
about Hand Papermaking! Brochures
and handouts can be mailed to you or
your institution.
Email: info@handpapermaking.org
> CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
Asheville BookWorks, Asheville, NC, (828)
255-8444, www.bookworksasheville.com.
Hands-on workshops including bookbinding,
printmaking, decorative paper, and
basic papermaking.
Suminagashi, Marbling and Box Making,
February 13 - 16, with Steve Pittelkow. Learn
both Japanese and acrylic marbling to create a
portfolio of beautiful papers for projects, using
your papers to cover boxes as you make simple
but elegant structures with ordinary tools.
Paste Paper: Historical and Contemporary
Surface Design, March 28-29, with Larry Lou
Foster. Learn traditional combed and pulled
patterns as well as contemporary variations of
the same, making “block printed” papers, using
‘pattern jigs’ for editions and finishing papers.
Paper Sculpture, April 20-22, with Frank
Brannon. Explore two different forms of paper
sculpture by using various papermaking fibers.
Atelier Cirkel, Brasschaat, Belgium, 0032-
3633 05 89, www.ateliercirkel.be.
Handmade Paper, February 7 or April 18,
with Denies Van Loon. Experiment with
pigments and fibers to create papers and a
small dimensional piece.
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.
Advanced Watercolor Marbling & Paste Paper
Extravaganza, January 11-17, with Mimi
Schleicher. Explore a variety of techniques,
controlled and abstract, for marbling, followed
by an introduction to paste papers.
Handmade Paper: Expanding the Possibilities,
January 18-17, with Claudia Lee. Use a variety
of pulps and cooked plants to create new
ways to work with paper pulp.
Japanese (Eastern) Papermaking, May 3-9,
with Rajeania Snider. Explore fiber preparation,
sheet forming (both traditional and
modern adaptations), and a wide variety of
decorative techniques.
Carriage House Paper, Brooklyn, NY, (800)
669-8781, www.carriagehousepaper.com.
Papermaking workshops offered in a new
studio space. Visit website for winter/spring
workshop schedule.
Circle of Life Studio and Summer Gallery,
Eagle River, WI, (715) 479-9737,
www.circleoflifestudio.com. Offering weekly
papermaking workshops June through September,
and by special arrangement all year.
Columbia College Chicago Center for Book
and Paper Arts, Chicago, IL, (312) 344-6630,
www.bookandpaper.org. Papermaking classes
in spacious downtown studios.
Desert Paper, Book and Wax, Tucson, AZ, www
.papermakingresources.com. Papermaking,
book, and mixed media encaustic workshops,
as well as consulting and studio rental.
Dieu DonnО Papermill, New York, NY, (212)
226-0573, www.dieudonne.org. Beginning
and advanced papermaking classes for
adults and children.
Gail Harker Creative Studies Center, Oak
Harbor, WA, (360) 279-2105, www.gail
creativestudies.com. Offering courses in textile arts.
Adventures in Papermaking, March 20-22,
with Lisa Harkins. Create a wide variety of
paper samples, learning to make both flat
and dimensional paper and to prepare a
range of fibers.
Green Heron Book Arts, Forest Grove, Oregon.
Classes in book and paper arts at the Accidental
BookMaker. Contact pagrass@aol.com for
more information.
Magnolia Editions, Oakland, CA, (510) 839-
5268, www.magnoliapaper.com. Workshops
in papermaking, printmaking, and book arts.
Maine Media Workshops, Rockport, Maine,
(877) 577-7700, www.theworkshops.com.
Year-round classes in multiple media.
Papermaking, February 8-14, with Bernie
Vinzani. Develop an understanding of the
historical aspects of paper while learning to
prepare and color fiber, form sheets, watermark,
dry, and finish your paper.
Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis,
MN, (612) 215-2520, www.mnbookarts
.org. Classes at the Open Book center for
book and literary arts.
Paper Circle, Nelsonville, OH, (740) 753-
3374, www.papercircle.org, papercircle@
frognet.net. Call or e-mail for information
about upcoming paper classes.
Open Studio, second Saturdays, with studio
artists. Gain new skills while working on
themed, relaxed projects.
Japanese Paper Making, May 9, with Sara
Gilfert.
