Hand made paper is an ancient art form.
It is the practice of transforming raw
materials into something tangible and useful.
The art of papermaking is
impermanent yet consistent.
Visceral yet practical.
Magical.
It is the practice of transforming raw
materials into something tangible and useful.
The art of papermaking is
impermanent yet consistent.
Visceral yet practical.
Magical.
“Wabi-sabi is a beauty of things imperfect,
Impermanent and incomplete.
It is a beauty of things modest and humble.
It is a beauty of things unconventional…”
Leonard Koren
Impermanent and incomplete.
It is a beauty of things modest and humble.
It is a beauty of things unconventional…”
Leonard Koren
THE ART OF PAPERMAKING
Paper is made from Kozo, the bark of the mulberry native to Asia, in a traditional Japanese technique unchanged for hundreds of years. A seasonal cornucopia of native plants, horsetails, the bark of manzanita and madrone, polypores and seaweed entice me to harvest from their abundance. They are cooked along with onion skins, leeks and cornhusks and other seasonal plant material. Kozo, alone, is boiled and hand-beaten into a fine pulp submerged in water and extracted with a finely meshed screen, bringing forth a metamorphosis of organic elements into sheets of paper brought to life by the beauty of light. The intimate relationship with these sensuous materials continues to be my lesson in impermanence, a marvelous teacher in the art of alchemy, the magical intersection between tangible and intangible worlds.
Paper is made from Kozo, the bark of the mulberry native to Asia, in a traditional Japanese technique unchanged for hundreds of years. A seasonal cornucopia of native plants, horsetails, the bark of manzanita and madrone, polypores and seaweed entice me to harvest from their abundance. They are cooked along with onion skins, leeks and cornhusks and other seasonal plant material. Kozo, alone, is boiled and hand-beaten into a fine pulp submerged in water and extracted with a finely meshed screen, bringing forth a metamorphosis of organic elements into sheets of paper brought to life by the beauty of light. The intimate relationship with these sensuous materials continues to be my lesson in impermanence, a marvelous teacher in the art of alchemy, the magical intersection between tangible and intangible worlds.
Sculptural form is created with black bamboo, rattan,
and various types of willow, bound by linen thread, aiding
in the revelation of the papers nature through light.
Chiseling fragments of solidified earth we call stone into
shapes sometimes because they have their own voice
which wants to be revealed, and sometimes to merely
provide a textural pedestal for its illuminated counterpart
I see these illuminated sculpture as reflections of our inner
light our primordial being unlimited, vast,
nonlinear revealing my connection with nature,
life and the creative process.
As a papermaker,
I delight in how the light reveals the'spirit' of the paper.
The past twelve years have been spent developing an
intimate relationship with the materials, exploring a
variety of sculptural forms in which these elements can
be expressed, exposing my inner journey.
I delight in how the light reveals the'spirit' of the paper.
The past twelve years have been spent developing an
intimate relationship with the materials, exploring a
variety of sculptural forms in which these elements can
be expressed, exposing my inner journey.