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I had the pleasure of meeting Van Vliet in person in 2015, when we were both in attendance at the Codex Book Fair, and she had an exhibition celebrating The Janus Press at Sixty at the San Francisco Center for the Book.
Aura, 1977, cotton paper made with denim pulp
Van Vliet’s first handmade paper project was AURA, made in 1976 at Twinrocker with Kathy and Howie Clark.
Kathryn Clark at Twinrocker 1980
Lilac Wind, 1983, poems by W.R. Johnson on a pulp painting made by Claire Van Vliet with Kathryn Clark
We talked about her pioneering work with pulp painting at Twinrocker, which eventually led to creating paper works in her own studio. She has made many editioned books, broadsides, prints and individual paperworks incorporating specially made handmade paper made in her own paper shop and collaborated primarily with Katie MacGregor, Bernie Vinzani, Amanda Degener, and Mary Lyn Nutting.
Working on Arctic Dream with Stephanie Westnedge, Amanda Degener and MaryLyn Nutting, 1992
Van Vliet developed innovative ways of binding without glue, utilizing strong strips of paper instead.
Rise 2003 first strip binding inspired by New Zealand bookbinder Elizabeth Steiner’s Gioia II (2002) and executed by Audrey Holden.
Her popular book, Woven & Interlocking Structures features numerous innovative binding structures and is currently available online as a free PDF.
Van Vliet’s newest book is Aratus. Samples from the handmade paper covers, created by Katie MacGregor, will appear in an issue of Hand Papermaking Magazine.
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You can read widely online about Van Vliet’s work by searching for her name or the name of her works.
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Music featuring excerpts of Makin’ Paper folk song by Peter Thomas. Listen to the full song and find out about other paper and book arts folk songs.
Gary A. Hanson did the sound editing for this episode. He practices and refines his skills in audio production while making his own podcast I’ll Have a Beer and Talk, a show about tech news, culture, weird animal stories and of course, beer. Gary is also the Deckle in Pulp & Deckle, a Portland-based community hand papermaking studio.
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2 Comments
I studied with Claire at Philadelphia College of Art in 1972. What an honor that was. She and Jerome Kaplan were wonderful Senior Thesis advisors.
Marjorie Greene Graff
Thanks for listening, Marjorie. How wonderful that you had that opportunity to work with Claire and Jerome.