From Plants to Paper, June 6, with Sara Gilfert
and Susie Thompson. Create sheets from day
lilies, asparagus, and more.
The Papertrail, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada,
(800) 421-6826, www.papertrail.ca. Classes in
papermaking, marbling, and related arts and
studio rental scheduled on an as-needed basis.
PapierWespe (PaperWasp), Aegidigasse 3/Hof,
1060 Wien, Austria, (0676) 77-33-153,
office@papierwespe.at, www.papierwespe.at.
Workshops in English and German taught by
paper specialists in downtown Vienna.
Penland School, Penland, NC, (828) 765-
2359, www.penland.org. A full program of
craft workshops, including papermaking.
Subjective Color, June 21-July 3, with Mina
Takahashi. Explore how fiber and color
come together to create a nuanced palette in
papermaking, utilizing a range of Western
and Asian fibers with a variety of coloring
agents including artist pigments, fiber-reactive
synthetic dyes, and natural dyes.
Paper in Three Dimensions, July 19-August 4,
with Helen Hiebert. Take paper from two
dimensions to three through paper folding
and cutting, model making, papermaking
and other techniques; papermaking techniques
will include overbeaten and translucent
pulps, watermarking, and embedding wire,
string, or reed to give the paper structural
form.
Pyramid Atlantic, Silver Spring, MD, (301)
608-9101, www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org.
Workshops in papermaking, printmaking,
and book arts.
Papermaking Society, First and Third Thursdays,
with Gretchen Schermerhorn. Bring
snacks, discuss papermaking techniques, and
make as many sheets of paper as you can.
Robert C. Williams Paper Museum, Atlanta, GA,
(404) 894-5726, http://ipst.gatech.edu/amp/.
Japanese Papermaking, June 22-26, with
Berwyn Hung. Learn each stage of the
papermaking process, from fiber collection
and preparation to making the paper using
traditional Japanese methods.
Southwest School of Art & Craft, San Antonio,
TX, (210) 224-1848, www.swschool.org.
Classes at the Picante Paper Studio. Special
papermaking classes can be scheduled for
one person or a group; please contact Beck
Whitehead for more information.
Advanced Studio Rental, most Wednesdays,
with alternate days and instruction available
upon request. Use of the Picante studio and
equipment.
Papermaking Saturday, January 31, or February
28, with Linda Draper. Create paper in an
environment that is somewhere between a
class and an open studio.
Stone and Paper Art Center, L.L.C., Mandeville,
LA, (504) 674-9232, www.stoneandpaper
.com. Hand Papermaking, selected Saturdays,
with Mary Elain Bernard. Learn Eastern
and Western methods of making paper and
incorporate local plant fibers.
Valley Ridge Art Studio, Muscoda, WI,
(608) 250-5028, www.valleyridgeartstudio
.com. Workshops in papermaking, bookmaking,
photography, writing, etc.
Paper Batiking Extraordinaire, February 7-8,
with Kathy Malkasian.
Paper and Fabric Marbling, April 4-5, with
Galen Berry. Learn to make beautiful,
multicolored patterned papers including
traditional patterns like the Peacock, Stone
Marble, Spanish Wave, Feather, Nonpareil,
French curl and more.
West Dean College, Chichester, West Sussex,
U.K., (0)1243 811301, short.course@
westdean.org.uk, www.westdean.org.uk.
Hand Marbling on Paper and Fabric, February
27-March 1, with Christopher Rowlatt. Make
samplers of traditional patterns and develop
your own work while learning every stage of
the marbling process.
Hand Marbled Papers, April 23-27, with
Victoria Hall. Explore suminagashi while
learning traditional patterns and the history
of paper marbling.
Recycled Papermaking for Artwork and Decorative
Objects, May 22-25, with Carol Farrow.
Experiment with paper pulps made from reused
paper ephemera to create cards, books,
containers and artworks.
Informing Paper: Recycled Paper Pulp Vessels
and Vintage Paper Casting, May 28-31, with
Magie Hollingworth. Explore ways of forming
organic vessels with recycled paper pulp and
casting with handmade and vintage papers.
Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY
12472, (845) 658-9133, info@wsworkshop
.org. Summer Arts Institute includes workshops
in papermaking, printmaking, book
arts, photography, and other media.
