Helen Hiebert's Blog, page 70

The Bookworm

Before I get started, just a quick plug about The Wish, my next installation project. I’m collecting wishes, and it is free and easy to share a wish! Click here to read more information about the project and to leave your wish!

Six Colorado Authors at The Bookworm

Last night I did my first local book event, a Local Author Showcase at The Bookworm of Edwards, a fantastic small town bookstore, which to my delight, had two of my older books in stock the first time I visited! Thanks to everyone who came out to say hello and purchase a book!

I had two minutes to introduce myself, and the prompt from the bookstore publicity manager was this: “Since this is a showcase atmosphere, I typically don’t encourage authors to speak or read but you are a unique group so I would like to try it this year”. Well, I never imagined reading from my book, Playing With Paper, but I looked at my introduction and decided there were some words there worth speaking out loud. (Truth be told, we never did our 2 minute speeches, so I’ll type mine to you here).

My latest book, Playing With Paper

My book is not literature, but an appreciation for paper as an art form. It is filled with projects and ideas for using paper as a medium for arts and crafts. On a trip to Japan in the late 1980’s, I fell in love with the way the light filtered through traditional paper shoji screen walls in the inn where I was staying.

A shoji panel I made after that trip to Japan

Today, I have a fully equipped hand papermaking studio located in Red Cliff, where I produce artists’ books and installations, write a blog, teach workshops and train interns. I travel and teach, sharing what I know about paper and telling people about the many amazing artists whose work I’ve had the opportunity to view and read about.I frequently encounter artists from all walks of life who are transforming paper in amazing ways. Many of them contributed projects and images that fill the pages of this book. Their work showcases the variety of ways that you can work with paper, including pop-ups, model making, paper cutting, books arts, quilling, origami, folding and pleating, and there are even a few projects which involve flying paper.

A mini photo album made from envelopes, featured in Playing With Paper

My hope is that my readers will be inspired by the potential of paper as an art form. And if you dear readers need a little help, I’m launching a new type of workshop called the Playing With Paper Party. You gather a group of friends or colleagues and bring me in as entertainment, and you and your friends get to make one of the projects in the book.

Leading up to this event, I was invited to be on our local TV news show last Friday. Here’s the clip, and in case it isn’t embedded on your screen, click here to watch it.

 

The versatility of paper rivals that of any medium; it can be torn into pieces or burned with a match, yet it has the integrity to grace graphic design, fashion, and even architecture. Even though I no longer needed a sheet of paper to write the manuscript for this book because technology has usurped much of our need for it, I trust that artists will continue to create with it and collectors will continue to appreciate its beauty, that same beauty I saw as the light filtered through the ancient shoji screen panels in Japan.

Three kids from The Paper Club that I teach at Homestake Peak School (plus a friend) made window stars, a project featured in the book.

 

The Paper Club

I host a weekly after school club at my kid’s school, which I started in Portland about five years ago at The Portland Village School. It has been a fun little gig that started with my children as participants, and then helpers, and now, well, they’ve graduated (in other words, they don’t want to help their mom anymore)! I’ve got a steady group of about ten children here in Colorado, with a bit of variation each month. We meet in the school art room on Friday afternoons (the only day without conflicting sports, dance or gymnastics)!

We change themes monthly. This year we started with origami, moved on to book making, then pop-ups and now we are making paper. Origami and papermaking have been the most successful (in other words, the behavior in those two sessions has been pretty good because the kids are engaged). I take my hat off to the full-time teachers who can manage and engage a group of kids three times the size of the paper club all day long for five days a week!

I admit that I don’t take pictures often enough, so most of these are from the collage and pop-up sessions last year. These kids are so creative!

Below you can see my traveling papermaking set-up. It is simple due to portability. We use Arnold Grummer‘s tin can papermaking technique, making pulp in a blender and then pouring it through a screen, holding the shape with a tin can or a cookie cutter. Each week during this session we’ll try another technique: week one was blender paper; week two colored cotton shapes; week three decorative papers with inclusions and week four collage.

