The Sunday Paper #444

January 22, 2023

Paper weaving has been a long-time passion and exploration of mine, and I’m excited to be teaching my popular online class, Weave Through Winter, for the fifth year in a row. We create a weaving every day during the month of February, as we develop a daily practice involving challenge, creativity and adventure. Each year, I learn so much about my own practice as I guide the group with weekly video tutorials, daily notes, prompts and inspiration, in a place to connect with a supportive artistic community. And I’m delighted to share some great news – I will be writing a book, tentatively called, “A Paper Weaving Journey,” that is based on this course! More on that as it develops – for now, I’m focused on Weave Through Winter. I hope you’ll consider joining us!

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I went to see Sammy Seung-min Lee’s current exhibition, Taking Root, at the Denver Botanic Gardens last weekend (on view through 2/5). Seung-min Lee explores the immigrant experience through cast paper sculptures of food and flora. What a treat to get a tour with the artist.

Jill Powers, Sammy Seung-min Lee, Helen Hiebert

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Check out the contemplation bowls of Cecelia Levy from old book pages. The idea for a sculptural form typically occurs to Levy first. “I then search for the right paper quality,” she says. “Third comes the content of the book, which I take into account in the piece somehow. Any genre works.”

Contemplation Bowls (2013) by Cecilia Levy (Credit: Hans Bjurling)

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Wowza! Layla May Arthur assembles elaborate architectural spaces and visual narratives from paper, focusing on the interplay between light and shadow in intricate, three-dimensional dioramas that emphasize storytelling in window displays, brand identities, and gallery presentations.

As seen on Colossal: “Shop Window Set Design for Mary Jane Schoenenboetiek” (2021), paper sculpture

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Here’s the next video in my Papermaking Series: Moulds & Deckles.

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To mark the launch of Netflix’s 2023 Lunar New Year collection, Malaysian paper-cutting artist Eten Teo has created an intricate piece highlighting a family’s Lunar New Year celebrations.

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Paper Tidbits

• The Red Cliff Paper Retreat, one of the few events I hold in my Colorado studio, is now open for registration. Join us for five days in paper heaven!
• Some of you contributed roots to my sculpture Mother Tree, and many of you have seen her on view, first in Portland and then as she traveled around the country. She is now at the Museum of Motherhood (yes, a museum about motherhood exists) in St. Petersburg, FL. I met the founder of the museum, Joy Rose, all the way back in 2010, right after I finished Mother Tree, and we’ve been talking ever since. They intend to purchase her to remain on site, and you can help!

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In the Studio

I am working on a woven, inflatable globe. The tricky part is that an inflatable can’t have holes, and these panels are filled with holes due to weaving. I’m currently coating them with matte medium, which I’m hoping will seal the holes.

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