TurningPointe Press

In March, my friend Elizabeth and I took a workshop together at Kripalu, Vibrant Visionary Collage, led by Karen Arp-Sandel. We had no idea what we were in for! We thought it an opportunity to mix girlfriend time, yoga retreat, spa and getaway with a little art. Little did we realize how transformative, fun and mind-shifting four days of "innocent" collage making in a roomful of mostly middle-aged goddesses could be.

One of my favorite discoveries that Karen turned us onto is mail art, where the postal system is medium, and the art is handmade collaged postcards to friends, family, or really anyone. Karen and her partner-in-crime, Suzi Banks Baum, call it FEmail, which I love. Karen and Suzi are the Queens of FEmail as far as I'm concerned - check out their current (extended!) exhibition at Berkshire Art Kitchen.

Elizabeth and I were so inspired by all of this that we vowed to send each other a piece of mail art every month. What better way to stay in touch with the yin and yang of our distant and often out-of-touch lives throughout the year, when what we really want is more time for connection and being present with one another? I wasn't sure if I could make my April deadline, though, with recent knee surgery packing me a wallop I'd not fully anticipated - my convalescence was more like a hibernation as I navigated drug allergies, infection and deep fatigue.

I felt more than a little protective letting go of E's postcard. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the postal attendant - would s/he give me a hard time for sending something that didn't comply with postal standards, or would they be game for a little art? I also knew my little masterpiece would be immediately changed the moment I handed it over for postage and hand-cancelling.

And that's exactly what happened. Not only did the attendant smile and take a moment to look at both sides of the piece, he patiently looked through all of his stamps to find just the right combination to arrange in the space I'd left. "See?" I said, "You're a collaborator on this piece of art!" He smiled. I felt so good leaving it in his hands, knowing that the first part of it's journey to Elizabeth was good.

When I returned home today, guess what was waiting for me in the mail? Elizabeth's April postcard to me. I got a little weepy has I caressed it and gazed, the message both powerful and tender to me.

Greetings from the annual Friends of Dard Hunter conference at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. We are 400 handmade paper makers, professors, book and fiber artists, conservators, tool makers, scientists, historians, students and enthusiasts spending several days completely immersed in what we love: sharing, learning about, and celebrating handmade paper in all of its extraordinary forms. 

Sukey Hughes, a pioneer in documenting the tradition of handmade paper in Japan, started us off with her thoughtful keynote. Her message to slow down and be mindful in our work really struck home, as I remind myself hourly to do one thing at a time these days. The gracious response from the Consul General of Japan Takuji Hanatani to acknowledge the Friends' first international show in Tokyo was touching - I’m struck by the mutual fascination of the Americans and Japanese with each other’s work in hand paper-making. We’ve come full circle with the Friends’ first overseas exhibit in Japan, where the Japanese are now discovering an American who dedicated his life to bringing hand papermaking to the US.

Other talks and workshops were thought provoking and useful. From the practical and technical to the sublime and inspiring, there was a nice range of content:

It wouldn’t be a papermakers’ conference without getting our hands into vats, which we did with the Combat Paper Project, U. of Alabama’s banana fiber papermaking demo, and Helen Hiebert’s amazing shrinking abaca. This is the second time I've seen the work from the Combat Paper Project, now reaching worldwide. Mindfulness served me well, as I snipped a veteran's uniform into pieces and reflected on the person who wore it. 

Worth the price of admission, I got great tips from Pat Feeney and Larry Murrell on how to prevent the Arches black cover stock for our Moving Parts companion booklet from cracking, plus a promising source for archival insert material for the collector’s box. My growing interest in using paper to construct sculptural paper garments was fueled by Erica Rasmussen’s survey of the history of paper garments worldwide, highlighting women’s groovy pop art paper shifts from the 1960s.

Sustainable papermaking was a hot topic. Enthusiasm ran high for the “Slow Paper Movement” coined by Mary Tasillo. A panel of sustainable practice papermakers shared their approaches, including: Mary’s Welcome House ‘zine project; Patterson Clark’s recipes, paper, ink, prints, and carved wood blocks from invasive plants such as white mulberry and multiflora roses; and Zina Castanuella who, in collaboration with Andrea Peterson at Hook Pottery Paper, is making gorgeously pigmented native plant papers from Queen Anne’s lace, day lily, dandelion, oats, abaca and seed inclusions from their papermaker’s garden.

The opening for Make an Impression was packed. Do more seasoned artists grow blasé about seeing their work on exhibit? Being able to attend my first opening was a thrill. Sharing the spotlight with so many inspiring artists and witnessing, first-hand, the response to my own work was a deeply fulfilling first for me.

This morning, I topped off my already overrunning cup with the Paper Runway exhibit at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport. After meeting many of the exhibitors at the conference, their work was all the more meaningful to see on display. Pieces that inspired me included Erica Rasmussen’s Juju Dress, Jacket Pilosic, and Collar #6: Book of Desires, Mary Ellen Matthews’ Wings for Icarus, Robert Ryan’s Every Beat of My Heart, Julie McLaughin and Mary Snyder Behrens’ Arianne and Isis, Kristen Demer’s Strictly Unconfined, Liz Mitchell’s Worn Slippers, and Jill Powers’ Kozo Fiber Shoes.

