Helen Hiebert's Blog, page 52

Which Comes First: The Paper or the Project?

The Sunday Paper #126, September 25, 2016

Paper of the Week: Tissue Paper

Does the paper choose the project or does the project choose the paper? It can happen both ways for me. I’ve had some papers laying around in the studio for what seems like forever and then finally, inspiration strikes. But in the case of tissue paper (aside from wrapping packages) I used it first to create a huge hot air balloon (it was perfect because it is light weight) and recently I’ve used printed tissue papers to make inflatable balls. How have you used tissue paper?

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In the Studio:

Here’s the inflatable ball I made with tissue paper. My Text Ball is a five foot diameter sculpture with an Ezra Pound poem printed on it using rubber stamps that reads: The Book Should be a Ball of Light in One’s Hands. It is made from a slightly sturdier paper, a machine-made gampi.

Papery Tidbits

I’m picking up 1000 copies of the Twelve Months of Paper Calendar from the printer in Boulder this coming week. Do you need a 2017 Calendar … want to learn about new papers from around the world … hope to get your holiday shopping done early? Get your calendars here.


Join me for a Twelve Months of Paper Workshop in Edwards, CO on October 15th. The workshop fee includes a calendar, custom paper pack and you will leave with 4-5 completed projects + materials for making the rest!


Do you subscribe to Hand Papermaking Magazine? It is THE journal for our field! I’m delighted to be spending the weekend with 20 board members here in Colorado!

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This was a treat to find the watermarked works of Barbara Beisinger who has an exhibition opening this weekend at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie.

Barbara Beisinger during a performance at the Leipzig Museum. Photo: Vassar College/Courtesy photo

I had the opportunity to meet paper engineer Rosston Meyer a couple of years ago at a meeting of the Movable Book Society. He runs Poposition Press which is just releasing TRIAD, a new pop up book featuring the work of artist Junko Mizuno. In TRIAD, the world of Junko’s three favorite characters: the nurse, the witch and the wrestler comes alive. Junko’s surreal imagery opens up as paper sculptures in each spread of this adult themed pop up book. TRIAD is available for preorder at triadpopup.com

You don’t hear about paper conservation too often – it’s one of those invisible yet oh so important jobs. It was cool to read about conservator Jamye Jamison interacting with college students and sharing the details about her profession with them.

What do paper airplanes have to do with politics? Read this story about Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, a Washington, DC sculptor (and former U.S. Senate aide) who bought a year’s subscription to the Congressional Record, the official transcript of Congressional proceedings and debates and began folding each page into a paper airplane.

I’ve been reading about the $1 microscope for several years and was pleased to see that the Manu Prakash is the winner of a Macarthur award for his low cost scientific tool. Congratulations to him and all of the other winners, including jewelry maker and sculptor Joyce J. Scott!

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If you enjoyed reading The Sunday Paper today, why not sign up to get it delivered to your in-box each and every Sunday? Click here to subscribe (it’s free), and you’ll receive my nifty pop-up alphabet template as a thank you gift!

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 that cute paper button (I made that paper) to see how you can provide support.

And if you run a paper-related business, you might be interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thank you to those who have pledged your support, and enjoy your Sunday!

PaperLove

The Sunday Paper #125, September 18, 2016

Sponsor of the Week: PaperLove

Book your place on Rachel Hazell’s PaperLove e-course. Registration is now open, and the course starts October 24th.

Unfold five weeks of paper inspiration, packed full of ideas and projects to create, using bookart, writing, origami, hand-lettering and collage. PaperLove will take you on a roller coaster of paper discovery, whether you are just starting out or more experienced.

Thank you so much for the inspiration of your PaperLove class! You unlocked so many creative doors for me and cultivated amazing friendships. I had no idea an online class could bring me so much pleasure! – Jen, participant PaperLove, March 2016

“I believe that everybody has a some kind of book inside them – the workshops that I’ve taught all round the world have mostly been about getting those books OUT even if that means a one-liner or no words at all. The power of paper is amazing!”

