Paper Talk

Goran Konjevod grew up in Croatia, where he studied mathematics and computer science. After completing his graduate studies as Carnegie Mellon, he worked as professor of computer science at Arizona State University from 2000 until 2010, when he moved to California and is now based in Livermore. Konjevod started designing origami sculptures in 2005 after having folded from books for a long time. He has been trying to develop new approaches to folding paper and other sheet materials, using mostly very simple folds (but lots of them). His pieces rely not only on geometry but also on the mechanical properties of paper, with the pleats generating tension and curving the paper into three-dimensional forms.

Melanie Mowinski likes paper, but she loves what goes ON paper. Paper becomes a vessel on which she prints, collages, draws, constructs, and more. Mowinski draws inspiration from the landscape of her Berkshire Hills home and residencies and travels to places like Iceland, Morocco, Tasmania, Venice, and most recently, from along the Camino de Santiago in Spain. She began her daily creative practice over 20 years ago as a Peace Corps Volunteer – what began as a way to document the “toughest job she would ever love,” evolved into one of the most important parts of her artistic practice. This practice formed the foundation of her book “Collage Your Life”, published by Storey Publishing in 2022. Her letterpress prints and artist books are in numerous collections, including the Tate Modern, Oberlin College, and the Clark Art Institute. She's taught workshops at Wells Book Arts Center, Williams College, and other art centers around the world. She holds master degrees from Yale University and The University of the Arts. Mowinski is a Professor of Art at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) in North Adams, MA and is the founder and director of PRESS: Letterpress as a Public Art Project.

Susan Warner Keene is a Toronto-based artist working in handmade paper who has been exhibiting in Canada and internationally since 1980. She graduated from the Ontario College of Art, where she specialized in weaving and feltmaking, subsequently shifting her practice to focus on papermaking by 1990. The acquisition of a Reina beater enabled her to set up her studio to develop artworks that are created during the papermaking process itself, exploring ways to make objects with an internal architecture created by the material conditions.Her ongoing interest in the intersection of ideas and materiality is reflected in her exploration of aspects of language, the book form, and the nature of the page.

Julie McGlaughlin has been making paper and exploring its sculptural possibilities since the early 90’s. She has been making large sheets from Kozo fibers for the last 14 years. Her interest in wearable paper garments subconsciously began over 50 years ago when she wore her first paper dress (popular in the 1960’s) and she continues to push the boundaries between paper and textiles today. Eastern fibers work well for this, as they are extremely strong allowing her to make thin, fluid sheets which easily adapt to wearable art. These non-woven sheets are referred to as kamikogami.  McGlaughlin shows her sculptural work and wearable paper garments nationally and internationally, and her work is in numerous private and corporate collections.

Kit Davey is a Redwood City, California-based artist specializing in book art. Davey’s work pushes the boundaries of “bookness” by using unusual materials such as mica, acetate, flattened coins and teabags as pages, and making book covers from shells, coins, driftwood, rulers, buttons and acetate. Davey has taught over 70 different book structures, holding her classes on Zoom so that students the world over can join her.  Her work is available on her website, www.foundobject-art.com and at San Francisco Bay Area art events.  She makes a book a day and shares them on Instagram.

Ilze Dilane is a papermaker and artist in Riga, Latvia who runs a papermaking studio out of the Pardaugava Music and Art School, where she teaches children, teachers and adults about the art and craft of handmade paper. Dilane also runs an annual papermaking symposium in Rite, Latvia.

The ultimate guide to papermaking

Making your own paper is a mesmerizing and versatile craft. Let Modern Papermaking show you how to create countless paper sheets with a few tools and practice. Among many other things, the paper you make can be a foundation for painting, illustration, stationery, and lettering. Handmade paper can upgrade the starting point of your creative work, or you can use the techniques to create stand-alone works of art to display, gift, and share. The craft is relatively easy and accessible since all the essential tools and supplies needed can be DIY'd, recycled, and thrifted.

Dorothy Field is a visual artist who uses handmade paper for sculptural works and artists’ books.

Marieke de Hoop runs PapierLab in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She has been making and experimenting with paper for the past 40 years using traditional papermaking techniques. De Hoop works with other artists and makers to create unique, beautiful and sustainable papers and products.

Learn more on the episode page.

Therese Zemlin has worked in a range of media, including paper, welded steel, light, digital media, and natural materials. Her work ranges from small sculpture to installation and is inspired by elements and phenomena of the ever-changing natural world. She has exhibited her work nationally, and has received numerous grants, including a Southern Arts Federation/National Endowment for the Arts Regional Fellowship, and a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. After earning a BFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin, Zemlin taught Fibers and Sculpture at the University of South Carolina, Columbia; Appalachian State University in North Carolina; and Phillips Academy Andover. She currently divides her time between Saint Paul and the north woods of Minnesota.