The Sunday Paper #541

January 26, 2025

Paper valentines creep into my online courses, and this week, a few members of The Paper Year have been exploring Julehjertes (do a search, you’ll find loads of designs).  I got inspired at our Open Studio yesterday, tried my own cut, and then I went for a little trip down a rabbit hole and discovered that the Danish printer, Alfred Jacobsen (1853-1924), issued sheets of glossy paper in many colors, with printed patterns for making these hearts on the back of the sheets. Customers could choose two colors.

We are so spoiled with our personal printers today! I printed my pattern onto the back of my papers, too. And then all I had to do was cut and weave.

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I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Moana Balani, Creative Director at The Papermill in New Zealand, when she flew over to Tasmania to take my workshop last September. For over 35 years, The Papermill has provided a safe, creative, and supportive space for artists with intellectual disabilities, fostering their self-esteem, social skills, and confidence through training in papermaking and paper arts and crafts. The Papermill recycles used materials and plants, including weeds, to create high-quality handmade paper, striving to educate and promote creative, productive, and environmentally friendly solutions for utilizing waste materials. I was touched when Moana sent me a picture of the one-sheet tree that a participant created with their own handmade paper (this project is in my book, The Art of Papercraft).

Participants sorting plant fibers, one-sheet tree holiday decor.

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Book Becoming Art, co-curated by Simon J. Blattner, Maki Aizawa and Barbara Wells, is currently on view at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art (through April 27). The exhibition includes 40 contemporary handcrafted books, all of them inspired by Japanese aesthetics and most of them created by artists in Japan.

Artwork by by Masako Kobayashi

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I love it when artists reproduce paper in other materials. Check out these notebook paper forms by Saori Matsushita on Colossal.

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More hearts = More love. Weave Through Winter begins on February 1st, and I am looking forward to creating a weaving-a-day along with participants. You can still join us! If you’d like to get a taste of paper weaving to see if you like it, check out my Woven Paper Heart tutorial on YouTube (just in time for Valentine’s Day).

Paper Tidbits

• Studio Carta has curated this lovely valentine collection
• We’ll be exploring folded forms at the annual Red Cliff Paper Retreat, August 18 – 22, 2025. In person!
• I have one spot left in my Papermaking Master Class, Sept 29 – Oct 3. Also in person.
• I am considering attending the IAPMA Congress in China next fall. Are you?

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