Illuminating 2021 With Paper
The Sunday Paper #345
January 3, 2021
Happy New Year!
Papermaker of the Week: Meg Black
Hey papermakers! I’d love to feature you in this column. All you have to do is fill out this form.
© Meg Black 2019, Sea Foam I, Mixed Media Wall Sculpture. 122 x 33 inches. Corporate Collection: Westport CT.
Meg Black is an artist who has earned an MFA and Ph.D. in art history. The subject of her work-both as a researcher and a visual artist-is the study of nature and its impact on our sensory experiences. Black creates her work with pulp – largely cotton and well beaten abaca – for two reasons: (1) this material has not been widely used as a painting media, thus she is constantly discovering its potential and is challenged by its capacities which allow her to be a pioneer in this process; and (2) the texture of this media provides an almost three-dimensional quality to the finished surface, thus mimicking nature in all its splendor. Black’s unique process and careful attention to craftsmanship provide a seductive, textured surface that lends itself to the natural subject matter of her work. In 2014, Black was the recipient of a 1% for art grant awarded to her for her installation of six large pulp paintings featuring the white birch, the state tree of New Hampshire. Other examples of her pulp paintings are in hospitals, corporate offices, private collections, and town halls and libraries throughout the United States.
In the Studio: The Paper Year Begins!
The Paper Year is now open for registration through January 10th! The first lesson will appear in the classroom tomorrow. Click on over to read about the All In Plan vs. the PDF Plan and sign up. We’ve got a great group forming!
If you’re reading this before 12 noon on Sunday, Jan 3, you can still register to attend the informational Zoom meeting. I’ll show you how to make a pop-up lantern there, too.
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Papery Tidbits:
- I was saddened to read about the passing of Sara Caswell Pearce, a member of the Paper Studio facebook group. There are several articles about her illustrious work in publishing and art. Here’s one about a project she did a couple of years ago, turning vintage books and papers into works of art.
- Do you know about #amonthinpaper over on Instagram?
- We are doing a challenge each month over in The Paper Studio. January’s theme is Circles.
- Listen to Part 2 of my interview with Nicole Donnelly on Paper Talk (you’ll find a link to Part 1 over there, too)
I’m participating in the Paper Artist Collective’s #AMonthInPaper challenge over on instagram. Maybe you’d like to, too? Today is Day 3.
If you happen to be in St. Louis this spring, I highly recommend a visit to see Buzz Spector’s work at the Saint Louis Art Museum (Buzz Spector: Alterations). Buzz has been altering books and paper for his entire career, all the while pushing the conceptual envelope.
Buzz Spector, Tower 2, 2016, Courtesy of Zolla/Liberman Gallery, Image Courtesy of the Artist
Check out these paper lights by Bradley L. Bowers. You will find a poetic video where you can see him performing his process at the link.
© Bradley L. Bowers, Halo Lantern
Oh my goodness! I had no idea there were so many ways to package eggs. Check out the variety of packaging. I can’t decide which is my favorite. Can you?
As seen on Design&Paper, © Monika Carbone-Hotchkiss
You’re gonna love this video about the (paper) work of Cybèle Young!
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| Featured this week in my Studio shop:
All About The Paper Year 2021 Subscription Club, Try It! Shadow Lantern Workshop, Playing With Pop Ups, Handle With Care |
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2 Comments
Hi, Helen!
My apologies for cluttering up your inbox with an email, but I find it interesting that your “Papermaker of the Week”, Meg Black, has both an MFA and a PhD in art history. Fifty years ago there was a bit of a divide between art historians and studio people.
I can remember attending an arts conference at the University of Alberta that was attended by both artists and art historians. The final event was a dinner held in the university’s faculty club. Since I had done both undergrad and grad work at the U of A I had spent some time roaming about the campus, and as a result I arrived at the dinner about five minutes before proceedings began. I sat down at a table that had two vacant seats, and I was immediately asked if I were an artist or an historian. I replied that I had done graduate work in both areas, and that I taught courses in both fields. I was told that all the people at the table were studio artists, but since I was part artist I was welcome at the table. I had no sooner sat down but the remaining vacant chair was filled by a gentleman whom I recognized as having given an excellent art history presentation that afternoon. He was asked the same questions I had been asked, and when he said he was an art historian he wasn’t asked to leave the table, but I think I was the only person to speak to him for the rest of the evening! Things have now changed, thank goodness! (The art historian was a very nice person, and I found out that he was an Italian who had taken his degrees in Germany and then moved to Canada, the result being that he was an Italian who spoke English with a German accent!)
Best wishes–
Chuck
Sara Caswell Pearce, RIP. Thanks for sharing this, Helen. I feel she might have been my BFF, her passions so alighted with mine.