Click here to register. Readers of The Sunday Paper can claim a special 10% discount using the code Sunday10.

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In the Studio:

I’m working on a new artists’ book about a story our daughter told us when she was about 3 years old. She was up in the clouds watching us before she was born. I love how ideas evolve. I was doing some color experiments for another artists’ book and had a little bit of each pulp color left over; I decided to make book pages with these colored bits of pulp; and then the idea came: the blobs looked like clouds and my daughter’s story resurfaced!

Papery Tidbits

The Twelve Months of Paper Calendar is at the printer, and I’ve set up a sales page for those of you (and your paper loving friends) who missed the kickstarter campaign.


I’m hosting a Twelve Months of Paper Workshop here in Edwards, CO on October 15th. The workshop fee includes a calendar, custom paper pack and you will leave with 4-5 completed projects + materials for making the rest!


I enjoy listening to podcasts when I’m working in the studio. I listen to On Being, Fresh Air, Book Artists and Poets and there’s a new one called Make/Time that I’m adding to my list. What are your favorites? My podcast series Paper Talk is now up to six episodes. How many have you listened to?

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There’s a cool new pop-up book by Keith Allen that is available over on Kickstarter. Keith is a professional illustrator/paper-engineer and a passionate Dad from Cleveland, Ohio. He says that ‘Getting my his kids to clean-up after themselves had proven to be a BIG challenge in our household.’ So he wanted to take this mundane chore and turn it into an adventure story, one that would make cleaning-up fun and exciting while also teaching them the importance of cleanliness. Check out his new book What a Mess! A Pop Up Misadventure Book.

Helmut Fricker is a master bookbinder who trained in Germany and makes exquisite books. Check out this fun video profile of Helmut on Off the Hill (the ski hill, that is). He’s quite the entertainer too!

I love this headline: “Like vinyl records and expensive bourbon, paper is making a comeback.” Here’s an article about how millennials are using real paper.

Many of you probably know of the Dead Feminist series, a collaboration between artists Chandler O’Leary and Jessica Spring. The series features quotes by historical feminists, tied to current political and social issues. Each limited-edition broadside is letterpress printed from hand-drawn lettering and illustrations. A portion of the proceeds of each piece is donated to a cause that aligns with the issue highlighted by the artwork. Jessica and Chandler have released 23 broadsides since the series began in 2008. And now they are releasing a book: Dead Feminists: Historical Heroines in Living Color!

This is a must-see video about papermaking in Samarkand, a city in modern-day Uzbekistan and one of the oldest inhabited cities in Central Asia.

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About our sponsor: Rachel Hazell has over 15 years of experience taking people on creative journeys. She has held creative workshops across the world – from palazzos in Venice to lighthouses in Shetland via Antarctica. Rachel builds itineraries that develop skills, as well as expand the imagination, increase creative confidence and build lasting friendships. Drawing her inspiration from the beauty of paper, the familiarity of a well-thumbed book, shorelines, flea markets and foreign cities; Rachel launched her online e-course PaperLove in 2014 to enable people, regardless of location, to work with her to develop their creative ideas and techniques. 

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If you enjoyed reading The Sunday Paper today, why not sign up to get it delivered to your in-box each and every Sunday? Click here to subscribe (it’s free), and you’ll receive my nifty pop-up alphabet template as a thank you gift!

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 that cute paper button (I made that paper) to see how you can provide support.

And if you run a paper-related business, you might be interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thank you to those who have pledged your support, and enjoy your Sunday!

Paper Fragments

The Sunday Paper #124, September 11, 2016

Paper of the Week: Remembering September 11th

This isn’t exactly a paper of the week, but I think it is fitting for the 15th anniversary of September 11th. Nicholas Basbane’s terrific book On Paper: The EVERYTHING of its Two-Thousand-Year History, has a chapter titled Elegy in Fragments that highlights some of the papers that were in the air that day.

