Paper Retreat in Colorado
I had the good fortune to spend last week in the high Rockies with expert papermaker, teacher and book artist Helen Hiebert and a dozen other people interested in the creative possibilities of paper.
The theme for the retreat was folded forms, and it was fun to make some clever books and boxes that opened up in unexpected ways. We also folded a lantern that lights up.
A masu box book on the left, and a wallpaper pocket book with a small signature of blank paper. These were so fun I made a few of them!
This was pretty magical to fold and form. I’m looking forward to making more.
For me the most fun thing we did was make handmade paper. I was pleased to see I still remembered how, from my days in grad school at the University of Louisville about 25 years ago (now I feel old). It was great to pull sheets from abaca, flax and mixes of those pulps, along with a little kozo and sisal. We experimented with wet-pleating and painting with colored pulp and with embedding string. I found that I could form canoes with string embedded in the right curves.
Paper embedded with string, laid out to air dry overnight.
The same papers, the next morning. Paper does interesting things when it doesn’t dry under restraint! That’s Helen in the light-colored tee-shirt at the end of the table.
My own pulp-painted paper with flax and abaca canoes formed from sheets with embedded string.
For me a real highlight of the retreat came when Helen shared with us several of her artist’s books. I was thrilled to see how beautifully conceptual/emotional content can be merged with innovative book structures. Again, artists’ books are something I played with years ago, not for very long—maybe it’s time to revisit this medium?
The week immersed in paper has got me thinking about new (old) directions and possibilities for my work. I purchased two of Helen’s how-to books and I look forward to seeing how they spark ideas for my own mixed media work in and on paper. If you’re intrigued too, check out Helen’s many learning opportunities.