I find it challenging to reach all of the kids in a group sometimes, or to have the energy or time to meet the needs of the kid who could take things to the next level. But hopefully I address most of those issues, and I’m so thankful to see the response and delight in the children’s faces each day.

Do you teach paper art to children? What have you found to be successful?

The Wish

With dandelion season looming here in Colorado (not quite yet though – it is snowing right now, and the ski season officially ends on April 15th) – I’ve been thinking a lot about my next installation, The Wish. Truth be told, I don’t have it all figured out just yet, but I’ve decided to start talking about it because I know that will help bring it to life (and to those of you who have already caught wind of this installation, you must be thinking where is it already?). It is coming soon!

I can’t remember exactly when the idea came to me, but perhaps the seed was planted after I saw this piece at the Cheongju Craft Bienial in Korea in September, 2011. It was stunning to see the delicate dandelion seed heads preserved in the box. And then just today, someone forwarded me this image:

2000 Suspended Dandelions, by Regine Ramseier

If you read about Regine Ramseier’s piece, you’ll learn how she preserved and hardened the seed heads for transportation, not a simple task!

As you can probably tell, I spend a lot of time thinking before acting, and in this case my thinking has involved not only how I will create the actual sculpture, but also the development of a component that will engage the community (stay tuned).

Here’s a sketch of the sculpture. I’m busy in the studio working out the geometry of the central core (not pictured) which will be fabricated in wood. I have to figure out what diameter the core should be to accommodate 200+? holes that will be filled with bamboo poles that hold the paper seeds at their ends.

And here is an image of a paper seed… some of you might recognize it from my Hydrogen Bond Installation. This is a snapshot that my intern Megan Welch took last summer.

Dandelion on a Wire

The title of the installation (The Wish) will link to the community participation aspect. I’ve been reading about various wishing traditions from around the world, and several of them involve paper!

Guatamalan Kite

For example, in Guatamala, children fly giant kites made of strips of paper attached to bamboo frames in cemeteries on All Saint’s Day (11/1) and All Soul’s Day (11/2), to honor the dead and carry wishes up to the Gods.

Tanabata Festival in Japan

And in Japan, children make wishes on July 7th each year at the Star Festival (Tanabata). They write their wishes on thin strips of colored paper and tie them to bamboo branches. There is a legend about a shepherd and a fairy weaver who fall in love – but can see each other only one night of the year. On this night, children look for two bright starts in the summer sky – Altair and Vega – that represent the shepherd and the weaver.

Well, that is all of the beans I’ll spill at the moment, but I look forward to sharing more with you as the project develops.

What are you wishing about?

 

Hook Pottery Paper

Ok, I’ll say it up front. The real reason I’m writing this blog post is that I’d like to invite you to come and work with me at one of the most unique papermaking studios in the country, Hook Pottery Paper. I’ll be teaching a  Watermarking Workshop there (in LaPorte, Indiana – just outside of Chicago) the weekend of August 3/4. A note of fame: Isamu Noguchi, one of my artist idols, went to boarding school in La Porte!) Please spread the word to those who might be interested! I hope to see you there.

freshly couched watermarked sheet

Watermarked lamp

And now for the back story…

I met Andrea Peterson, co-proprietor of Hook Potter Paper in 1995, when we worked together at Dieu Donné Papermill in NYC for a year. Not only did we spend time at the Mill together, but Andrea taught my then boyfriend (now husband) Ted and me how to brew beer, and she helped us make our wedding mead. Plus, we registered with her then boyfriend (now husband) Jon Hook for our wedding pottery. Jon makes gorgeous wood fired pots (in wood kilns which he builds himself, using wood that he forages from the land).

Jon Hook’s lovely pots

These two (along with their two sons Ry and Lu) live off of their land, growing their food, raising animals, constructing anything they need (a recent addition was a building to house resident artists), not to mention running their paper and pottery studios! Legend has it that they spent their first date skinning an animal (I can’t recall what kind, but I think it was road kill).

