Giddy with anticipation

After a year of waiting for COVID-19 restrictions to allow for in-person workshops I was finally on my way to Womens Studio Workshop (WSW). A tuition grant from Surface Design Association (a fantastic, fiber and textile focused organization, journal and resource), allowed me to financially access a paper making studio and a hands-on learning experience.

I take workshops in order to learn processes and techniques to create what I envision in my head. My goal is not to come away with any finished pieces or satisfactory work, but to absorb all I can about the materials, processes and techniques. The more I understand the better I’ll be able to use these methods and materials in my own ways. My goal is to have an open mindset in order to absorb as much as I can and allow myself to follow whichever path the materials call me down.

As I work more deeply with handmade paper and develop the conceptual underpinnings in my work, I am finding myself drawn into the sculptural possibilities. Rebecca Hutchinson works large scale with paper components to create intriguing and unique sculpture and installations. I could not wait to participate in her workshop, as well as have access to the incredible knowledge and support that WSW offers.

Though grateful for the numerous and generous offerings on ZOOM throughout the pandemic, and the ability to take classes that geographically I could not have taken otherwise, I missed in-person learning. Rich with conversation, individual and group exploration, information and resource sharing, relationships begin and ideas bud, branch and cross pollinate.

In the studio

The first day was devoted to the basics: the different paper making fiber properties (abaca, cotton, flax), beating (breaking down the fibers), couching (moving pulled sheets from the paper making frame to the drying felts) and sheet forming. Then we dove into ways to pour and spray large sheets, compatible substrates for building dimensional sculpture, clay slip and additive components, dipped forms, coloring pulp, painting with pulp, and clay mold formation.

I instinctively knew that poured pulp was an area I wanted to explore. I cut down and processed old bedsheets into cotton pulp. In a way, bedsheets carry a human history. I wanted to embed this history within my sculptures. I considered what kind of shape I wanted these structures to take, what I wanted to embed between the layers, and how these structures would communicate with the work I was already making. I used birds’ nests, thorns, degummed silk cocoons and moss. The birds’ nests, grasses and moss leached color created interesting, stained passages down the side of the sculptures. The thorns rose as if from a craggy mountainous landscape and added mystery to the contours of the poured paper.

I played with different pulp properties: Buckets of cotton and abaca pulp were poured into a large frame, quickly swirling and moving the pulp in the brief window before the water drained and the pulp began to settle and form the sheet. Remnants of denim pulp from a previous pour, tossed in at the last moment, added surprising passages and rivers of subtle color. Wire forms dipped in pulp, formed the scaffolding for more densely layered shapes. Paper components were created for future installations.

Time to digest

At week’s end I pack up samples, furiously scribbled notes, lists of ideas, resources and emails, hasty sketches and partial sculptures into the back of my car. I am temporarily satiated. All that I have seen and learned and tried, the muscle and sensory memory of the feel and weight of the pulp, the sound of the beater, the gentle but continuous movement while couching, will percolate, simmer and coalesce. Once home, there will be time for contemplation, for furthering concept and form and struggling with marrying material and concept. But for now, I feel filled to the tippy top, bubbling over with possibility, and that fizz of anticipation for rolling up my sleeves and putting all I have learned into practice.

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