Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Secret Messages in Handmade Paper is the title of our upcoming fifteenth handmade-paper portfolio. In hand papermaking, artists often create work that utilize novel forms of communication embedded in the paper itself. The materiality of handmade paper lends itself to thinking about the form as the content; and methods such as watermarking, pigmenting, lamination, embossing, and inclusion often result in works that require some investigation to reveal the artist’s conceptual intent. Words and images appear and disappear, are obscured or viewed through the gauze of the fiber, and the varied materials have meaning in and of themselves. There are endless opportunities for creating handmade-paper works that contain pockets, folds, embedded texts, and other materials, as well as those that use color as an integral form of communication. Handmade paper allows artists to experiment with the two-sidedness inherent in the medium and play with contrasting colors, blow-outs, and stencils, among other techniques, to embed hidden messages.
We welcome proposals that consider the theme both formally and conceptually.
Proposals should demonstrate how the artist plans to use handmade paper in a substantive way as the sole or a primary medium in the work. We invite all manner of mark making, both on and in the sheet. Preference will be given to submissions that emphasize hand-papermaking processes in the development of the image and or text. Each piece should be 10 x 8 inches or less, and no more than 1/8-inch thick. In the portfolio, each piece will be placed in an 11 x 8½-inch protective folder labeled with the artist’s name. This portfolio is not a set of sample swatches; we expect the pieces to be works of art that stand on their own and create a compelling collection together, showcasing a wide range of traditional and non-traditional papermaking techniques, and the imagination, skill, and originality of artists working in handmade paper.
The deadline for submissions is October 31, 2026. For more details, VIEW/DOWNLOAD A FULL COPY OF THE RFP HERE.
Jane M. Farmer is an independent paper historian, formerly employed by the Smithsonian Institution, who organized traveling exhibitions and artist exchanges for various organizations including the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, the World Print Council, the Arts America Program at the United States Information Agency, and the Crossing Over Consortium for over thirty-five years. Her primary interests are the history of papermaking, cultural exchange, cultural preservation, and economic development using traditional crafts.
Major projects include Paper Road/Tibet, a ten-year project to revitalize hand papermaking in Tibet; Crossing Over/Changing Places, an exhibition of collaborative projects and artist exchanges from the mid-Atlantic that toured in the United States and Europe from October 1992-November 1997; New American Paperworks, an exhibition that traveled for five years, including a tour in East Asia from 1983–1985, and an Inter-cultural Award presentation at the University of Maryland in 1986. Farmer was a US organizer and panelist for the International Paper Conference: Japan ’83 held in Kyoto, Japan.
In 1992 Farmer served as a juror for the International Biennial, Paper Art 4 in Düren, Germany and as a juror and consultant for the exhibition, Medium: Paper in Budapest, Hungary. In September of 1995 she was a juror for the Imadate Exhibition of Contemporary Paper Art Works in Imadate, Japan; the Tallinn Print Triennial in Tallinn, Estonia and in October, 1995, participated as a panelist in the IAPMA Congress and the International Paper Symposium in Kyoto, Japan.
Since moving to New Mexico Farmer has studied book arts and works and exhibits with a group of book artists in Taos, NM.
Each selected participant will produce 100 finished pieces, plus 4 archive copies for Hand Papermaking, for a total of 104 pieces. While there is no restriction on additional artist proofs, we do request that artists refrain from offering their proofs for sale for the period of one year past the portfolio publication date, and that artists acknowledge the portfolio project if the artist proofs are exhibited or reproduced in print or online.
Hand Papermaking’s portfolios provide valuable documentation on the handmade paper and hand-papermaking processes used to create each work. We will require detailed information about the fiber used and how the paper was made. Each selected participant will prepare a statement covering aesthetic considerations, technical details, and a short biography (details on these texts will be sent with acceptance letters). The statements will be edited and printed in the booklet, along with a commissioned essay. There is no submission fee for this proposal or to participate in the portfolio.
Artists wishing to be judged for inclusion should submit the following (see schedule below for deadlines):
❖ A detailed proposal of the artwork to be included in the portfolio, including a description of the papermaking processes to be used and the artistic concept.
❖ One example of previously produced work, ideally using the processes proposed for the portfolio.
❖ A study, test, or mockup of the proposed piece for the portfolio (optional but strongly recommended).
❖ Photographs of other work, or website URLs, or links that show other works online.
❖ A résumé or short biographical sketch.
❖ Full contact information (mailing address, phone numbers, e-mail address, etc).
❖ A self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of materials.
We will retain submission materials for several months for review and for portfolio coordinators and the essayist while they prepare the edition. Materials submitted for entries that are not selected will be returned to entrants after jurying is complete. Materials sent without a self-addressed stamped envelope will not be returned.
Selected artists will be notified on or about November 20, 2026, and will be required to provide the following:
❖ A signed commitment due December 15, 2026 to produce an edition of the artwork described in your proposal by June 4, 2027.
❖ Permission to use the artwork, or an image of the artwork, in Hand Papermaking’s print and online publications, promotional materials, social media, and traveling exhibits.
❖ Full edition of 104 total copies of the accepted artwork due by June 4, 2027.
❖ An artistic statement, a description of the materials and techniques used to produce the work, and a biographical statement due June 18, 2027 for publication in the portfolio booklet.
Compensation for participation in this project will be one copy of the portfolio (approximate opening value of $650.00). Based on sales of past portfolios in the series, copies of this portfolio will end up in major museums and rare-book collections, both private and public. A list of institutional purchasers will be sent to participants on request. In addition to the exposure generated by the portfolio itself, participating artists will benefit from these possible additional programs: reprint of the portfolio essay in Hand Papermaking magazine, with images of all of the art works; lectures/presentations to promote the portfolio; promotion of the portfolio and participating artists on Hand Papermaking’s website; and future exhibitions featuring artwork from the portfolio. The portfolio will debut at CODEX 2028 and continue to be displayed, promoted, and sold at select paper, book, and print fairs and professional conferences.
Founded in 1986, Hand Papermaking, Inc. is a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to advancing traditional and contemporary ideas in the art of hand papermaking through publications, in print and online, and through other educational means. The organization’s main publication vehicles are the semi-annual Hand Papermaking magazine and the quarterly Hand Papermaking Newsletter. The organization has produced its series of limited-edition portfolios documenting contemporary handmade papers since 1994.
Now You See it Now You Don’t will be the fifteenth in Hand Papermaking’s series of portfolios. Each focuses on a different aspect of the use of handmade paper. The series documents and preserves contemporary examples of distinctive handmade papers, highlights leading practitioners in the field, and also earns income for the organization. Previous portfolios have featured decorated papers, letterpress printing, papers from Nepal, photography, watermarks, printmaking, pulp painting, calligraphy, paper engineering, fiber exploration, and intergenerational collaboration. Portfolio jurors and essayists are recognized leaders in the field of hand papermaking and contemporary art. All of the portfolios in the series follow the same format: handmade paper artworks in separate folders; a booklet with a commissioned essay based on the entries, statements from the participants, and descriptions of the artworks; and a cloth-covered, drop-spine, labeled clamshell box to hold the booklet and folders. Steve Miller, emeritus director of the Book Arts Program at the University of Alabama, is the designer for the portfolio series. Mina Takahashi, editor of Hand Papermaking magazine, is the editor. Previous portfolios in the series have included between 15 and 20 handmade paper artworks. We anticipate selecting approximately the same number of pieces for this collection.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EfC0oBA5hE8I8EeEucxgkrS4Ww2v43A5ispuFi4gokQ/edit?usp=sharing
https://www.handpapermaking.org/publications/paper-portfolios
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