The Sunday Paper #329

September 13, 2020

Papermaker of the Week: Velma Bolyard

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!

Twelve Moons, shifu cover, lined with printed flax, silk organza endsheets, pages are Arches text wove, all eco- or botanical contact printed in several batches, single section binding with ostrich shell, fold-outs.

I met Velma Bolyard when she was doing a residency in Salida, CO, just a stone’s throw from my studio (more or less). She is a mother, teacher and fiber artist working mostly in artists’ books. She makes paper, shifu, dyes with natural material, spins and forages for most of her material in the North Country of New York State. After retirement from teaching in alternative special education programs she now travels to teach and exhibit. Velma’s artists’ books are in private and institutional collections and she has written for Hand Papermaking and The Bone Folder.

In the Studio: Eugenie Barron on Paper Talk

I first met Eugenie Barron when we worked together on a papermaking program for school kids in New York City in the early 1990’s. Eugenie tells me how she got into papermaking when she saw an exhibition of handmade paper art on a trip to UC Santa Barbara in the late 1970’s. She was so inspired by the work, that she tracked down the students and asked them for their handouts. Soon afterwards, she discovered the work of Douglass Howell in a book by Vance Studley, contacted Howell and went to work with him for a week on Long Island. After that experience, she decided to move to New York and began setting up her own studio. We discuss the work she’s done with the Women’s Studio Workshop, how she has been documenting Douglass Howell’s legacy and our joint interest in high shrinkage fibers. Enjoy our conversation!

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Papery Tidbits:

• I’ve started something called The Paper Advisor that you might be interested in. It’s a place where you can discover my most popular papermaking and papercraft resources – including information about tools and supplies, how-to videos, and paper tips – all in one place! And best of all, it’s free!
• I’m putting together a month-long online Handmade Holiday Series that will begin in late October and wrap up prior to Thanksgiving. Join me and create a series of cards, holiday décor, ornaments and lanterns for friends and loved ones (or yourself). Click here to let me know you’re interested, and I’ll send you a coupon code when registration opens – later this week!
• Art Biz Coach Alyson Stanfield is running a 3-day workshop this coming week: In Reclaim Your Year, she will show you how to tweak your plans and squeeze the most out of the rest of the year. When you look back at this year, you’ll be able to say that you made lemonade from lemons!

I have fond yet fuzzy memories of invisible ink: a special pen, and lemon juice, but I can’t recall the details fully. Maybe one of you can? Anyways, here’s a cool book for kids of all ages. Soft Opening has hidden stories printed in invisible ink which can only be discovered with the help of a small UV-flashlight that comes attached to the book. So fun!

On the topic of books and flashlights, here’s one of my artist’s books, the Pop-Up Hand Shadow Book. Click through to watch the video.

When COVID 19 forced the cancellation of Design Eye Creative paper on skin’s live gala event and award evening, the Tasmanian Burnie Arts Council decided to shift to a digital format. The results were unveiled and filmed at an exclusive premiere screening recently. Design Eye Creative paper on skin connects Burnie’s papermaking heritage to a community of Australian and international artists. Their challenge was to design a wearable garment made from at least 80% paper. This video highlights each of the amazing paper entries and this one shows off the work of the winner!

Check out what Moo.com is making now. They are producing one-sheet face masks for as little as 35 cents in an effort to protect workers at companies whose customers forget to bring a mask, and to cut down on discarded disposable masks that are piling up in the most unlikely places. They look pretty cool, too!

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Featured this week in my Studio shop: Right Angle, Try It: Woven Paper Lantern Online Class, Playing With Pop Ups, and Papermaking With Garden Plants & Common Weeds.

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