Armatures for Sculptural Papermaking, July
6-10, with Chris Petrone and Ellen Kucera.
Create sculpture from the inside out with
elegant armatures covered in skin-like paper,
using basket weaving and welding techniques
to create more complex armatures.
Advanced Armatures for Sculptural Papermaking,
July 13-17, with Ellen Kucera and Chris Petrone.
Translate recent work into armatures and handmade
paper sculptures through one-on-one
discussions with the instructors.
Cross Pollination: Papermaking and Encaustic,
July 20-24, with Tatana Kellner and Cynthia
Winika. Create collages utilizing layering,
translucency and opacity, stenciling, pulp
painting, burnishing and more, incorporating
papermaking and basic encaustic
techniques .
Asian Papermaking, July 27-31, with Tatiana
Ginsberg. Investigate all aspects of Asian
papermaking in-depth, with a focus on Japanese-
style nagashizuki sheet formation and
exploration of decorative techniques.
Pulp Painting, August 3-7, with Shannon
Brock. Combine 2-D image making and 3-D
sculptural papermaking, developing images
by layering and overlapping thin veils of pulp.
Artists! Go Green: Natural Dyes for Paper,
Fiber and Painting, August 10-14, with Rita
Schwab. Learn to use specific parts of plants
for color extraction to use as dyes, to add
texture and color in papermaking and to
process them into paints.
Paper Clay Workshop: Form and Surface, July
27-31, with Elizabeth Kendall. Make tiles
from clay with cellulose fiber incorporated
into the clay body, exploring decoration techniques
and discussing slab construction.
EVENTS
Art, Fact, and Artifact: The Book in Time
and Place is the First College Book Art Association
Biennial Conference, taking place
January 8-10 and hosted by the University
of Iowa Center for the Book (UICB). The
conference seeks to bridge the worlds of
book art, book history, cultural criticism,
and curatorial work through appreciation of
the book as an aesthetic sensorium. Events
include tours of UICB’s papermaking
facilities as well as papermaking and other
demonstrations. More information can
be found at http://uicb.grad.uiowa.edu/
uicb-cbaa-conference/.
The Southern Graphics Council Conference
2009, featuring panels, exhibitions at over
40 locations around Chicago, and demonstrations,
will be held at Columbia College,
Chicago, March 25-29. The theme of this
year’s conference is Global Implications.
The schedule this year includes demonstrations
in hand papermaking by Jen Thomas,
Yukie Kobayashi, and Gretchen Schermerhorn
and a panel discussion on Printmaking
and Papermaking in India. Details are
available on the Internet at:
www.colum.edu/SpecialEvents/Southern_
Graphics_Council/index.php.
The 20th IAPMA Congress meets in Tasmania
March 26-30 in the coastal town of Bur-
> more classes and workshops at
handpapermaking.org/listings.htm
nie, home to Australia’s largest handmade
paper mill. The conference theme is Paper of
the New World and Rejuvenation of the Creative
Spirit. Events include workshops and
lectures and a juried exhibition. The program
can be viewed at www.iapmacongress2009.
com.au.
The Hybrid Book: Intersection and Intermedia,
an International Book Art Conference
and Fair, takes place on June 4-6, 2009 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hosted by The
University of the Arts, The Hybrid Book
seeks to explore how book art represents
a multi-arts forum: two-dimensional,
three-dimensional, and time-based, one in
which design, fine arts, craft, language, and
new technologies combine, compete, and
intersect. Events include panel discussions,
including artists working with handmade
paper; exhibitions, and a fair. For information
or to register, please visit www.hybrid
book.org, or email hybridbook@yahoo.com.
The Minnesota Center for Book Arts presents
the Book Art Biennial 2009, to be held July
23-26 in Minneapolis. Through a combination
of presentations by leaders in the field,
peer discussion sessions and hands-on
workshops, Book Art Biennial participants
will explore the theme Mature Content—the
Artist’s Book as Advocate, placing special
emphasis on the efficacy of artists’ books as
agents of social change and activism. The
keynote speakers will be John Risseeuw and
Philip Zimmerman. A centerpiece of the
Book Art Biennial will be the presentation
of The MCBA Prize, a new award recognizing
book art from across the field and
around the world. More information will be
available at www.mnbookarts.org. For questions
regarding Book Art Biennial 2009
or The MCBA Prize, contact MCBA Artistic
Director Jeff Rathermel at jrathermel@
mnbookarts.org.
