Helen Hiebert's Blog, page 31

Give the Gift of Water

The Sunday Paper #288

December 1, 2019

Paper of the Week: Mitsumata

Traveling is so much more fun when you have a guide. I’ve been lucky enough to meet people I know through paper every day so far in Japan. Highlights have been visiting a former retreat participant’s Japanese home, shopping at Itoya, a 12-story shop dedicated to paper, meeting up with some former Oregon College of Art & Craft associates, doing a podcast interview with Richard Flavin, an American who has lived in Japan for 50 years (episode coming up in the new year), and visiting Chie Honma’s home and studio in Tokyo. Above you see mitsumata fiber and paper in her studio (which used to be a guest room in her home). She trained with a living national treasure and has many beautiful old pieces of equipment.

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In the Studio:

Did you see the $10 coupon code in my latest newsletter? Click through to read about the discounts I’m offering through Cyber Monday! You’ll find The Papermaker’s Package, The Paper Lover’s Package and The Paper Year… great gifts for paper lovers of all levels!

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Papery Tidbits:

Weave Through Winter will open for registration very soon!
The Paper Year is available at my local knit shop, Maker + Stitch, in Edwards, CO. Yarn + paper, what more could you ask for?

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Paper For Water is an amazing non-profit organization – many of you helped me raise over $1000 last year to fund wells on the Smith Lake Reservation in New Mexico. Will you join me again and help Paper For Water raise $4500 this Giving Tuesday? Together we can provide a clean water system for one of the last 250 American families living without water on the Smith Lake Reservation. Make a donation today by clicking on the link, and watch this tearjerker video about the project by clicking on the image below.

If you’re in the New Haven area, check out the work of Jennifer Davies, which involves the literal casting of paper pulp into molds of tree bark and fungi, as she constructs pieces using a variety of materials including gauze, plastic bird netting, and handwoven nets.

If you’re near Wilmington, NC go see the Noguchi exhibit at the Cameron Art Museum. Ooh la la! They have some pieces I’ve never seen before. I used to go to the Isamu Noguchi Museum and Sculpture Garden in Long Island City frequently when I lived in NYC. Also a great place to visit!

Check out this cool paper cup with a foldable lid (now on kickstarter). The Unocup has a goal of eliminating the need for plastic lids! I hate to admit that I often forget to bring my reusable cup when I go out for coffee, and this would be a nice in between option.

Origami made the NY Times this week. This is a lovely photo essay of how the craft has evolved in the digital age.

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Do you have a One Sheet Wonder? I need you (again)!  I am curating a gallery section in my new book to show off the potential of paper (featuring artwork, graphic design, fashion design and other wonders created from one sheet of handmade or machine-made paper). Fill out this form if you have something to share, and feel free to pass it along to other paper artists (deadline: 1/15/20). Although I can’t promise that your image will make the cut (there are so many factors involved), I plan to start showing off your One-Sheet-Wonders on the blog, leading up to the book’s publication.

Featured this week in my Studio shop:

The Papermaker’s Package, the Woven Notecard, one of 12 projects in the 2020 Paper Year, The Paper Year, and Playing With Pop-Ups.

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If you read this blog regularly, would you consider making a donation to support the research, writing, design and delivery of The Sunday Paper? Click on the paper button at the left to learn how. Or, perhaps you’re interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thanks to everyone who has already pledged your support!

SHARE THIS blog post with your paper-loving friends!

The Paper Explorer

The Sunday Paper #287

November 24, 2019

Paper of the Week: One Sheet Wonders

As I proofread this issue of the blog, I’m enroute to Japan, and I invite you to follow my adventure on Instagram.

Greeting card by Mario Armengol made from one sheet, in my collection, probably purchased at MoMA in the 80’s.

Writing a book is quite an undertaking. It is daunting and thrilling at the same time, and I feel so lucky to have a publisher (Storey Books) for my new book featuring things you can create from one sheet of paper. My deadline is early April, and the book – barring delays –will be released in 2021.

I need you (again)!  I am curating a gallery section in the book to show off the potential of paper (featuring artwork, graphic design, fashion design and other wonders created from one sheet of handmade or machine-made paper). Fill out this form if you have something to share, and feel free to pass it along to other paper artists (deadline: 1/15/20). Although I can’t promise that your image will make the cut (there are so many factors involved), I’d like to start showing off a variety of One-Sheet-Wonders on the blog, leading up to the book’s publication.