Chicks on the farm

When Andrea left the Mill, I was so happy to learn that she was moving to the Chicago area. She ended up moving to La Porte, Indiana, just a stones throw (or an hour by car) from my parents-in-law. So, whenever we visit the in-laws, we also make a trip to visit Hook Pottery Paper. Here are a couple of pictures from the last workshop that I taught there.

Abaca workshop at Hook Pottery Paper

paper-wrapped queen anne’s lace

We have such an experience every time we visit Hook Pottery Paper. Activities range from baking pizza in the outdoor wood fired ovens, to harvesting vegetables; and from tending to the animals to loading the wood kiln and picking blueberries. There is never a dull moment!

This is a papermaking destination, and I highly recommend a visit, even if you can’t make my workshop! Check out all of the offerings at Hook Pottery Paper.

And just in case you live further south, I’m teaching a dry dimensional paper workshop in Indianapolis on August 10th and 11th. Details are coming very soon.

Do you have any destination workshop locations? Please share them in the comments section below.

 

 

 

 

Thread Loves Paper

A couple of months ago, I received a copy of Thread Loves Paper in the mail. Now most of you must know by now how much I love the combination of thread and paper. A recent visit with Tony White, head librarian at MICA (which, by the way, has an awesome artists book collection), reminded me of Buzz Spector’s pieces with handmade paper and string.

Buzz Spector string drawing in handmade paper

Buzz had an incredible showing of these works at the now defunct Alysia Duckler Gallery in Portland, OR, which I reviewed for Hand Papermaking Magazine.

Thread Loves Paper, by Emily Marks

Thread Loves Paper is a book Emily Marks self published – no small feat, but it is becoming increasingly easier in the digital age. Mark’s had two main reasons for self-publishing: the subject matter was too narrow to interest a conventional publisher; and she wanted control over the material.

The book began as an exhibition at Marks’ local library In September of 2010, in which she displayed photos of a group of artists’ books that utilized thread. Next Mark’s began collecting images and statements about the work of twenty five artists who use thread in a variety of ways to make artist books, and she enlisted Green Graphics to design the book.

Marks researched printing in America, but determined that she could not get the job done for the price point she needed. In fact, many of the printers she contacted could not do what she wanted and told her they would have to farm out my job to others to do it for them. Marks found a rep for DiYA USA printers (based in China) who lived just two hours away from her in California. She met with him, and he guided her through a number of decisions pertaining to paper selection, customs fees and shipping, among other things.

Thread Loves Paper title page

This book details the use of thread in 25 contemporary artist books. It starts with a short history of thread and books, then moves to chapters about covers utilizing thread, thread bindings, embroidered book pages, books that incorporate machine stitching, and altered books. Each chapter begins with a historical perspective on its subject and contains full color pictures of exemplary artist books and statements by the artists themselves. Thread Loves Paper draws a picture of how artists think, what kinds of materials and past experiences go into making a unique artist book.

I’m sorry that I don’t have more images to share, but there are many to be seen in the book, which is now available from Oak Knoll Books as well as from Emily Marks directly.

And I think it is worth mentioning the artists represented in the book: Madelyn Garrett, Cathy DeForest, Alisa Golden, Marie C. Dern, Brooke Holve, Emily Marks, Jody Alexander, Carol Barton, Dolores Guffey, Natalie A. Stopka, e Bond, Lin Max, Peter & Donna Thomas, Catherine Alice Michaelis, Adele Crawford, Michelle Wilson, Margery Hellmann, Erin Sweeney, Sarah O’Hala, Bettina Pauly, Macy Chadwick, Luz Marina Ruiz, Lisa Kokin, Adele Crawford, Marilyn L. Geary, and Ehren Elizabeth Reed.

Have you used thread and paper? Do tell (by leaving a comment below)!

Watermarks

This past weekend, I taught a workshop on how to make watermarks at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Watermarks (designs which appear in a sheet of paper when illuminated) have intrigued me since the first time I laid eyes upon them. So you can imagine how excited I was when I learned how to make them myself!

A really old watermarked lamp commission by yours truly.

Traditional watermarks were made with wire: designs or logos were twisted in wire and soldered or sewn to the papermaking mould.

