Work continues

Above, I finally organized the beater corner of the studio. Efficiently using the wall space around Dulcinea, check! Below, papermaking viewed from the loft.

Work continues on Future Tense.

So far, invasive plants that have been used are French broom (Genista monspessulana), pampas grass (Cortaderia jubata) and ice plant (Carpobrotus chilensis).

In addition to making the paper, printing continues.

I am enchanted by the fibers of the handmade paper viewed through the negative spaces in the printed image.

When I started this artist book, which technically was years ago, finishing seemed a faraway, near impossible task. Yet lately, it seems to be rolling along, and I am excited by the progression.

Maps in Pulp Paint

Things are coming together, or maybe back together, on a project I began and put aside years ago. I started an artist book I planned to call Future Tense, which was an intersecting narrative between endangered languages and birds. I'm actually glad for the delay, as it's allowing the book to incorporate some materials and methods which, while not part of the original idea, I think make it more interesting.

Since getting interested in paper, I've been intrigued with the idea of material=content. However, I'm starting to think that material is more a signifier for content. In this case, I'm working with invasive plants (broom), however, here I'm using it to reference the Westernization of indigenous cultures, invasive European plant as a representative for invasive Europeans.

"The Art of Handmade Paper" at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art

Some of the Population Dynamics series is currently part of the exhibition, The Art of Handmade Paper, at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, in Sonoma, CA. The exhibition is up till the end of December, and last Friday I went up for the opening reception.

The show is predominately focused on the history of handmade paper, featuring a few contemporary artists like myself, as well as one of my teachers, Lynn Sures:

Also featuring a tiny little hand-crank beater. This made me think of all the discussions I've had with fellow papermakers about a bicycle-powered beater (which was finally developed by Lee Scott Mcdonald), although several people found pedaling while grinding rag pretty onerous (and could you imagine trying to make something like high-shrinkage? Hours and hours of pedaling!) Anyway, made me wonder if this would be better or worse.

Two other intriguing historic objects included were these fusan bakudan, or Japanese fire balloons. For those unfamiliar with the history, during World War II, these were washi balloons that were used to carry bombs across the Pacific towards the United States, floating along Jet Stream air currents. I gather that most did not make it, but some did. It brings to mind a conversation I had with Mary years ago in which she said something to the affect of," I don't know whether to be horrified or like, YAY PAPER!"

The show is up to December 30, and there is talk with the curator on October 28 at the museum.

On a related note, I was recently interviewed by Discover Paper. Check it out here.

Fibershed and Community

Last Friday I headed across the water to Lagunitas to meet with some of the mavens of the Fibershed project. I'm going to be teaching a papermaking workshop for their day camp. We had a lovely conversation around the esoterics and logistics of fiber, plants, craft, and the possibilities of making.

And they have goats. Goats!

And baby goats!

The vegetable garden:

A sun shed with a small "greenhouse" for sprouting seedlings on the side. It was built from an existing structure that needed repair. All the windows were found on the property.

The farm where they host their camp is an old carmelo walnut orchard. The trees were planted by the former tenant of the property, and now are around forty years old. Lot of nuts to eat and dye with....

Before I left, they let me help myself to the broom plants - or rather, weeds - that are popping up on the property, to see if they have paper possibilities. I'm going to see what I can do with them.

So much paper to make! I wish I had more time.

Left To Chance, San Francisco Center for the Book Opening

An estimated 300 people squeezed into the San Francisco Center for the Book on Friday for the opening of Left to Chance: In Search of the Accidental Book Art . The exhibition was curated by the luminous Hanna Regev, pictured below, center, bookended by SFCB Co-Founders Mary Austin and Kathleen Burch.

My new piece, Fugitive, was part of the exhibition. With the crowd, I could barely get close enough to take any pictures of it! The work was displayed with gloves so that viewers could handle and see the papers close-up.

The exhibition, which is on view till May 12, is inspired by the work of John Cage, and his use of chance operations. Some Bay Area folks, like Kathleen Burch, actually knew Cage and worked with him on projects. Cage, to me, has always been a distant figure, a colossus straddling visual art and music, influencing countless creatives of the past century until the present day. It's been so eye-opening to hear people who knew him talk about him as a person, someone who was sweet and full of life, with a quirky sense of humor. What I liked most was that people seemed to like him as a individual, not just as an Important Artist. The impression I get from them is encapsulated by the wall quote pictured below. If you can't read it - click on it for a larger image.

Sneak Peak - New Work for Upcoming San Francisco Center for the Book Exhibition

Some sneak peak details from a new piece, Fugitive. It's going to be part of the next exhibition, Left to Chance: The Accidental Book Art, at the San Francisco Center for the Book. As it reads on the colophon page for Fugitive:

"The title of this portfolio derives from the term used for pigments and dyes that fade when exposed to light. More commonly, it refers to someone who is avoiding arrest. The corporate logos and symbols that appear are representative of entities and activities that benefit from a global corporate monoculture that has led to financial and environmental devastation. The actions and organizations depicted have no fear of repurcussions for their criminal behavior.

The handmade papers for this portfolio were selectively exposed to light, causing their natural pigmentation to fade to create the images. Fibers used are from Andean Pampas Grass (Cortaderia jubata), a species invasive to the United States. Invasive species such as Pampas Grass decimate native ecosystems, drive out diversity, and their presence is due directly to globalization. Through their use as a fiber base for this portfolio, a symmetry between material and content is created, with the awareness that financial and environmental justice often go in unison."

No piece is ever made in a isolation, and I could not have made this work without the advice I received on the Yahoo Papermakers' Group, particularly the help of Winnie Radolan and Catherine Nash. In addition, thanks to Hanna Regev, curator of Left to Chance as well as the Get Lucky exhibition at SOMArts, for including me.