Mario Armengol (designer of the card above) was fascinated by the infinite possibilities of paper sculpture (a kindred spirit!) – using one sheet of paper to create a 3-D animal, bird or human face. I purchased this elephant card in the 1980’s. Read more about the artist and view more one sheet wonders here. 

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In the Studio:

I’m excited to run the second annual Weave Through Winter online class again, starting January 16th and ending on Valentine’s Day. I’m going to add a new element this time – since this is a 30-day class, there will be 30 prompts. Above you see my response to a prompt to “weave two papers together that you would never consider pairing”. I took a map and wove a piece of striped batik lokta paper into it. Intrigued? Read more and sign the ‘first to find out more’ list. Registration opens very soon!

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Papery Tidbits:

I’m having a week-long Black Friday – Cyber Monday sale in my online shop. Look for details here next Sunday or sign up to receive my monthly e-newsletter to receive notification when the sale starts!
Have you purchased a copy of The Paper Year? It makes a great gift!
Have you listened to the Paper Talk episode featuring Janna Willoughby-Lohr of Papercraft Miracles?

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I was delighted to receive a review copy of the new children’s board book, Always Be You, by Ioana Stoian. This colorful, rhyming board book celebrates and accepts each and every child, just as they are. Messages of love, acceptance, empathy, inclusion and diversity are paired with fun, unique hand-cut paper illustrations, cut by hand from Ioana’s handmade paper by artist Dawn M. Cardona.

It’s a new book week! I received a complimentary copy of The Weaving Explorer, because I’m a spotlight artist in the book. The is a how-to book about weaving all sorts of materials, from yarn, to wire, to paper! There are several paper weaving projects.

I might argue to skip wrapping paper altogether, but here are some cool designs by artists for a good cause.

Gharat’s design tells of the interconnectivity within nature.

I enjoyed this article about the work of Olivia Fraser, who was thrilled to discover a way to use traditional, locally sourced, handmade materials in their natural forms in Jaipur.

Jobs teaching papermaking are few and far between (although the potential for entrepreneurs is good). Here’s an excellent opportunity at the University of Iowa for the right candidate!

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Featured this week in my Studio shop:

The Paper Lover’s Package, the Architectural Lantern, one of 12 projects in the 2020 Paper Year, The Paper Year, and The Papermaker’s Studio Guide DVD.

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If you read this blog regularly, would you consider making a donation to support the research, writing, design and delivery of The Sunday Paper? Click on the paper button at the left to learn how. Or, perhaps you’re interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thanks to everyone who has already pledged your support!

SHARE THIS blog post with your paper-loving friends!

A Reusable Book Cover

The Sunday Paper #286

November 17, 2019

Paper of the Week: Kraft Tex

I am in love with kraft tex, which is similar to leather but it’s paper! It comes in a variety of fun natural and bright colors and is easy to cut and sew. This is the July project in The Paper Year. Are you following Elissa Campbell of Blue Roof Designs? She’s making all of the projects this month, and she’s about half way through. That’s her journal on the right with The Paper Year. Here’s part of what she had to say about this project: “July’s project is the “Paper Leather Book Cover”. The cover is reusable in that you can take out the pages when the book is full and then sew in new blank pages. The cover is super tough. Take this journal on your summer vacation – it can handle the abuse”. Oh, and that penguin paperclip is made of paper – too cute!

You’ll get a sheet of kraft tex (in a natural color) and one of those cute paper clips in the custom paper pack that’s available with The Paper Year.

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Out of the Studio:

I had such fun with the teachers who took my workshops at the Louisiana Art Education Association conference last weekend. Their hand shadow puppets were so varied, and we had fun with the shadows.

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Papery Tidbits:

Weave Through Winter is coming back! This online class is also a daily practice, designed to help you kick the year off and get your creative wheels spinning. Read more and sign the ‘first to find out more’ list. If you took it last year, there will be some new features. Details coming in early December, but mark your calendars: class begins January 16th!
Check out the The Papermaker’s Package and The Paper Lover’s Package in my online shop:

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Janna Willoughby-Lohr is my recent guest on Paper Talk. Janna runs Papercraft Miracles, an eco-friendly handmade paper company in Buffalo, New York. We chat about how life can throw you a curveball, and you can choose how to react. This quote, from Janna’s instagram, will give you an inkling about how she reacts: “This is your Sunday evening reminder that you can handle whatever this week throws at you”. We talk about Janna’s handmade paper stationery products, that include custom wedding invitations, seed bombs, paper flowers and planning tools; and how she is shaping her business – she’s the recipient of the Prestigious Ignite Buffalo Grant and was recently recognized as one of Stationery Trends Magazine’s “40 Under 40” for Stationery & Gifts.