The Friends of Dard Hunter meet annually
to enjoy speakers, presentations, tours of
local paper and book arts facilities, a trade
show, auction, and banquet. Scholarships
are available to those with financial need.
For information on this conference visit
www.friendsofdardhunter.org. The 2009
meeting will be held in Atlanta, Georgia.
Pulp Function, curated by Lloyd Herman,
founding Director of the Smithsonian’s Renwick
Gallery, will be at the Plains Art Museum,
Fargo, North Dakota, through February
8. It then travels to the James Michener
Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, where
it will be on view March 14 through June 28.
Art made from paper pulp; recycled paper;
cardboard; papier mache; and cut, folded,
or otherwise manipulated paper is featured.
For more information, visit www.fullercraft
.org or www.thenic.org.
The World of Yugen: Japanese Paper Artworks
by Kyoko Ibe is on display through
January 4 at Krannart Art Museum, University
of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana. There
is an opening on August 28 at 5:00 and
additional related programs planned. The
installation of large scale hanging paper will
be accompanied by a separate exhibit of Ibe’s
latest two-dimensional washi works. More
details are available at www.kam.uiuc.edu.
Before Paper will be on display through
February at the new Carriage House Gallery,
245 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. The
exhibition spotlights methods of human
communication before paper was invented,
including stone, clay, bone, animal skins,
papyrus, leaves, wood strips, and metal.
Artifacts illustrating a world without paper
will be on display alongside documentary
films and books showing many of the ancient
processes. Gallery hours are every Thursday,
2-6 pm. For other hours, call (718) 599-
7857. This exhibition is the first of a series
arranged by the Museum of International
Paper History. The sponsoring organization
is The Institute of Paper History & Technology
at 8 Evans Road, Brookline, Massachusetts, or
online at www.papermakinghistory.org.
Time Travelers, work by Joan Giordano, is
on display through January 5 at Serrano
Contemporary at 547 West 27th Street,
5th Floor, New York City, New York. More
information can be found by calling (212)
239-1271 or visiting serranocontemporary
.com. For images of work by the artist, visit
www.joangiordano.com.
The handmade paper work of Drew Shiflett
will be on view at Lesley Heller Gallery
through January 31. The gallery is at 16 East
77th Street, New York City, New York. The
gallery can be contacted at (212) 410-6120
or Lesley@lesleyheller.com. More information
about the artist can be found at:
www.drewshiflett.com.
Minnesota artist Marjorie Alexander’s
handmade paper piece “Mantle of Concern”
is included in Miniartextil, an International
Textile Contemporary Art Exhibition, this
winter, in Como, Italy. It will then travel to
Rome and Paris. The theme of the exhibition
is “Matrix Natura.” The exhibition website is
at www.miniartextil.it. For more information,
email the artist at marge@maralex.com.
Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale,
New York, presents the work of Barbara
Biesinghoff in the Binnewater Arts Center
Gallery from January 9 through January 30.
As an Artists’ Book Resident at Women’s
Studio Workshop, Beisinghoff worked in
the papermaking, etching, and letterpress
studios. The exhibition will be followed by
the work of Laura Moriarty in February,
and the work of WSW Interns Laura Beyer,
Carolyn Baginski, and Kristen Jasionowski
in March. For location and details call
(845)658-9133 or visit www.wsworkshop.org.
Tatiana Ginsberg and Jenn Figg present
“Shadowlandscape” as part of the exhibition
Ephemerality at the Schuylkill Center for
Environmental Education in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. The piece is an animation of
an enormous “shadow” made of recycled
handmade paper scraps, filmed over the
course of a single day on the Center’s
grounds, as it moves, evolves, and disintegrates.
The show, which also includes work
by Sarah Phillips, Matt Pych, Theresa Rose,
and Claudia Sbrissa, opens January 12,
with a reception and artists’ talk on January
17, and runs through April 12. For more
information, visit www.schuylkillcenter.org
or call (215) 482-7300.
Project Runway, organized by the Robert C.