When I worked at Dieu Donné Papermill in the 1990′s, I was exposed to a multitude of contemporary ways in which artists were fabricating watermarks (wire marks which were sewn to the mould often got in the way of the artist’s ideas). One of my favorite methods is to cut a line image out of a thin rubber material called buttercut, which comes with an adhesive on the back (you can purchase buttercut by the foot from Alpine Stained Glass).

A hand-cut watermark made from buttercut

This weekend, we practiced two watermarking techniques using buttercut: first, we cut line drawings from the buttercut to make watermarked sheets; and then we also cut larger silhouette images, which we used more like stencils. And BTW, you can have these types of images cut using technology (vector files done in illustrator can be sent to vinyl plotters).

Silhouette watermark in buttercut

The line drawings were used to make pure watermarked sheets in pale pulps (we experimented with cotton linters and bamboo pulp – available from Carriage House Paper – which was new to me and produced remarkable results).

With the silhouette images, we made very thin sheets of paper using a veil pulp (finely beaten cotton linter) that washed over the buttercut and filled in the areas on the mould. These sheets were then couched onto a backing sheet, which makes the image visible without backlighting.

Laminated green silhouette couched onto a white base sheet.

My apologies to my students – I did not take enough photos during class, so many of these are older images!

Fabric paint watermark by Mary Tasillo

A third technique we explored required fabric paint (available at craft stores). We painted images on a mesh (a layer of fiberglass window screen topped with noseeum netting) cut to the size of our moulds. After the fabric paint set (overnight) we placed the su-like screen on top of our moulds and pulled sheets. This technique is more painterly than the buttercut.

Detail of Winnie Radolan’s fabric paint watermark in bamboo fiber.

Have you done any experimental watermarking? Leave a comment below and tell us about your techniques!

And a quick side note: earlier in the week I was in Baltimore and had the opportunity to hear Lynn Sures talk about her annual trek/workshop in Fabriano, Italy. These incredible chiarascuro watermarks are still being produced in Italy at the Fabriano Mill. Check out the details for Lynn’s trip this coming summer.

 

Baltimore!

This is going to be a short, photo-heavy post since I’m traveling. I had a whirlwind of a day at MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art), where I’ll be lecturing and teaching a workshop tomorrow. It started with breakfast with Yoojin Kim, a senior here who specializes in pop-ups and was so highly recommended by colleagues that I invited her to do a project for my upcoming book Playing With Pop-Ups. She is in her final semester of school, so I’ll cut her a bit of slack if she can’t pull this off… but I really hope that she can! Check out this amazing 8 foot tall collapsible tree that she made when she was still in high school.

Emerging, by Yoojin Kim

Gail Deery, printmaking faculty and hostess extraordinaire hooked me up, and I got to see the work of several students working in print, books and paper, and I toured Globe Press, which houses a huge collection of wood type. MICA acquired type and posters from Globe Poster Printing Corporation, historically one of the nation’s largest showcard printers, has been telling the story of American music and entertainment through bright and iconic posters since 1929.

wood type from Globe

After lunch I met Tony White, head librarian of Special Collections in MICA’s library. We had a lovely conversation – talking about our colleagues and friends, our educations at about the same at two different liberal arts colleges, and of course, artists’ books.

On the way back to the print and paper building, I stopped by a school gallery with a show of Lenore Tawney’s work. I hadn’t heard of Tawney until about 8 years ago, but her string pieces and drawings are influential to my own work. What a treat to see this work in person!

Drawing in Air by Lenore Tawney

Thread installation by Lenore Tawney

Back in the print and paper building, I toured Dolphin Press & Print. The press is a professional printmaking and letterpress shop housed in the Printmaking Department, which was designed to promote collaboration between visual artists, writers and students in order to produce limited-edition letterpress books and broadsides. Students actually get to work on projects with artists and get credit at the same time!

Silk screened and letterpressed print by Trenton Hancock

The rest of the day was spent preparing pulp and setting up for tomorrow’s workshop. More on that soon!