Thanks to Ann Martin of All Things Paper for posting this! Check out these amazing cardboard sculptures created by Monomi Ohno, an art student in Japan. What a clever way to save money on art supplies – she upcycles cardboard boxes from Amazon (I can only imagine what an Amazon warehouse must look like)!

I love this story about rejection letters, and how they can push you forward. As one coach said to me, “No doesn’t mean give up, it means find another way”. Caitlin Kirby wore this one-of-a-kind, handmade skirt — made out of 17 rejection letters that she had received over the last five years – to her dissertation defense to make the point that there were a lot of roadblocks along the way.

I’m looking forward to visiting MoMath (the National Museum of Mathematics) the next time I’m in NYC. Math Unfolded: An Exhibit of Mathematical Origami Art is currently on view to show math buffs and art fans alike how geometry, algorithms and math formulas can create exciting works of art through the science of origami.

Math Unfolded: An Exhibit of Mathematical Origami Art is like a cerebral vertex where art intersects with math. Left: Robert Lang’s Cyclomatus Metallifer, Opus 562, (2010), is a large insect crawling over rocks. Right: Linen Swirls (2015) by son and father team Erik Demaine and Martin Demaine. PHOTOS: NYTIMES

In Loving Memory: A bright light went out this week in the book arts community. Bill Stewart of Vamp & Tramp Booksellers, which he ran with his wife Vicky, passed away on Monday. As many of you know, Vamp & Tramp travels the country, showing and selling artist’s books. They represent me and hundreds of other artists, and they make an impact by showing contemporary book work to university students, while placing artist’s books in special collections. Rest in peace, Bill.

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Featured this week in my Studio shop:

The Paper Lover’s Package, the Architectural Lantern, one of 12 projects in the 2020 Paper Year, The Paper Year, and The Papermaker’s Studio Guide DVD.

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If you read this blog regularly, would you consider making a donation to support the research, writing, design and delivery of The Sunday Paper? Click on the paper button at the left to learn how. Or, perhaps you’re interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thanks to everyone who has already pledged your support!

SHARE THIS blog post with your paper-loving friends!

A Paper Guitar

The Sunday Paper #285

November 10, 2019

Paper of the Week: Plantable Paper

I showed some neighborhood girls how to make plantable paper, which is the April project in The Paper Year 2020: A Creative Project Planner. They show you how you can make plantable paper in this adorable video.

There are limited copies, so don't wait to get your copy of The Paper Year – now available for purchase. You can also get a curated paper pack that includes everything you need to complete all twelve of the projects.

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Out of the Studio:

I'm at the Louisiana Art Educators Association conference this weekend, where I was invited to give the keynote address, teach some workshops, and exhibit my work at the Alexandria Museum of Art. I love these three pieces created with abaca – wet sheets were literally nailed to the wall – and as they dried, they reacted to the nails. This work is available.

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Papery Tidbits:

Elissa Campbell made plantable paper with her 2-1/2 year old daughter this week. They made a plantable paper puppy (try saying that 5 times fast)! Follow her as she works her way through The Paper Year projects.
Weave Through Winter is coming back! This online class is also a daily practice, designed to help you kick the year off and get your creative wheels spinning. Read more and sign the 'first to find out more' list.
Did you catch my interview with Kathryn & Howard Clark of Twinrocker on Paper Talk?

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Check this out! YouTuber Burls Art made a guitar out of 800 sheets of paper and it sounds—to the untrained ear, at least— awesome! The beveled edge of the guitar shows off the layers of paper. Watch him build and play it at the link. He makes guitars out of all kinds of materials. Oh, and I love that there's a website called Nerdist.com!

This is a week for paper in odd places. Etsuko Ichikawa draws with molten glass on paper. How fascinating! Click through to read about her accidental discovery and the wide variety of papers she had to try until she came up with the right one.

Congratulations to paper colleague Aimee Lee for receiving the Heritage Fellowship from the Ohio Arts Council! Aimee has contributed a wealth of knowledge to the field through her research and work on Korean hand papermaking techniques. Aimee was a guest on Paper Talk.

Are you interested in paper garments? Design Eye Creative paper on skin - Burnie Wearable Paper Art Competition 2020 is now open for submissions. This paper fashion show in Tasmania has become quite popular over the years.