Williams Paper Museum of Atlanta, opens
at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International
Airport on January 12. The juried exhibit
will showcase clothing and accessories
made entirely from paper, including ball
gowns, business suits, stilettos, hats, vests
and much more created by paper artists
> EXHIBITS
from around the world. The exhibit runs
through January 12, 2010, after which it
travels to La Sala Galeria de Arte in Santiago,
Chile. For more information, call (404) 894-
7840 or visit www.ipst.gatech.edu/amp.
Spend a day or weekend immersed in a
papermaking workshop at Tidewater Cottage
and Studio in Del Haven, NJ. A two-block
walk from the beach and moments from
Victorian Cape May, the Cottage provides a
quiet retreat space with seashore ambience.
The fully equipped paper studio is available
for rental and workshops. For info contact
Winnie Radolan at winnie.r@verizon.net.
Cultural Collaborative, a small non-profit
working with children in Ghana, West
Africa, is looking for papermakers and
bookbinders to volunteer to teach the kids
next summer. If interested contact aba@
culturalcollaborative.org. For information
on Cultural Collaborative, visit:
www.culturalcollaborative.org.
The Creative Residency program in Visual
Arts at The Banff Centre, Alberta, Canada,
provides studio facilities and support for
artists working in a broad range of media,
including painting, drawing, performance,
ceramics, book arts, textile art, papermaking,
sculpture, installation, photography, and
more. Visit www.banffcentre.ca for information
about residencies and facilities, or
contact Wendy Tokaryk at wendy_tokaryk@
banffcentre.ca or (403) 762-6402.
Artists experienced in papermaking are invited
to apply for the opportunity to spend up
to three months working in the Paper Studio
at the Southwest School of Art & Craft. Artists
are expected to provide their own transportation
and materials. Housing may be available,
but is not guaranteed. Collaborations will be
considered. For further information contact
SSAC, 300 Augusta, San Antonio, TX 78205,
(210) 224-1848, www.swschool.org.
Women’s Studio Workshop offers several
opportunities for artists working in
papermaking and book arts. A year-long
internship program gives young artists
creative support, culminating in an exhibition,
in return for their assistance with the
on-going operations of the facility, including
assisting WSW’s Artists-in-Residence with
their projects and participating in WSW’s
Summer Arts Institute classes as studio
assistants. Studio fellowships are designed
to provide concentrated work time for artists
to explore new ideas in a dynamic and supportive
community of women artists. For
details on these and other programs, visit
www.wsworkshop.org.
> CALLS FOR ENTRIES
The Ice House seeks entries for the juried
exhibit Handmade Paper & Artist Books, to
take place in April 2009 in Berkeley, West
Virginia. Submit up to ten images for consideration
by January 2. Submission details
can be found at http://members.toast.net/
rpingevans, or contact curator Jane Ping
for more information at (304) 754-7558 or
jpingevans@yahoo.com.
The MCBA Prize, a new award recognizing
book art from across the field and
around the world, celebrates the diversity
of book art. A distinguished panel of jurors,
themselves leaders in the field, will select
five finalists, with the announcement of the
winning work at a gala event culminating
Book Art Biennial 2009. Further details,
submission guidelines and entry forms for
The MCBA Prize are available for download
from www.mnbookarts.org. For questions
regarding The MCBA Prize, contact MCBA
Artistic Director Jeff Rathermel at:
jrathermel@mnbookarts.org.
My Paper, My Land, a postcard show held to
coincide with the 2009 IAPMA Congress
in Burnie, Tasmania, invites entries of mail
art. Works should reflect where you come
from and contain at least eighty percent
paper. The size should be ten by fifteen
centimeters. Please send works through the
mail, preferably with postage stamp and
postmark, to Gail Stiffe, 11 Keltie Street,
Glen Iris, Victoria 3146, Australia. Creative
Paper’s Gallery will display the postcards
for one month and on the web. For more
details, contact info@gailstiffe.com.
Works should be sent by March 1.
Conrad Wilde Gallery of Tucson, AZ is reviewing
submissions from artists working with
handmade and machine made paper for a 2009
exhibition. View the General Call for Submissions
at www.conradwildegallery.com. Submissions
for the paper exhibition are due March
3, 2009. The gallery also seeks proposals for
workshops. Questions may be addressed to
info@conradwildegallery.com.