Basbanes begins. “In a day fraught with searing images, none was more horrifying on September 11, 2001, than the sight of two colossal building crumbling thunderously to the ground, each releasing massive plumes of office paper beneath shrouds of sickly gray dust. Reported later to be hip deep in places, most of the fragments landed on the streets closest to what quickly became known as Ground Zero, but thousands of others fell in neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs of New York City and across the Hudson River in New Jersey. Described by some witnesses as a surreal kind of “paper rain,” the visual effect in Lower Manhattan drew grim comparisons to the ticker-tape parades staged over the previous century in the Canyon of Heroes, nearby. Though scorched around the edges in many instances, the tattered sheets were still the only artifacts of consequence to emerge from Twin Towers in any recognizable form.”

I highly recommend the rest of the chapter, which includes numerous stories about photographs, documents, and notes discovered from that sad and memorable day, ending with an amazing tale about a note that took 10 years to find its final resting place.

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In the Studio:

Last Call! My Kickstarter campaign ends on Wednesday, September 14th. Grab your copy of the Twelve Months of Paper Calendar before the price goes up. Have you watched the short video about the project?

Papery Tidbits

The Red Cliff Paper Retreat is finishing up as you read this. Thirteen participants have converged on my studio from North (Alaska), South (Panama), East (North Carolina) and West (California) and many places in between!


On the website tour this week: Here’s a link to my upcoming workshops page. BTW, I’m hosting a Twelve Months of Paper Workshop here in Edwards, CO in October and I’d be happy to travel elsewhere if you’re interested.

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I find this work intriguing and somehow related to the political landscape of our upcoming presidential election here in America. Jesse Chun’s transforms official documents into artwork in her show On Paper at Spencer Brownstone Gallery in New York City (on view until September 17, 2016).

© Jesse Chun, Form #5, 22 x 17 inches

Wowza. Check out this embroidery on paper towels (and kleenex and Cheerios!) by Kate Jackson.

There are only a handful of studios around the country that invite artists in to edition their work in handmade paper. Mixographia is one of them, and their method of making dimensional prints is ingenious.

© Analia Saban, Have a Nice Day Thank You! That’s paper not plastic!

Caution! These are NOT really paper, but they’re cute! (can we call this virtual paper?) Created by Ann-Katrin Krenz, Folding Patterns is an investigation of methods to create three dimensional structures that behave like folded paper and have controllable properties. Watch the animated version at the link!

This is a lovely video about my friend Doug Beube who makes melting books.

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If you enjoyed reading The Sunday Paper today, why not sign up to get it delivered to your in-box each and every Sunday? Click here to subscribe (it’s free), and you’ll receive my nifty pop-up alphabet template as a thank you gift!

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 that cute paper button (I made that paper) to see how you can provide support.

And if you run a paper-related business, you might be interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thank you to those who have pledged your support, and enjoy your Sunday!

Italian Crepe Paper

The Sunday Paper #123, September 4, 2016

Paper of the Week: Crepe Paper

I have to admit that I have somewhat of a negative association with crepe paper. For some reason, all I think of is streamers! But a few months ago I discovered this thick colored crepe paper in sheet form. I think the sculptural potential is pretty great! Below you see a few of my stretch tests, and I’m sure that you could do wonders with this material. It comes in 8-1/2″ x 11″ sheets (or larger) in all of the colors you see above. Check out Mulberry Papers & More (be sure to glance at  their HUGE selection of other decorative papers as well).

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In the Studio:

Oops, I did it again! Since learning to use iMovie (I’m self taught and definitely am not pro) while working on my kickstarter campaign, I can’t stop! Here’s a video about my artist’s book Interluceo. I’d love your feedback if you care to leave a comment. By the way, if you don’t see the video below, click on the title of this blog post (Italian Crepe Paper) and you’ll be taken to the actual blog.