A reader shared these funky folksy newspaper clocks with me recently.

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Featured this week in my Studio shop:

A Flower Strip Book, one of 12 projects in the 2020 Paper Year, The Papermaker's Companion, The Paper Year, and The Papermaker's Studio Guide DVD.

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If you read this blog regularly, would you consider making a donation to support the research, writing, design and delivery of The Sunday Paper? Click on the paper button at the left to learn how. Or, perhaps you're interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thanks to everyone who has already pledged your support!

SHARE THIS blog post with your paper-loving friends!

Twinrocker Handmade Paper

The Sunday Paper #284

November 3, 2019

Paper of the Week: Twinrocker Handmade Paper

I had the great pleasure of interviewing Kathryn & Howard Clark on Paper Talk in late August.  They established Twinrocker Handmade Paper in 1971 and were pivotal players in the renaissance of hand papermaking in America. On this episode you’ll hear how they met, how Kathy got a job that was supposed to be only for men, and what Howard says they learned from old books. Enjoy our conversation!

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In the Studio:

Elissa Campbell is working her way through the projects in The Paper Year. She began with January’s project on Friday. Elissa took a tour through the Twelve Months of Paper last year, and it was so much fun! She’s just started, and she’ll be doing a series of posts a la “Julie and Julia” – working on one month in the planner every other day. She says “I’ll let you know my experience with each project and offer tips for completing them. My goal is simply to give y’all a good sense of the planner’s content from the point of view of someone with a love of bad puns, who has a dog who chews paper and a toddler who tears it”. Follow Elissa’s journey through The Paper Year on Instagram!

There are limited copies, so don’t wait to get yours! The Paper Year is available for purchase now, so you can buy yourself a copy and get to work! You can also get a curated paper pack that includes everything you need to complete all twelve of the projects.

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Papery Tidbits:

Weave Through Winter is coming back! This online class is also a daily practice, designed to help you kick the year off and get your creative wheels spinning. Read more and sign the ‘first to find out more’ list.
I’m traveling to Alexandria, Louisiana next weekend to give the keynote address for the Louisiana Art Education Association.

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Yay! Stephanie Share of SHare Studio shows us what traditional papermaking looks like, and she makes it look inviting, doesn’t she? “There is a sort of reverence that lies at the bottom of the papermaking practice,” says Hare. “I love that it’s a play on the traditional practices that started in ancient China. When you really think about it, paper is one of the most important innovations ever made. It’s interesting to think about how such an important craft could fade away over time to become what it is today.” I interviewed Stephanie recently on Paper Talk.

I posted about one of Philadelphia-based visual artist Karina Puente’s papel picado installations recently, and here’s a lovely video about her contemporary practice utilizing this Mexican folk art.

In a new exhibition at the International Print Center, two artists articulate the experience of displacement using delicate materials crafted by hand. Paper Borders features works in handmade paper and print by Emma Nishimura and prints by Tahir Carl Karmali. These works are powerful and gorgeous – be sure to click through and see all of them, and better yet, if you’re in NYC, get to the show (through December 18th)!

Emma Nishimura “Salmon Arm to Malakwa” (detail) from “Constructed Narratives” (2013-ongoing), etching on gampi with wax and thread, from a series of 10. 9 1/2 x 7 1/2 to 19 x 19 inches each, installation dimensions variable (courtesy of the artist)

Check out this cool laptop stand made out of recycled paper! g.flow is foldable and collapses down to 3cm and slides elegantly into a slim case, making it extremely portable.

Uh oh! An artwork made from recycled paper (cool) had to be removed, because some of the shredded documents were legible and revealed private information.

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Featured this week in my Studio shop:

Marianne Petit’s Pop-UP Groundhog, one of 12 projects in the 2020 Paper Year, The Papermaker’s Companion, A Map to Now Broadside, and The Papermaker’s Studio Guide.

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If you read this blog regularly, would you consider making a donation to support the research, writing, design and delivery of The Sunday Paper? Click on the paper button at the left to learn how. Or, perhaps you’re interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thanks to everyone who has already pledged your support!

SHARE THIS blog post with your paper-loving friends!

Making Shoji Paper

The Sunday Paper #283

October 27, 2019

Paper of the Week: The Paper Year

I asked a friend to test out The Paper Year, and her grandaughter made this sketch – you can tell what was on her mind. Happy Halloween! What are you up to? We live in an upstairs condo and don’t get many trick-or-treaters, but our neighborhood is full of kids. Lots of people go over the top with their decorations, and people who live at street level say they hand out 3000 pieces of candy (one per kid)!