 

On Writing Books – Part Two

This is a follow-up to last week’s post: On Writing Books. I mentioned that years ago, I had a contract to write a book about paper lamp shades. The project was terminated after I had completed my entire outline and turned in a few chapters. Needless to say, this was a huge disappointment, but by this time I had two books under my belt with Storey Publishing. So I decided to propose that Storey pick up the tab for a book about paper and light. Ta da! Paper Illuminated was published in 2001.

Paper Illuminated

Now just so you don’t think that all of my book ideas turn to gold, there was a fourth book that I pitched to Storey. The idea was a book geared towards children, featuring paper projects from cultures around the world (think piñatas from Mexico, lanterns from Japan, paper cuts from Poland, etc.). I still think this would make a good book!

Fast forward a few years… I took a good long break from writing books, but started writing a column called Unique Techniques for Hand Papermaking Magazine. I continue to write this column twice a year, featuring artists who are practicing obscure or interesting papermaking techniques.

The current issue of Hand Papermaking Magazine, a biannual publication.

A few years ago, an editor at Rockport Publishing contacted me about writing a how-to book on making sustainable papers. I decided to pass on that project for several reasons. A year or so later, I submitted work to 1,000 Artists’ Books. After a favorable response to my submission, I asked the photo editor to put me in touch with her editor. I wanted to assemble a 1,000 Pieces of Paper book. And lo and behold, the editor was that same editor from Rockport (which meant I had a foot in the door).

I explained my idea (think paper cuts, pop-ups, folded paper, origami, handmade paper, tesselations, I knew that I could come up with 1,000 images). She didn’t go for it, but she did have another idea… Playing With Paper!

My latest book, Playing With Paper

So, after a 10-year hiatus, I was writing a book again. It came out in January 2013, and I’m pleased to announce that I’m currently working on my fifth book, Playing With Pop-Ups, which has a publication date of April 2014.

I’m curious to know what you think makes a good how-to book. Please leave a comment below.

 

On Writing Books

I have to admit that, for the most part, I hated writing in highschool and college. So when I received a letter from an editor at Storey Publishing in 1997, asking whether I’d be interested in writing a book about making paper from plants, I had to think twice about it! I ended up saying yes and was surprised at how much I enjoyed writing (and learning) about something I was passionate about.

Papermaking With Plants, the first edition was hard cover

Yes, I was extremely fortunate. I realize that many/most? writers spend years looking for a publisher. This particular editor at Storey had just become an acquisitions editor, which meant that she had to acquire a certain number of books each year. She was on the look-out! At that time, Storey Publishing was branching into craft books (from gardening and farming – books about practical living). So when she saw a one paragraph description about a class I was offering at the NY Horticultural Society called Compost Papermaking, she thought that would make an interesting book. It was as simple as that.

After she contacted me, I had to go through the typical proposal process (writing an outline, discussing the competition, etc.). Then I was invited to Massachusetts to meet with my editor and discuss the project. I remember her asking me how I would approach the writing process; I remember having no idea, but I don’t recall my response to her. She made a suggestion, and we kept talking (phew). This book was a huge research project for me. I’d really only dabbled in making paper from compost, so I had to interview many colleagues and experts in the field. One of the things I loved about another craft book that Storey had published was that the author had included short stories about artists working in her medium. This is something I adopted and continue to do in each of my books.

When it rains it pours. Just prior to the Storey editor contacting me, another publisher (who shall remain nameless) called the papermill where I was working. She was looking for a potential author for a book on paper lampshades. Coincidentally, I had spent the past year or so teaching myself how to make traditional lamps and experimenting with innovative ways of working with paper and light. I got that contract as well, but after meeting the first deadline, the project was cancelled due to poor sales performance by other books in the series. This was a huge disappointment, since I’d basically developed a framework for the entire book by that point. There is a happy ending to this story though, which I’m saving for part two of this post.

The paperback version, with the same content and an updated cover and title.

To wrap up part one, my editor at Storey called me after I’d finished writing Papermaking With Plants to ask whether I knew anyone who might be interested in writing a book to go with a companion series they had: The Candlemaker’s Companion, The Soapmaker’s Companion… I told her to look no further, I was interested in the project! The Papermaker’s Companion was born. That book was more up my alley in terms of writing, because I’d actually practiced most of the techniques I wanted to write about (basic papermaking techniques, followed by creative two- and three-dimensional techniques for working with paper).