Papery Tidbits

The 12 Months of Paper Calendar is available on Kickstarter for 10 more days (support has been steady – thank you to everyone who has pledged). And check it out: I’m close to 100 backers! Will you be #100?! Reward #3 is the most popular: a calendar + the custom paper pack. Take a peek if you haven’t already.


Are you interested in on-line paper learning? I’m just about to get down to work planning my first on-line class, Paper Illuminated: Innovative Designs featuring Paper and Light, which will begin in early 2017. Thank you if you’ve already expressed interest – I’ve got you on a list. If you’d like a special notification when registration opens late this year, click here.


On the website tour this week: If you are interested in acquiring a copy of Interluceo, click here. You can view all of my artists’ books here.

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This work by Jenn Hassin is powerful. Now on view now in Austin, this particular rolled paper piece represents the 22 veterans that take their own lives every day. 8,030 rolls (created from handmade paper made of military uniforms) make up A Battle Lost, one for every veteran suicide last year.

Detail of Jenn Hassin’s A Battle Lost

Hey, here’s another paper calendar! Buyolympia has the sweetest calendars ever. Check out the variety of punch-out-and-assemble options at the link.

If you’re anywhere near Denver in mid-October, I highly recommend this workshop with Béatrice Coron at the Denver Botanic Garden. She’s a wizard when it comes to paper cutting, and she did the paper cut illustrations for Interluceo!

Artist Jane Ingram Allen recently completed a residency at Boston Harbor Islands National Park. The work hangs in front of a window where it can be viewed from inside and out. These are Peddock’s Island birds made with handmade paper from invasive plants, created with public participation by visitors to the island.

This is a beautiful video capturing the story behind one of Epson’s printing papers.

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If you enjoyed reading The Sunday Paper today, why not sign up to get it delivered to your in-box each and every Sunday? Click here to subscribe (it’s free), and you’ll receive my nifty pop-up alphabet template as a thank you gift!

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 that cute paper button (I made that paper) to see how you can provide support.

And if you run a paper-related business, you might be interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thank you to those who have pledged your support, and enjoy your Sunday!

Raw Fiber

The Sunday Paper #122, August 28, 2016

Paper of the Week: Raw Abaca & Raw Sisal

I recently replenished my stock of papermaking fibers (an annual event), and whenever I do this, I look through the entire supply catalog to see what’s new. This time I noticed that Carriage House Paper now carries raw abaca and raw sisal. I ordered a pound of each to try out, and they sent me these paper samples along with the fibers. They are lovely papers, and I look forward to making some of my own!

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In the Studio:

My next column for Cloth Paper Scissors magazine (on newstands any day now) has to do with momigami (crumpled paper), so I’ve been playing around with this technique (and will be incorporating it into upcoming workshops because I really like it). Here’s a mini screen that I created by coating assorted machine-made Japanese papers with konnyaku (a gelatinous substance from the tuberous root of the devil’s tongue plant) followed by kneading and crumpling. I then cut it into rectangles and stitched them together on my sewing machine. I also stitched seams that I slipped bamboo skewers through and then stuck the ends of the skewers into drilled holes in a long strip of wood. It was fun!

Papery Tidbits

Don’t forget that my 12 Months of Paper Calendar is still on Kickstarter (please tell your paper-loving friends). Make a project-a-month throughout 2017 and discover new papers from around the world! Watch the video to learn more.


I’ve decided that the only real way to show off an artists’ book (aside from seeing it in person of course) is to make a video. Here’s my first, a 1-1/2 minute film about my book Cosmology.


On the website tour this week: If you are interested in acquiring a copy of Cosmology, click here. You can view all of my artists’ books here.

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The olympics are over, but artist Raya Sader has memorialized them in paper. As seen on This is Colossal.

Polar Expedition is not your average pop-up book. Be sure to follow the link and watch the video.