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In the Studio:

Remember my Word Broadsides? Mary Tasillo recently curated an exhibition in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania (it closes today). Word Made Manifest: Text in Handmade Paper can be viewed online at this link (you’ll also find the digital brochure, which features one of my broadsides as the background). And I know you’re wondering about those light frames. Mary purchased those from Photo Glow. I’m going to order a set of them!

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Papery Tidbits:

The Paper Year is now shipping. Get your holiday shopping for the creatives in your life done!
Weave Through Winter is coming back! This is an online class – a daily practice that will help you kick the year off and get your creative wheels spinning. Read more and sign the ‘first to find out more’ list.

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Here’s a fun crafty alternative for those 14 and up in Chicago. Join my friend Shawn Sheehy on Halloween and make a trio of pop-up Halloween cards (including this skull lantern) at the Harold Washington Library Center. Get ready to send spine-chilling Halloween greetings!

Drew Matott travels around the world with Peace Paper, helping people from all walks of life create paper in a transformational way. Here’s a video that gives you a glimpse into his process. And you can hear my conversation with Drew was on Paper Talk, which was recorded a few months ago.

This 10 minute video shows the entire Japanese papermaking process of making shoji paper. Wowza!

Check out what the artist Mark Bradford is doing with the proceeds from his work – it’s a new form of philanthropy. His works, if you aren’t familiar with them, involve paper.

Bradford’s “Frostbite.” (Photo: Joshua White./Copyright Mark Bradford. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth.)

Are you in the Mendocino area? Join the Rhinoceros Project for the debut exhibition of a monumental embroidery and watermark in handmade paper on November 9th. The Rhinoceros Project traveled for three years, offering public sewing circles to make this life-size embroidery of Durer’s print. 600 people embroidered this watermark, which served as the matrix for a watermark in handmade paper.

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Featured this week in my Studio shop:

This pop-up groundhog, designed by Marianne Petit, is featured in the 2020 Paper Year, The Papermaker’s Companion, Mend, and Water Paper Time.

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If you read this blog regularly, would you consider making a donation to support the research, writing, design and delivery of The Sunday Paper? Click on the paper button at the left to learn how. Or, perhaps you’re interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thanks to everyone who has already pledged your support!

SHARE THIS blog post with your paper-loving friends!

Book Arts in Venice

The Sunday Paper #282

October 20, 2019

Paper of the Week: Book Arts in Venice, June 16 – 27, 2020

Printing studio of the Scuola di Grafica Internazionale in Venice, where we will work.

Travel to Venice, Cornuda, and Verona, Italy, to work in traditional printing and letterpress studios and tour historic libraries and museums. Print in the studio of the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica in Venice. Tour historic sites including St. Mark’s Square, the Accademia Gallery, and the library of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini where we will see a collection of early Venetian printed books. Travel to Verona to visit the Antica Tipografia Arche Scaligere and the Biblioteca Capitolare, one of the oldest libraries in the world. Print a letterpress book at Tipoteca Italiana Fondazione, located in the town of Cornuda, at the foothills of the Dolomite Mountains. Participants will stay in shared apartments, a restored 16th century villa, and hotel accommodations. All travel will be via public transport including trains, boats, and buses. The program welcomes all levels of experience, with introductory instruction in the studio. This program will be led by Kalamazoo Book Arts Center Executive Director Jeff Abshear. Click here for more information and to register.

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In the Studio:

A big THANK YOU to everyone who sent papers for my upcoming book. I’m looking forward to figuring out how to incorporate them into the book! To me, writing a book is similar to making art. It evolves over time and I have to wait for the creative process to unfold. Going through your papers helps! I made a short video of me thumbing through the papers.

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Papery Tidbits:

Have you listened to my interview with Stephanie Hare on Paper Talk?
The Paper Year is now shipping. Get your holiday shopping done early with a gift that gives all year long!
Weave Through Winter is back! This is an online class – a daily practice that will help you kick the year off and get your creative wheels spinning. Read more and sign the ‘first to find out more’ list.

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How fun, and I can smell the rubber cement! A veteran of the The London Review of Books went back in time to see if she could remember how she used to paste up copy before the digital age. This is how I learned to do it in the 1980’s, and shortly after I met my hubby in the early 90’s, he worked as a fact checker at The New Yorker, handling pages and pages of physical text. How times have changed!