The Papermaker’s Companion

This book came out in the year 2000, and I’m delighted that people are still telling me they use it as a text book in their classrooms and as a resource in their studios. I made my film, The Papermaker’s Studio Guide in 2012 (with the support of funds from the Celebration Foundation and IAPMA) to bring the techniques in the book (shown in black and white) to life.

I’ll write more about my other books in part two of this post next week, but in the meantime, if you’ve used The Papermaker’s Companion, I’d love to know if you have comments or criticism. There is a possibility that it will be revised and printed in full color, and your feedback would be valuable! What is missing? What could be improved? What could be added? Please leave a comment below, and thanks!

Side Effects of Codex

A quick note: Quarry Books is hosting a giveaway for Playing With Paper. Join in the fun by clicking here!

I’m back from the Bay Area and had a lovely time. I was quite anxious about Codex, wondering whether it would be “worth my time, effort and expense”. I find myself wondering how to evaluate this question; it would be interesting if the organizers had an evaluation form for venders and attendees. And what does “worth it” mean anyways? More on that in a minute.

View of the SF skyline from Mt. Davidson, near where I stayed

This was my second Codex (the event has taken place four times biannually since 2007. The format of the event includes the book fair on Sunday, speakers on Monday and Tuesday mornings, followed by the book fair each day, and then a final day for the fair. Phew! The new venue at the Craneway Pavillion in Richmond was incredible. The building was an old Ford plant, filled with windows and high ceilings.

The Craneway Pavillion (shown empty here)

I was delighted to have a buddy to ride Bart with (Mary Hark); we were both staying near the same station in San Francisco and chatting made the ride home that much faster!

Mary Hark with Chip Shilling behind a stack of Mary’s flax/linen/abaca papers

I enjoyed the morning talks, especially the one by papermaker and research scientist Tim Barrett, who showed a great video of a team at the University of Iowa making handmade papers at 100 sheets an hour (like they did in Europe in the old days). He had some interesting ideas about using handmade paper for custom books as digital books become the norm. He also talked about applying gelatin sizing to papers after printing in an attempt to make the best letterpress paper; it appears that this may have been the case in early papers, and the sizing then allowed the reader to interact with the book by writing in the margins.

Tim Barrett, a student and customers at the University of Iowa Center for the Book table

I was quite busy for the first two days and am so thankful that Daria Wilber helped out at my table. Strategically speaking, I think it was good that I had a diverse group of products: I sold copies of all three of my new artists’ books (Cosmology, the Pop-Up Hand Shadow Book and Handle With Care) as well as a few older works (like The Way It Is broadside). Playing With Paper was handled by hundreds, and I sold almost all of the copies I had shipped to the fair. I also sold handmade papers, paper rings and paper bags.

I met interesting people as well. There were customers that I met at the last Codex event; I spoke with a new customer about a potential commission; I sat next to a librarian on the bus over to the fair, which led to her visiting my table (her library has a collection of books that feature paper, so hopefully she’ll place an order); I met a book and video distributor, who seems interested in distributing The Papermaker’s Studio Guide; I met the producer of Between the Folds, a model for a movie I would like to produce about hand papermakers, and more! It was exhilarating and exhausting!

The fog of San Francisco, view across the water from the Craneway Pavillion

I had a chance to wind down after the fair during a two-day visit with a childhood friend who lives in Palo Alto. I found these two days incredible stimulating, as I began to think about what is next, especially in relation to two new installations I’ve been thinking about for awhile. My friend even had an amazing idea to incorporate geocaching into one of them. Stay tuned!

WIth Sharon at Fort Funston Beach

Kicking back at the Moss Beach distillery. It was warm enough to dine on the terrace!

All in all, I’d say it was worth the trek. I had fun with friends, sold products, networked, saw old friends and made new ones, and I even had time to read a memoir, The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls.

Tell us your trade fair secrets by sharing in the comment section below!