I’ve always heard about the tradition of joss paper being used in memorials. Here’s an interesting story about a paper agency in Singapore that makes paraphernalia for funeral services throughout the year. It is busiest during the Hungry Ghost Festival, which takes place from Aug 3 to Aug 31 this year. This appears to be another tradition in danger of dying out.

Has anyone been to the 2016 Holland Paper Biennial? This is a bi-annual event that always features some of the best paper works in the world. There’s a catalog too!

Paper on the news! Did you catch CBS Sunday Morning last week? The middle section of this clip features Amy Jacobs of Dieu Donné Papermill showing the news anchor how to make a sheet of paper.

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If you enjoyed reading The Sunday Paper today, why not sign up to get it delivered to your in-box each and every Sunday? Click here to subscribe (it’s free), and you’ll receive my nifty pop-up alphabet template as a thank you gift!

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 that cute paper button (I made that paper) to see how you can provide support.

And if you run a paper-related business, you might be interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thank you to those who have pledged your support, and enjoy your Sunday!

Boulder’s Paperie

The Sunday Paper #121, August 21, 2016

Paperie of the Week: Two Hands Paperie

Two Hands Paperie began in 1993 as a small bindery with a few hand-bound books and a small rack of decorative paper. Today, 23 years later, they carry hundreds of journals and notebooks and over 30 racks of decorative paper, as well as cards, books, art supplies, fine writing instruments, ink, stationery to inspire the writer in you, and unique gifts from around the world. They also offer printing services, classes on bookbinding and visual journaling, and host free events. Their website offers a small sampling of some of their favorite things, but to get a feel for what they have to offer you must take a trip to their brick and mortar location in Boulder, Colorado.

Sunday Paper Special! Receive 10% off your next online purchase at Two Hands Paperie. Offer valid through August 31, 2016. Excludes classes and sale items. Use coupon code “SUNDAYPAPER” at check out.

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In the Studio:

I’m getting ready for the annual Red Cliff Paper Retreat which will take place in my studio in September. Our theme this year is paper vessels. I had such fun making this sample from handmade paper yarn (aka shifu)! I made sheets of abaca, pressed them, cut the sheets into expandable strips and twisted them into yarn. And then I was ready to wrap the balloon. If you don’t see the video below, click here to watch.

Papery Tidbits

If you enjoy paper projects, don’t forget that my 12 Months of Paper Calendar is now on Kickstarter. Make a project-a-month throughout 2017 and discover new papers from around the world! I’m so pleased that I reached my goal, but the campaign is still live for another 23 days. Take this opportunity to pre-purchase your calendar and join the fun. Prices will go up on September 16th when the campaign ends.


On the website tour this week: the calendar project is an extension of my how-to books. I’d be curious to know which is your favorite (if you are familiar with them, that is). If not, I hope you’ll check them out!

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I’m sure that many of you have read about the mystery artist who placed intricate sculptures crafted from the pages of books around Edinburgh. Well apparently her last act occurred this year: a final, collaborative work was unveiled at the Edinburgh Book Festival.

This is a bit of old-ish news, but timeless nonetheless. Did anyone attend From Hiroshima to Hope in Seattle? This looks to be a lovely gathering at Green Lake in Seattle for the annual lantern floating ceremony honoring victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and all victims of war.

There’s a new animated version of The Little Prince by Mark Osborne who was asked to adapt Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s popular 1943 novella “The Little Prince” into a computer-generated animation film. You can read about the part that was created with paper animation here.

A scene from “The Little Prince.” Credit Netflix

“In the grey drab days of the late 1930s my earliest memory took shape from within the confines of an iron-framed, high-sided hospital bed. Three years old and recovering from an emergency operation, I was visited by a very kind but rather gaunt giant of an uncle in a dark overcoat. I can still see him looming above me as he reached deep into his pocket, slowly withdrawing the most wonderful, the most dazzling and exciting toy I had ever seen: a toy that awoke in me a visual sense that has influenced and enhanced my life ever since”. – David Pelham

I featured some of paper engineer David Pelham’s work in my book Playing With Pop-Ups. He has re-imagined Edgar Alan Poe‘s haunting poem; The Raven, through incredible paper craft, and the preceding paragraph is the beginning of the process and inspiration for creating this awe inspiring book. Read more. 