Claire Van Vliet speaks so eloquently about the components of a book: succinct and to the point. Here’s an excerpt from the article: “The paper acts much the same way as the binding—through the sense of touch as each leaf is fingered, turned—smooth, soft, hard, stiff, pliable, opaque, transparent. Likewise, the type can be an emotional cue—a voluptuous type like Palatino might not be appropriate for war poems.”

Helios by Peter Schumann, 2010

This is a heart warming video about the continuous tradition of making paper for the past 700 years at the Richard de Bas papermill in France. Check out the old equipment and how they loft dry their papers!

I’m really looking forward to interviewing Michael LaFosse on Paper Talk this week (the episode won’t air for a couple of months). LaFosse and Richard Alexander run Origamido Studio near Boston, where they create their own handmade papers for origami. They write books and teach origami (and hand papermaking) and I love this quote: “The most amazing thing about origami is how it empowers a young folder, or even a beginner,” he said. “When they realize that with just the information in their mind, the space between their ears, they can turn a piece of paper into any kind of creature or airplane, box toy or flower. It’s just amazing when they realize they have that power.”

Here’s a fascinating story about the life of a courtroom sketch artist, one of the few in a dying breed.

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About our Sponsor: The Kalamazoo Book Arts Center (KBAC) is a nonprofit community workshop and educational center dedicated to furthering the arts of book design and printing, printmaking, papermaking, bookbinding, and creative writing. We offer adult workshops, a high school and college internship program, K-12 educational programming, a visiting artist program, ten gallery exhibitions annually, the Poets in Print Reading Series, publish limited-edition books, broadsides and more.

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Featured this week in my Studio shop:

Lore Spivey’s Cubicard design, featured in the 2020 Paper Year, The Papermaker’s Companion, Mend, and Water Paper Time.

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If you read this blog regularly, would you consider making a donation to support the research, writing, design and delivery of The Sunday Paper? Click on the paper button at the left to learn how. Or, perhaps you’re interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thanks to everyone who has already pledged your support!

SHARE THIS blog post with your paper-loving friends!

Watermarks at Penland

The Sunday Paper #281

October 13, 2019

Congratulations to the winner of the Giveaway. Susie Hettleman is the lucky recipient of a mould & deckle set from Share Studios!

Paper of the Week: The Paper Year

Don’t forget to pre-order your copy of The Paper Year. They start shipping this week. Stock up early for holiday gift giving or treat yourself to a year-long adventure in paper. There’s a FREE GIFT for everyone who orders by Tuesday!

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Out of the Studio: A Watermarked One-Sheet Book

I spent this past week at The Penland School in North Carolina. It is a magical place I first visited in 1993. Georgia Deal invited me as a visiting artist in her 8-week course Paper & The Unique Print, and I shared a variety of watermarking techniques with participants to add to their printmaking repertoire.

Here’s a group project. Each student cut a watermark in buttercut, which we attached to a 22″ x 30″ deckle box screen. When dry, the sheet was cut and folded into this snake fold book.

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Papery Tidbits:

Have you been to the Penland School of Craft in North Carolina?
October is a popular month for daily art challenges. Check out #PopUPTober and #Inktober and join the fun!

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Are you ready for Halloween? Check out this paper cut mask designed by Béatrice Coron. This is the October project in the 2019 Twelve Months of Paper Calendar (if you order The Paper Year by Tuesday, you can get a free copy of the 2019 calendar, featuring this project and eleven others)!

TL: mask from the 2019 calendar; TR: marbled paper mask by Gina Pisello; BL: mask photo on model by Janice Wilkins; BR: Elissa Campbell modeling the mask.

The Pocket Pal is the answer to life’s print and paper questions. International Paper is giving away 50 copies: enter to win!

Cosmic Culture: Intersections of Art and Outer Space is open in smART Space at the Science Museum Oklahoma through March 29, 2020.

Thousands of bright paper kites, hundreds of embroidery stitches, ink-on-board drawings, photography, mixed media and historical images that illuminate how space exploration and visual art have influenced each other are now on display in Science Museum Oklahoma’s smART Space as part of “Cosmic Culture: Intersections of Art and Outer Space.” The exhibit is open through March 29, 2020, in Science Museum Oklahoma’s smART Space galleries.
Provided | Science Museum Oklahoma

Origami on the bus! Denver bus driver David Busse gains students attention and engages them with origami before and after school. How cool is that?

I’m delighted to have a piece in the show The Book as Art: The Page & Beyond at the Columbia City Gallery in Seattle. If you’re in the area, check it out and attend a panel discussion with some of the artists on Saturday, October 19, 4–6pm.