Carriage House Paper will sponsor a 2 1/2
week expedition to papermaking areas in
southwest China and northern Thailand in
February 2009, visiting remote villages where
ancient hand skills have been practiced for
centuries. These areas have spectacular scenic
beauty and remarkable cultures. Specific
information will be available in the fall. For
more information, contact Donna Koretsky
at donna@carriagehousepaper.com or call
(718) 599-7857.
A new gallery, Space On Dobbin, opened
at the end of September 2008, at Dobbin
Mews, the building complex owned by Robbin
Ami Silverberg and her husband and
artist AndrЗs BЪrЪcz, and housing Dobbin
Mill and Dobbin Books. The gallery is connected
to their non-profit, Alma on Dobbin
Inc., an organization that promotes crosscultural
exchange between the US and traditional
underserved cultural communities.
The opening event was a lecture given by
Willem Boshoff, a South African artist, who
spoke about his work, “Garden of Words,”
consisting of installations about the 15,000
endangered plant species in the world.
The Traditional Papermaking Village Project
Province, the Republic of the Philippines.
The project involves making paper from
rice harvested using traditional methods
and other native fibers; papermaking is
scheduled to start in January. A fundraising
workshop will be offered June 26-30, 2009
focusing on Oryza sative, or rice straw. For
more information, contact Asao Shimura
at asaoshimura@yahoo.com.
The Paper Industry International Hall of
Fame in Appleton, Wisconsin, included Dard
Hunter among its 2008 honorees. Dard
Hunter III spoke on behalf of his grandfather
about the importance of the handmade
paper community. For more information and
a complete list of Inductees, call (920) 380-
7491 or visit www.paperhall.org
Donna Allgaier-Lamberti’s process of making
paper from plants is featured in the
October-November 2008 issue of Country
Woman Magazine. The article spans three
magazine pages and includes twelve color
photographs, and is the result of two days in
the studio during September 2007.
To view the feature on the Internet, go to
www.countrywomanmagazine.com and
follow the link titled “Paper Caper.”
The Combat Paper Project, a collaboration
involving war veterans, activists, and artists,
has a new website at www.combatpaper.org.
The site features information on upcoming
workshops and lectures, exhibitions, image
gallery, and more.
Classifieds in Hand Papermaking Newsletter
cost $1.00 per word, with a 10-word minimum.
Payment is due in advance of publication.
Paper Equipment: 5 lb. Valley Beater plus
more. Please contact David, rpmstudio@
mac.com.
Little Critter Hollander Beaters, sized from
3/4# to 10# capacity. Contact Mark Lander,
51 Hodgsons Rd, RD2, Rangiora 7472,
New Zealand; ph 0064 3 3103132;
email: lander-gallery3@xtra.co.nz.
Cotton Linter Pulp. All quantities available.
Call Gold’s Artworks, Inc. 1-800-356-2306.
Papermaking Supplies and Equipment.
Various fibers, chemicals, pigments, etc.
Call Penny at (704) 840-8189 or email
claypenny@gmail.com
> more classifieds at
handpapermaking.org/listings.htm
Hand Papermaking continues to offer
Selected Paper Artists, 2004, featuring
62 images of contemporary artwork by
19 paper artists juried from the Hand
Papermaking Artist Registry. Two
versions of this collection are on sale:
purchase a set of slides for $200 plus $10
postage, or purchase a CD-ROM for $35
postpaid. Both include a 48-page booklet
including image descriptions and artist
statements, plus an introduction and
history of the project. Juried from over 500
current slides, this generous sampling of
stunning imagery demonstrates a wide variety
of techniques. These inspiring images
make an excellent classroom presentation.
They are the perfect solution for educators,
publicists, scholars, and curators looking
for unique talent. They present a helpful
overview for newcomers. They are an inspiration
to anyone interested in handmade
paper art. To place an order send $210 for
the set of slides or $35 for the CD-ROM to
Hand Papermaking, PO Box 1070, Beltsville,
MD 20704. Or call (800) 821-6604
or (301) 220-2393. Additional information
about Hand Papermaking’s Artist Registry
can be found at:
www.handpapermaking.org.
