When I was in Santa Fe a couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to spend some time with Liz Faust, who lives in Eldorado (a lovely community outside of Santa Fe) and runs Red Paper Studio.  I first met Liz in Banff, Canada in 2005, when we both attended an IAPMA (International Association of Hand Papemakers and Paper Artists) meeting. As you’ll see, we share an interest in paper and light.
Liz and her husband Vince recently relocated to Santa Fe (from Kalamazoo, MI) where they purchased a beautifully adobe home to live in, and another smaller house which they’ve converted into studios (Vince is a welder/sculptor, and another artist, Deborah Meyer, shares the space as well).
You can view and purchase Liz’s work at Hillside Market in Santa Fe. I’ll share some images, but first lets take a peek at some of the innovative papermaking equipment that Liz has created to make her studio operate efficiently.

Pulp is heavy, right? Check out this vat on wheels, plus the drain that is attached to the bottom of the vat for easy emptying. A plug fits into the hole on the inside.

Liz creates amazing welded steel forms that she sends out for powder coating (to add color and prevent rust). She covers the armatures with a thin mesh materials and then sprays pulp onto them (she mainly uses cotton, flax and abaca fibers). Read more about her process.
She converted the bathroom into a pulp spraying booth – genius!

And completely waterproof. The water drains into the old bathtub:
Liz has a valley beater, a true work horse which many a papermaker refers to as the “best” in a beater.
For easy drainage (and to avoid heavy lifting), she places a bucket lined with a strainer under the beater drain and attaches a drain hose to the nozzle she’s affixed to the bottom of the bucket. The hose runs outside through a sliding door, the water flows outside, and the vegetation in this arid climate soaks it up.

Here are some sea creatures I found in the guest bathroom at Liz’s home.

A lovely table lamp.

And some floor lamps:

Liz also makes jewelry:

And you can view more work and read more about Liz here.