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Featured this week in my Studio shop:

The Paper Year, Water Paper Time video download, Vertices, an artist’s book, and Playing With Pop-Ups.

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If you read this blog regularly, would you consider making a donation to support the research, writing, design and delivery of The Sunday Paper? Click on the paper button at the left to learn how. Or, perhaps you’re interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thanks to everyone who has already pledged your support!

SHARE THIS blog post with your paper-loving friends!

The Paper Year is Here!

The Sunday Paper #280

October 6, 2019

Paper of the Week: The Paper Year

It’s a busy week over here… lots of news below!

Hooray, it’s time to pre-order your copy of The Paper Year, and there’s a free gift if you place your order by October 15th! Click through to watch the video .

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In the Studio: It’s GIVEAWAY Time!

I’m delighted to introduce you to Stephanie Hare of Share Studios in Philadelphia on Paper Talk! Stephanie has generously donated one of her cool magnetic moulds & deckles for a GIVEAWAY! Click here to read more about this slick mould & deckle and to put your name in the hat! The winner will be announced next Sunday.

Here’s the link to our conversation on Paper Talk. We had a lovely chat about how Stephanie’s business has evolved since she learned to make paper after college in Maine, while working in a gallery specializing in handmade paper and paper lights. She tells me how she has built a strong online following, first for her lights and then her stationery products. We talk about the decisions she has to make while running a business with popular products all by herself – not only does she make paper, but she creates moulds & deckles and sells a basic papermaking kit too.

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Papery Tidbits:

Have you been to the Penland School of Craft in North Carolina? I’m here for a week, teaching watermarking to a Georgia Deal’s 8-week long fall concentration class. It’s a magical place!
October is a popular month for daily art challenges. Check out #PopUPTober and #Inktober and join the fun!

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Oscar Murillo is one of four finalists for The Turner Prize. Murillo’s paper mache figures represent “a mobile and globalized workforce”, and the hay-stuffed models have links to New Year’s Eve tradition in his homeland of Colombia. I’d love to be on board with these characters!

ARIA on the Las Vegas Strip has a new display to welcome fall, a Japanese garden. The display features 13,800 origami maple leaves that are hanging from the lobby ceiling, along with 300 origami flowers and 16 Japanese maple trees. Wow!

I’ve written about Jennifer Collier before (in this post) and some people are worth revisiting! I love her sentiment about her work using old papers to make beautiful objects: “People ask if they are fragile but if you compare them with ceramics which would smash if you dropped them they are strong and the papers have already been around for a long time.”

The paper works of Eduardo Chillida are featured in an online exhibition. Chillida used paper as a medium for his prints and drawings as well as an innovative material for his sculptures. One of Chillida’s most original contributions to contemporary art are his Gravitations, which are light constructions made out of paper and stitches that hang directly on the wall.

Bear with me – one more week of potty talk. I wrote last week about a luxury toilet paper from Japan, which prompted a reader to tell me about the company Who Gives a Crap. They make all of their products with environmentally friendly materials and donate 50% of the profits to help build toilets for those in need. How cool is that?

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MY NEW BOOK – I NEED YOU! Last call, and thank you for your generous contributions!

I’m in the gathering phase for my next book about all kinds of objects you can create with a single sheet of paper. I envision a visual design element that runs through the book and features a gorgeous array of paper. Do you have a sheet or two to send me? I’m looking for samples of the following, and this list is by no means complete. I want to open people’s eyes to what they can do to a sheet of paper (this is what I need samples of), followed by projects showing what they can do with a sheet of paper (I am curating the collection of projects).

coated papers, such as persimmon, indigo, etc.
dyed papers like itajame, shibori, etc.
paste papers
simple printing techniques
rubber stamping/mark making
stenciling
dimensional techniques, like embossing, momigami, etc.
unusual techniques
handmade papers (this won’t be a book about how to make paper, but again, I’d like to show readers what is possible).

Guidelines:

8-1/2″ x 11″ samples (more or less)
Please label these on the back of each sheet with your name, e-mail address, website (if relevant) and a brief but thorough description including the type of paper, the technique, etc.
Mail to: Helen Hiebert, 113 Mill Loft St. Unit C213, Edwards, CO 81632

Deadline: October 15, 2019 (this is not a strict deadline)

I will credit you in the book and will be eternally grateful for your contribution. Thank you!