So now the question is, do I dare to Dard? It’s President Jill Littleton’s call to action for all members to get involved. She has a number of innovative ideas, many leveraging social media tools to bring fresh blood into the membership. Kudos to her for this vision. I’ve struggled with how involved to get, frankly. My early impressions of this organization were that, while full of interesting, creative and nice people, it felt dated and out of touch. I’m encouraged and motivated by the fresh ideas and energy I felt at this meeting.

The organization is hungry for innovative ways to reach out and engage both members and the public. This is my expertise – the question is, is this a place to invest my time? The fact that nobody gives me a blank stare here when I tell them I'm a book artist is lovely, but there are many organizations where this would be true – IAPMA, Guild of Papermakers, Guild of Book Workers, and CBAA to name a few. I haven’t vetted any of them, yet the Friends draws me back. There’s something to be said of spending time in the company of the generous, creative and intelligent people driven to sustain this beautiful craft.

We're gettting there...ten book artists, each making an edition of 50 artist books for the Moving Parts boxed collectors' set. While some are finished with their edition, most of us are knee-deep in production. The artists of Moving Parts are: Beverly Ryan, Elizabeth Parthum, Gretchen Schermerhorn, Irene Chan, Kelly O'Brien, Kerry McAleer-Keeler, Leah Frankel, Moira McCauley, Patty Lee, and Paul Gordon Emerson

Here's a glimpse of what we're creating. All photographs are by Paul Gordon Emerson.

Things are happening with the Moving Parts project! We've now got an official blog, thanks to Gretchen, my partner in crime on this project at Pyramid Atlantic. And an upcoming documentary - a work of art in itself - complements of film maker Fransisco Campos-López and CityDance Filmworks. Check out the trailer:

We're making steady progress on the clamshell boxes, thanks to a growing number of volunteers at Pyramid and our "box jam sessions." It's been fun to teach this eager (and talented) bunch to make the beautiful boxes that will house each collection of artist books...and exciting to see the covered trays accumulate as they move through our production line. After only a couple of sessions, we're discovering who excels at the tricky corner cuts, gluing with finesse, and inventing jigs to speed our work. Production work has become fun!

Some launch-related events are planned, including a CityDance performance showcasing the pieces reflected in the Moving Parts artists' books on December 4 and 5, and a launch party at Hillyer Art Space on December 11, including artist talks, a CityDance performance, and Moving Parts boxed sets for purchase. Speaking of which, check out Paul Emerson's beautiful photos of the project.

Looking forward to the annual Friends of Dard Hunter conference in Atlanta in October. I went for the first time two years ago and was impressed with the creative, scholarly, innovative papermakers and book artists I met from around the world who attended.

I'm excited and honored to have my work included in this year's member exhibit, Make an Impression, at the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum, Georgia Institute of Technology. The exhibit opens on October 16 and runs through January 4, 2010.

I've been cranking little Italian longstitch journals out like crazy the past two weekends, in preparation for Art on the Avenue on October 3rd. It takes about two hours per journal (probably more, I'm just in denial), plus time to hand-tear down all the papers, source materials and general running around.

I love these little books! They fit sweetly in your hand, a purse or pocket. Each one is unique, filled with enough blank creamy Strathmore paper to make them useful, plus vintage French text book pages, old French maps, and Rhodia-inspired graph paper. They'll make great holiday gifts...or come get one for yourself: booth W128!

The Book Arts web is the hub of all things book arts: educational opportunities, professional organizations, tutorials, reference materials, and galleries with images. Run by Peter Verheyen, head of Syracuse University Library's Department of Preservation and Conservation, the related BKARTS listserv and Bonefolder online journal have been robust resources for my introduction to the book arts.

Since 2004, the Bonefolder has been a showcase of what's wonderful in the book arts. This year's Bind-o-Rama features a wide range of bindings, experience and ideas - including an entry from yours truly!

Just returned from Eileen Wallace's wonderful workshop at Penland. I'm filled to the brim with new binding skills, inspiration and love of this craft. We learned Italian longstitch, linkstitch, simplified, laced + tacketed, and hardcover pamphlet bindings. I'm really smitten with the potential for contemporary interpretation of the linkstitch, and the simplified binding satisfies the obsessive part of me that loves fussy perfection.

This year, I pried myself away from the book studio to explore others. I was rewarded by being able to see beautiful work in progress in metals, surface design, velvet weaving, ceramics, encaustics, letterpress, wood, glass and iron. Even managed to rummage precious scraps and try my hand mini encaustic abstracts, which I incorporated into my own work. Thanks to Eileen, our class assistant Claire, and everyone there for a terrific session.

Italian longstitch and linkstitch journalsLaced and tacketed leather journal with handmade brass buckleLaced and tacketed leather journal, insideSimplified blank journal with found metal and monotypeSimplified blank journal, cover detailSimplified blank journal with encaustic inlays on cover

What a wonderful surprise: I've made my first artist book sale to University of California-Irvine Library Artists' Books Special Collections through the Beautiful Book exhibit at 23 Sandy Gallery. A big thank you to gallery owner Laura Russell, who profiled my piece in the exhibit catalog's introduction and press releases.

Wow. Pinch me!