The Sunday Paper #235

November 25, 2018

Paper(maker) of the Week: Laurence Barker

I recently interviewed Laurence Barker on Paper Talk. Barker is an influencer in the field of Hand Papermaking. Born in 1930, Barker went to Principia College and got his MFA from Cranbrook, where he also ended up teaching from 1960 – 1970 and ran the first classes in hand papermaking at the college level in the US. Several students (and others who visited that studio) went on to become luminaries in the field of hand papermaking. A theme that came up time and again during our conversation was the way Barker followed his intuition. After college, he wrote to Stanley Hayter at Atelier 17 in Paris about the potential of studying with him. He never heard back, but he went to Paris, looked up Hayter, and he was able to study with him! Later, he wrote a letter to Dard Hunter asking whether he knew of a beater he might use to set up a papermaking studio at Cranbrook, and Dard Hunter found one for him! And after reading James Michener’s book Iberia, which describes Spain as a place centered around the book, Barker surmised that printing would follow the book, so he moved overseas and started a papermaking studio in Spain. And he was right! Enjoy our conversation.
In the Studio:
My Black Friday – Cyber Monday sale is happening now. If you haven’t purchased your 12 Months of Paper Calendar (of if you need to stock up on papery holiday gifts) there’s no time like the present! When you order this set, you get to choose a gift (valued at $25):

• Gift #1: An additional calendar (a unique holiday gift)
• Gift #2: An extra paper pack (get together with a friend and create together)
• Gift #3: A copy of my book Playing With Paper (15 more paper projects to enjoy)

Papery Tidbits:

• In case you don’t receive my monthly newsletter, I’d love to share my Thanksgiving note with you.
• Check out what’s happening over in Club Paper!

Poposition Press is an independent book publisher in Boulder, CO. Here’s their newest book, One Thousand and One Handbags, a pop up book collaboration between best selling author and paper engineer David A. Carter and acclaimed Dutch shoe and handbag designer Hester van Eeghen. There’s a pre-order special through 12/15!

Here’s an interesting substrate for drawing – paper cups! Shin Moon-sub frequents coffee shops and makes two illustrated cups, giving one to the cafe.

Six of Moon’s more than 100 coffee cup drawings. From left: Manufact Coffee Roasters in Apgujeong-dong, southern Seoul; Toby’s Estate in New York; Fritz in Mapo District, western Seoul; Cafe Grumpy in New York; New York Coffee Week; and Stumptown Coffee Roasters in New York. [PARK SANG-MOON]

“A Cautionary Tale” © Daria Aksenova

This is a fascinating story about Robert Salazar, an artist, scientist and activist who uses his skills to solve problems in space as well as in promoting sustainability and awareness of key issues that impact world wildlife.

Origami artist Robert Salazar is a contractor at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) where he designs deployable structures to assist space telescopes in searching for life among the stars. Salazar is the designer behind the origami patterns for the Starshade project, which creates artificial eclipses to help spot planets beyond the solar system. – PHOTO COURTESY OF ROBERT SALAZAR

Check it out! A paper animation film fest (and you can watch them all on youtube)!

 
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