Have you ever seen the documentary The Mark of the Maker about Twinrocker Handmade Paper? It’s on Vimeo!

About our Sponsor: Two Hands Paperie was originally created by bookbinder Diana Phillips. When Diana rented a storefront for her studio space she needed a name for the phone book- she chose “Two Hands Bindery” because she made everything with her own “two hands.”  Later Diana met Jan Black, owner of Black Ink Papers, an importer of decorative papers from around the world. Jan loaned Diana a few racks of paper to sell on consignment and the shop expanded from being a bindery (eventually closing that part of the business) to becoming Two Hands Paperie and offering what it does today. Mia Semingson and Gerald Trainor took over Two Hands Paperie in January of 2010, and have set a goal to maintain the original emphasis of the store – to offer an eclectic mix of products supporting small artists and cooperatives, to promote creativity through classes, and to support their community of local artists. Their mission – to help people make things with their own two hands! Visit their blog and find them on facebook and instagram.

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If you enjoyed reading The Sunday Paper today, why not sign up to get it delivered to your in-box each and every Sunday? Click here to subscribe (it’s free), and you’ll receive my nifty pop-up alphabet template as a thank you gift!

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 that cute paper button (I made that paper) to see how you can provide support.

And if you run a paper-related business, you might be interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thank you to those who have pledged your support, and enjoy your Sunday!

Special Edition: Let’s Kickstart This!

Friends,

Please excuse my multiple communications this week. If you received something from me yesterday, that means that you subscribe to my monthly newsletter. Today’s note is to blog subscribers (you’re one of those). There is some overlap.

I don’t mean to frustrate you, but I do want to keep you in the loop!

So, without further adieu, I’m super excited to announce that my Kickstarter Campaign for the Twelve Months of Paper Calendar is now LIVE! I hope that you’ll take a moment to watch the video I made about the project and read about the REWARDS I’m offering if you pledge.

That’s all for today. You’ll find everything you need to know at the Kickstarter link.

Thanks for your support, and I’ll see you again on Sunday!

The History of Coffee

The Sunday Paper #120, August 14, 2016

Paper of the Week: Cinefoil with Paper Towel Laminate

I LOVE learning something new every day! Now this is not paper, but Kevin Parry over at Laika (remember the animated film Coraline?) had the ingenious idea to use cinefoil (a malleable aluminum material used by photographers to black out light) for stop-motion origami in the new film Kubo and the Two Strings. You can’t tell at all that Parry covered the cinefoil with paper towels and painted it. Be sure to scroll down at the link to watch the origami come to life!

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In the Studio:

It’s coming! The Twelve Months of Paper Calendar Kickstarter Campaign (wow, that’s a mouthful) will launch later this week! Read all about it here next Sunday! Here’s a quick snapshot of the projects we’ll be making throughout the twelve months of paper (in case you count, there are really 13 projects – December 2016 is a bonus month)!

Pop-Up Tree, Snowflake Luminaria, Pleated Lantern, Hanging Heart, Paper Balloon, Leaf Mobile, Shadow Ornament, Envelope Album, Swirling Flower, Tesselating Tyvek, Paper Weaving, Window Star, Zig Zag Book

If you subscribe to my monthly newsletter, you’ll be the first to read about the Kickstarter Campaign (and if not, you’ll still hear about it here on the blog)


On the website tour this week: Have you heard of my Red Cliff Paper Retreat? It’s a 3-day retreat that takes place in my studio every September. The 2016 retreat is sold out, but you can add your name to the waiting list to receive first notice for next year’s retreat.


