In the studio: I’m busy packing my bags for my trip to the Bay Area next week. I’m teaching a workshop at the San Francisco Center for the Book on Friday and Saturday, and then I’ll be exhibiting my artists’ books and a few other items at the Codex Book Fair in Richmond, Feb 8-11. Above you see my abaca leather papers. These are made of pigmented high-shrinkage abaca that I air dry first and then mist and restraint dry. 

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Yo Iowan’s, go hear Drew Cameron speak on Thursday. Drew is co-founder of Combat Paper, an art therapy group that works with veterans by teaching them how to recycle their uniforms into sheets of paper and works of art. I had the opportunity to hear Drew speak years ago in Washington DC; he is a veteran himself and a passionate speaker. Don’t miss this talk, and if you live elsewhere, this project travels around. Follow them here.

These ‘windows’ would stop me in my tracks. “City Windows” is a permanent art installation near gate B19 at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. It was created by Chinese artist Qiao Xiaoguang and features a panorama of iconic images from Chicago and Beijing. It can be seen from outside as well.

In my 20’s I learned about tofu and all of the amazing things you could make with it. And then I discovered (or became intimately acquainted with) paper. It never ceases to amaze me! Check out this origami slinky and the science behind triboelectric charging: when two different materials repeatedly come into contact and then separate, the surface of one material can steal electrons from the surface of the other. This is the same way that static electricity builds up when you rub your feet on a carpet or a run a comb through your hair, and it looks like this paper slinky has a similar potential!

Thanks to Rich Gray whom I met at Arrowmont last summer, for sending me the link to this amazing video (click on this link if you don’t see the video) of an atelier in Paris where they fold tessellations in paper and then impress those folds onto fabric. The video is a bit long and in French, but oh so fascinating! 

Here’s a paper coffee filter that is used in Starbucks in Japan. A bit of a waste perhaps, but clever nonetheless! If they develop a reusable version, I’m in!

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About The Sunday Paper: The Sunday Paper is published by Helen Hiebert Studio. They keep saying that paper will become obsolete, yet artists, craftspeople, designers and creatives are keeping it alive and well. A healthy number of people are even making paper by hand (in some cultures they are still using age-old traditions). How cool is that? The Sunday PAPER is a resource for ideas and inspiration, all having to do with this amazing material. Each Sunday, I bring you stories and examples of people doing exciting, innovative, and beautiful things with paper, as well as links to interesting paperfacts I’ve unearthed from around the globe. I hope you’ll enjoy reading this paper, Papier, papel, хартия, Papir,紙, Papper, פּאַפּיר… and don’t hesitate to click on the link to leave your comments and suggestions!