Hand Papermaking would like to thank the
following people and organizations who have
made direct contributions to further our mission.
As a non-profit organization, we rely on the support
of our subscribers and contributors to continue operating.
All donations are greatly appreciated and are
tax deductible. Call or write for more information
on giving levels and premiums.
Benefactors: Barbara Lippman, David
Marshall & Alan Wiesenthal. Underwriters:
Cathleen A. Baker, Sidney Berger & Michele
Cloonan, Tom & Lore Burger, Ali Fujino,
Susan Gosin, Hiromi Paper International,
Mary Lou Manor, Charles E. Morgan, Marilyn
& Steve Sward, Nancy & Mark Tomasko,
Beck Whitehead, Pamela S. Wood. Sponsors:
Gail Deery, Jane M. Farmer, Helen Frederick,
Eve Ingalls Von Staden, Ingrid Rose
Company, Joyce Kierejczyk, Peter Newland
& Robyn Johnson, Margaret Prentice, Anil
Revri, Kimberly Schenck, Scott R. Skinner.
Donors: Grimanesa Amoros, Timothy Barrett,
Nancy Cohen, Nita Colgate, William
Dane, Mona Dukess, Martha Duran, Karla
Elling, Lori B. Goodman, Helen Hiebert,
Rick Johnson, Sally Wood Johnson, Elaine
Koretsky, Hedi Kyle, Andrea Peterson, Nancy
Pobanz, Brian Queen, Winifred Radolan,
Dianne L. Reeves, John L. Risseeuw, Mary C.
Schlosser, R. H. Starr, Jr., Claire Van Vliet,
Tom Weideman. Supporters: Lynne Allen,
Marjorie & Harold Alexander, Martha Anderson,
Lois D. Augur, James Barton, Lora
Brueck, Inge Bruggeman, T. Patterson Clark,
Rona Conti, Charles Cooper, Wavell Cowan,
Elizabeth Curren, Jennifer Davies, Dianne
Dolan, Jonathan Fairbanks, David Lance
Goines, Dorothy Fall, Kathy Fitzgerald,
Sara Gilfert, Deborah Hamburger, Theresa
Fairbanks Harris, Helen Hiebert, Barbara
Hunter, Mildred Monat Isaacs, Lou
Kaufman, Allye Kranish, Elaine Koretsky,
M. P. Marion, Gordon Marshall, Edwin
Martin, Joyce McDaniel, Marion Melody,
Ann Montanaro, Patricia L. O’Neal, Harry
& Sandra Reese, S.A. Scharf, Pam Scheinman,
Agnes Schlenke, Jessica Spring,
Karen Steiner, Marie Sturken, Sheila
Sturrock, Betty Sweren, Betty Ustun, Elsi
Vassdal-Ellis, Anne Williams, Women’s
Studio Workshop, Kathy Wosika. Friends:
Dorothy Berman, Linda Costello, Rosalind
Fink, Sue Ann Foster, Steve & Bonnie
Heller, Ellen Kulka, Kathy A. Ludwig in
honor of E. Shirley Baker, Kyle Olmon,
Adie Pena, Natalia Romero, Ellen Rubin,
Thomas Stritch, Robin Sutton, Dagmar
Vrkljan-Kubastova, Dale Weyermann.
In-Kind: Laurence Barker, Carol Barton,
Sid Berger & Michele Cloonan, Georgia
Deal, Janet DeBoer, Rose Folsom, Peter
Ford, Helen Frederick, Helen Hiebert,
Le Madeleine Restaurant, Lisa Hill, Peter
Hopkins, Sukey Hughes, Emily Martin,
Russell Maret, Drew Matott, Ken Polinskie,
Preservation Technologies, Pyramid
Atlantic, Britt Quinlan, Amy Richard,
Gretchen Schermerhorn, Shawn Sheehy,
Bonnie Stahlecker, Betty Sweren, Trader
Joe’s, Claire Van Vliet, Whole Foods.
a
Remembering Marilyn Sward, Hand Papermaking was touched and grateful
to receive very generous gifts in her honor from Cathleen A. Baker, Timothy Barrett, Paul Denhoed,
Helen Frederick, Susan Gosin, Lois & Gordon James, John Risseeuw, Karen Stahlecker, and Jody Williams.