Speaking of Red Cliff, if you’re in the area, the Red Cliff Studio Tour continues today from 10am – 5pm. We had a nice amount of traffic yesterday, and I’m looking forward to more visitors today!

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This is a clever video about the history of coffee and how Mr. Folger sped up production and made it a household brand.

“Confluence: 12 Collaborations,” just opened at the Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland and pays tribute to our relationship with paper in the past and the possibilities between new artists and disciplines in the future. Director Tom Balbo chose 12 papermakers and asked them to collaborate with their choice of artist. The show runs through September 16th.

The work of Bridget O’Malley and Amy Sands. (Courtesy Morgan Conservatory.)

Check out these exquisite layered paper cuts by Tahiti Pehrson. I’m intrigued by and can totally see what he says: that he uses color to simulate light. You won’t want to miss the other images at the link!

Two readers sent me this link. Oooh la la! Amazing cardboard houses made by students for the Delhi Architecture Festival.

Do you know about the Focus On Book Arts Conference, a week-long book arts gathering outside of Portland, Oregon every two years? They have started recording the keynote speakers. You can watch the presentations by Hedi Kyle and Shu-Ju Wang from the 2015 conference.

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If you enjoyed reading The Sunday Paper today, why not sign up to get it delivered to your in-box each and every Sunday? Click here to subscribe (it’s free), and you’ll receive my nifty pop-up alphabet template as a thank you gift!

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 that cute paper button (I made that paper) to see how you can provide support.

And if you run a paper-related business, you might be interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thank you to those who have pledged your support, and enjoy your Sunday!

Paper Umbrellas!

The Sunday Paper #119, August 7, 2016

Paper of the Week: Watermarked Cotton/Abaca Paper

Handmade paper… how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. 1. I love thee because thou art so versatile. 2. I love that I can see through you. 3. I love that you can be made from plants, old clothing and other recycled materials. 4. I love beating you to a pulp. 5. I love your deckled edges. 6. I love that I can manipulate you!  

… feel free to add to the list by leaving a comment below!

I made this abaca/cotton paper this week as part of the video for my Kickstarter Campaign which will go live next week! Watermarks are one of my favorite papermaking techniques, and the sheet you see here is quite thin and translucent. The cotton/abaca blend really makes this work: the cotton is responsible for the striking contrast between the darks and lights in the sheet, and the abaca makes it possible to pull a thin piece of paper.

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In the Studio:

I’m having an open studio August 13th & 14th from 10am – 5pm as part of the Red Cliff Studio Tour (400 Pine Street, Studio #1, Red Cliff, CO). If you’re in the area, please stop by! Click the link for a stunning view of the bridge that leads to Red Cliff and more details about the tour!

Let’s continue the tour around my website this week. I have created several limited edition artists’ books over the years. Here’s a page where you can view 14 of them!

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I’ve had the opportunity to see a couple of large exhibitions of the work of Joseph Beuys, but this collection of his works on paper on view at the Scottish National Gallery through October looks intriguing!

Joseph Beuys, “Witches Spitting Fire,” 1959, Graphite and oil paint on paper, 20.70 x 29.70 cm
(Courtesy ARTIST ROOMS, National Galleries of Scotland, and Tate)

In another part of the globe (Buenos Aires) Chilean artist Voluspa Jarpa turns a selection of CIA Papers Into a Mosaic of U.S. Role In Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s. I find this component of particular interest… the show finishes with the installation Translation Lessons… five screens show Jarpa learning English so she could read CIA papers, and suggests how the fates of nations were being decided elsewhere. In this context, English becomes an “alien” code that Latin Americans must access to understand their own history.

There’s a new Paper Talk podcast episode with Eden Marek who spent two weeks with me as an intern earlier this summer. She provides a fresh perspective on continuing to make paper after leaving college.

Special thanks to Paper Connection International, who shared this amazing video earlier this week about the manufacturing of paper umbrellas in Japan (by hand, of course and sadly a dying art). Just lovely!

