Reading Road Studio

The Sunday Paper #332

October 4, 2020

Papermaker of the Week: Georgie Cunningham

This is a new column. If you’re a papermaker and would like to be featured in the coming weeks and months, please fill out this form. I’d love to hear from you!

© 2019 Georgie Cunningham. Left: Handmade abaca paper woven on a Brazilian walnut and coconut vine lamp frame. 8″ x 8″ x 14″. Right: Handmade abaca paper with rose petal inclusions woven on a Brazilian cherry lamp frame. 7.5” x 7.5” x 14”.

Georgie Cunningham has been making paper for more than twenty years in her studio in the Texas Hill country. Born and raised in South Texas, she has always loved wide open spaces and big skies. As a papermaker, she purchases fiber, but prefers hiking across the countryside looking for plants with papermaking potential. The resulting work is an interplay of art and craft influenced by the diverse culture around her. Her goal is to produce work that evokes a peaceful and quiet atmosphere. The filtering of light through layers of translucent paper or woven color and texture is key in her lamps and tapestries. She wants to encourage people to pause— to give them “breathing room” and permission not to look for image and meaning but to simply meditate on movement, color and light.

In the Studio:

Here I am on the big screen, doing a 10-day residency with a group of 6-9 year olds at a school in Arkansas. They have a maker space and the kids made their own moulds and deckles. Their teachers reached out to me when they got started making paper (thanks to a recommendation from a former intern) and asked whether I’d be interested in doing a virtual residency. I’m impressed with what we’ve accomplished, and I thoroughly enjoy my time with them on Google Meets (similar to Zoom). I’m spending three hours a week with them, and the teachers and I meet for an hour to plan and prep. During each session, I do a demo that the kids watch, and then they go to their papermaking stations, and we repeat the process together. So far, we’ve done basic papermaking, made shaped sheets, explored inclusions and designed watermarks. They each have laptops, so I can watch what they are doing and give them feedback. Then we gather again for a Q&A session (that’s what you see us doing here).

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Papery Tidbits:

Do you follow me on Youtube? I just posted a new video on how to color paper pulp with tempera paint (great and safe for working with kids). I use the same technique when coloring with aqueous dispersed pigments.
Have you checked out The Paper Advisor, where you’ll find my most popular papermaking and papercraft resources all in one place?
The October project in The Paper Year is a flying crane card designed by Gina Pisello. Hop on over to The Paper Studio to check out the challenge. If you aren’t a member of the group, you’ll have to answer three simple questions to gain access.

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It was a delight to have Helen Frederick on Paper Talk. Helen is recognized as a distinguished artist, curator, educator, coordinator of international projects, and as founder of Pyramid Atlantic, a center for contemporary printmaking, hand papermaking, and the art of the book. As an advocate for, and an active participant in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area arts scene, she has served on the directorial boards of alternative art spaces, various local and national boards and national peer-review panels. Have a listen!

Congratulations to the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, celebrating 15 years! With the support of the Kalamazoo community, generous donations, and the help of many volunteers, the center has grown to become a fully equipped nonprofit center for the study of book arts. They were planning an exhibition for this fall, but as with so many things, these plans had to change. Click through to view the online exhibition that highlights the variety and creativity of their visiting artists (including yours truly).

This is a sweet animated book video by filmmaker Andrea Dorfman with poet Tanya Davis about How to Be at Home, a place so many of us are spending more time at.

This is too cute for words! A young Brit named Marcus built a model of a Hollander Beater from Plastic Meccano, a biscuit tin, and various bits of plastic, inspired by a visit to the Apsley Mill Paper Trail, Hemel Hempstead, in the UK.

Check out these 13 festive Hanukkah crafts for all ages. Several of them are created with paper.

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Do you love paper? Do you enjoy exploring its potential? Do you like to create your own gifts? The early bird deadline for my upcoming online class, The Handmade Holiday Series is coming right up (October 8th). Watch the video and sign up today.

Skip shopping online or in person and make it yourself this holiday season.
Experience Joy in the Making as you create with your own hands.
Turn beautiful decorative papers into gift-worthy treasures.
Spend time with a paper-loving community where you’ll share ideas, get feedback and find inspiration!
Use your own paper stash or purchase my curated Holiday Paper Collection (details below).
Give handmade this holiday season! Joy in the Giving.

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Featured this week in my Studio shop:

Interluceo: Collage Packs, Playing With Paper, a Package of Three Films, and Papermaking with Garden Plants & Common Weeds.

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Thanks to everyone who has already pledged your support!

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