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Featured this week in my Studio shop:

The Paper Year, The Papermaker’s Studio Guide download, Handle With Care an artist’s book, and don’t forget to enter the Giveaway!

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If you read this blog regularly, would you consider making a donation to support the research, writing, design and delivery of The Sunday Paper? Click on the paper button at the left to learn how. Or, perhaps you’re interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thanks to everyone who has already pledged your support!

SHARE THIS blog post with your paper-loving friends!

Flabacadabra!

The Sunday Paper #279

September 29, 2019

Paper of the Week: 

This post got lots of attention over on facebook this week. I made this whispy thin and lusciously translucent flabaca (flax/abaca blend). We got a good laugh out of that name at the Red Cliff Paper Retreat, but then I was reminded that I had heard the word flabaca before (from another papermaker, of course). I intend to sell it in my winter online paper sale. I also made a custom order for a friend in Portland who sent me some lovely braided sweetgrass to be made into paper. There wasn’t enough to make pure sweetgrass paper, so guess what I mixed it into?

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In the Studio:

Some moments are bittersweet. I finished collating all of the copies of my artist’s book Prism, so now I won’t be able to view all of the colors sitting out like this ever again. Watch my video about this book here. I’m so pleased that it is making its way out into the world, now in the special collections library at several institutions thanks to Vamp & Tramp Booksellers.

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Papery Tidbits:

I sent my monthly newsletter out on Thursday. Read it here (this is my blog).
Did you catch Madeleine Durham talking about her unique painted papers on Paper Talk?
I just updated my pinterest board featuring places to shop for paper. Please let me know if you see a shop that’s missing!

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Watch paper artist and designer Peter Dahmen talk about how he created this holiday card for the Museum of Modern Art. I’m a huge fan of paper trees!

Join me in backing Matt Shlian’s latest project – it’s already fully funded, meaning everyone wants one of his books. You’ll get a monograph featuring his amazing work with paper. I talked with Matt recently and will be featuring him on Paper Talk in a few weeks.

Check this out! Awagami Factory in Tokushima, Japan has partnered with Moab Paper to offer Moenkopi Washi Bizan 300, a paper made from hemp and kozo fibers and coated for photography.

Luxury toilet paper? It’s pretty, but what do you think?

I enjoyed this article about Jacob Hashimoto’s new installation in a Chicago skyscraper. I saw his work last year in Dallas, and it was interesting to read how he comes up with the configuration of multiple pieces on the computer. In the end “the disks are strategically positioned to create the effect of a cloudlike, faceted mass. The kites appear to be undulating throughout the space by using varying lengths of string, and the graphics are printed on paper that is embedded into resin to create a stained glasslike disc that allows light to permeate.”

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MY NEW BOOK – I NEED YOU! A big thank you to all who have sent recent submissions.

I’m in the gathering phase for my next book about all kinds of objects you can create with a single sheet of paper. I envision a visual design element that runs through the book and features a gorgeous array of paper. Do you have a sheet or two to send me? I’m looking for samples of the following, and this list is by no means complete. I want to open people’s eyes to what they can do to a sheet of paper (this is what I need samples of), followed by projects showing what they can do with a sheet of paper (I am curating the collection of projects).

coated papers, such as persimmon, indigo, etc.
dyed papers like itajame, shibori, etc.
paste papers
simple printing techniques
rubber stamping/mark making
stenciling
dimensional techniques, like embossing, momigami, etc.
unusual techniques
handmade papers (this won’t be a book about how to make paper, but again, I’d like to show readers what is possible).

Guidelines:

8-1/2″ x 11″ samples (more or less)
Please label these on the back of each sheet with your name, e-mail address, website (if relevant) and a brief but thorough description including the type of paper, the technique, etc.
Mail to: Helen Hiebert, 113 Mill Loft St. Unit C213, Edwards, CO 81632

Deadline: October 15, 2019

I will credit you in the book and will be eternally grateful for your contribution. Thank you!

———————————————————————————————–––––––

Featured this week in my Studio shop:

Prism, an artist’s book, The Papermaker’s Studio Guide download, Mother Tree an installation, and Allison Roscoe’s strip book about her broken hip, created in my Flexible Book Structures online class (she broke her hip right after class began).

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If you read this blog regularly, would you consider making a donation to support the research, writing, design and delivery of The Sunday Paper? Click on the paper button at the left to learn how. Or, perhaps you’re interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thanks to everyone who has already pledged your support!

SHARE THIS blog post with your paper-loving friends!