The Sunday Paper #385

October 17, 2021

I had a lovely conversation with Nicholas Cladis on Paper Talk. Cladis is an interdisciplinary artist and papermaker who lives and works in Iowa City, IA. He is the papermaking specialist at the University of Iowa Center for the Book, where he lectures and manages the Oakdale paper research facility. Cladis is an active researcher and practitioner of traditional and non-traditional papermaking processes. For six years he lived and worked in Echizen, Japan — an area with over 1,500 years of papermaking history — and continues to maintain an active relationship with the papermaking community there. He regularly contributes to the Future of Craft Villages research group at Fukui Prefectural University, and serves on the executive committee of Imadate Art Field, a non-profit arts organization based in Echizen.

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As with many events, the 21st annual Oak Knoll Fest will be virtual this year. This is not a festival I’ve attended before, but I’m taking this opportunity to exhibit my artist’s books October 28th – 30th. The event is multi-faceted, and you might want to attend! The theme is Women in the Book Arts, and there will be speaker presentations on Zoom and a virtual book fair. Click through to find out how to register to attend (it’s free).

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Rabbit hole warning: this article about kites in the NY Times is fascinating, touching on history (kite flying used on military missions) and kite art (there are artists who make conceptual kites). Scott Skinner, who co-founded a kite foundation in Seattle to elevate (no pun intended) kite making beyond the toy level, co-founded the Drachen Foundation, and he also contributed a project to my upcoming book. Let’s go fly a kite!

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The Allentown Art Museum is currently exhibiting Washi Transformed, featuring a range of techniques—layering, weaving, and dyeing to shredding, folding, and cutting—as nine artists embrace the seemingly infinite possibilities of washi. There’s an exhibition catalog available for purchase.

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As the backlash against single-use plastic packaging grows, the market for paper packaging is increasing—but the demand for paper also means more logging, some of which still happens in old-growth forests. Some companies are beginning to turn to materials other than wood for paper. One option: Making paper partly from grass.

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Paper Tidbits:

• Here’s another rabbit hole to wander through: The House of Embroidered Paper
• Have you checked out my Youtube channel? I’m creating short Papermaking Tip and Paper Tip videos.
• Bookbinding Out of the Box hosted an expandable slipcase competition. Check out these creative design solutions and vote for your favorite!

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In the Studio:

My local library has been offering Take & Make Kits for their patrons throughout the pandemic, which is such a clever idea (maybe your library is doing something similar)! I’m currently assembling Luminaria Kits for their December offering.

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Featured this week in my Studio shop: Papermaking with Garden Plants, Playing With Paper, Collage Packs, and Water Paper Time, a film download.

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