For those of you paper nerds, here’s an old book by Charles Thomas Davis about papermaking that is online. Scroll down to Chapter XVI: The Preparation of Various Kinds of Papers. This is what caught my attention when I read about Davis’ book in Cathy Baker’s book From the Hand the the Machine.

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If you enjoyed reading The Sunday Paper today, why not sign up to get it delivered to your in-box each and every Sunday? Click here to subscribe (it’s free), and you’ll receive my nifty pop-up alphabet template as a thank you gift!

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 that cute paper button (I made that paper) to see how you can provide support.

And if you run a paper-related business, you might be interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thank you to those who have pledged your support, and enjoy your Sunday!

Paper Peep Shows

The Sunday Paper #118, July 31, 2016

Paper of the Week: Cave Paper

Two weeks ago when I was in Minneapolis, I had the lovely opportunity of visiting Cave Paper. They have a new showroom! Since 1994, Bridget O’Malley and Amanda Degener have been Cave Paper, making paper in the basement of an old, industrial Minneapolis warehouse. There are no windows, and the walls are limestone. This subterranean studio inspired Degener and O’Malley to call their studio “Cave.” Degener and O’Malley make paper by hand from raw fiber and boil walnuts for dye, and mix deep vats of indigo. Their process results in a robust archival paper of unparalleled durability.

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In the Studio:

I am wrapping up the design phase of the Twelve Months of Paper Calendar (you’ll be able to pre-order a copy in just a few weeks)! Here’s a sneak peek of the custom paper pack that I’m assembling, so that those of you who want to have everything you need to make the projects will!  This time around, in addition to a range of hand picked papers from around the world, you’ll also receive the templates, parts and pieces necessary to create all of the projects, including three battery-operated tea lights for illuminating the lantern projects!

Also of note:

I’m having an open studio August 13th & 14th from 10am – 5pm as part of the Red Cliff Studio Tour (400 Pine Street, Studio #1, Red Cliff, CO). If you’re in the area, please stop by!


Check out my upcoming workshops in Denver and San Diego. Join us! I’m excited to be offering workshops at the Coupeville Arts Center (WA) and Anderson Ranch (CO) in 2017.


Over the next few weeks, I’d like to give you a tour around my website. We’ll start with the installations page, where you can read about the large paper installations I’ve done over the years. And here’s a link to my most recent piece, The Wishing Wall.

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Check out these paper rings I saw on Cool Thing of the Day (a neat blog, btw). Jeremy Maker designs wearable rings, necklaces, and bracelets from thousands of pieces of paper that are laminated together.

You may have caught this being passed around via social media last week. The Victoria & Albert Museum has acquired the world’s largest paper peep show collection. Created from hand painted and printed paper and cloth, peepshows became an inexpensive pastime for children and adults alike, since they first emerged in the 1820s.

Check out Michael Beutler’s installation Pump House – a massive paper construction. I love how he states that the making of the piece – crushing and baling paper into blocks – is part of the art – a celebration of the spirit of invention and the lost tradition of cooperative labour.

Remember the bark cloth I wrote about last week? A reader shared this inspiring video about her friend Wendeanne Ke`aka Stitt‘s artistic journey with Hawaiian kapa.

Here’s a thoughtful review of Pure Pulp: Contemporary Artists Working in Paper at Dieu Donné, which is on view for a few more days in Atlanta at the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking at Georgia Tech. If you’ve ever heard me complain about the fact that paper art isn’t well known as a medium, you’ll see that this writer agrees!

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If you enjoyed reading The Sunday Paper today, why not sign up to get it delivered to your in-box each and every Sunday? Click here to subscribe (it’s free), and you’ll receive my nifty pop-up alphabet template as a thank you gift!

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 that cute paper button (I made that paper) to see how you can provide support.

And if you run a paper-related business, you might be interested in promoting your business in The Sunday Paper.

Thank you to those who have pledged your support, and enjoy your Sunday!