Craft Behind the Beautiful Paper Forms of Peter Gentenaar

Peter Gentenaar is a papermaker from the Netherlands. I am mesmerized by his winged like paper forms seem to soar into space. Interestingly enough he also creates the same sort of works in metal which seems a paradox to me. Below are some of his images and thoughts about his work, in his own words:

DIALOGUE: Esther Marion.....

Esther Marion in her youth....

One day, I was talking to my husband (deceased) about my maternal grandmother Esther Marion Baxter-Webster. His reaction at hearing her story for the first time made me realize that I have probably  never shared this particular information about her with anyone outside my immediate maternal family; and that, her narrative needs be told and even explored as content for my work.

Through The Lens Darkly.....

Poster photo for Through the Lens Darkly by Lyle Ashton Harris (in collaboration with Thomas Allen Harris)

This morning I am in awe.

I had to watch it in pieces. So much to absorb. Finally the much anticipated PBS airing of Through the Lens Darkly was shown this week. I could not even finish watching before scrambling to Amazon to purchase for my collection.

For two years or more, since I first heard of the project, I have been waiting. Missing all the advance screenings, I could only view posted comments with envy. I knew it was going to be something. Knew it. And it did not disappoint on any level. As an artist,  as a woman of color, as a sometimes would be photo documentarian, I am still quaking in my soul.

ROADTRIP :: NYC 2 MUSEUMS 3 EXHIBITIONS 1 Amazing Day....

 

Catalog for the show 

PART I :: THE AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM:
Today was the last day of my spring break, and I was determined spend at least one day this week doing something special for myself. WOW! What a day it turned out to be... We originally traveled to NYC just to see the Folk Couture Show at the American Folk Art Museum. The museum allowed several selected clothing designers to look through their collections to find work that they could use to inspire the making of a garment. The premise of the show:

PROCESS: Recycled Pleasures...

LEAH MILES...

is a paper artist who uses an innovative hand-making process that transforms recycled paper into wearable pieces. Her work draws inspirations from the surrounding Cornish (England) landscape, and an ethical attitude in use of material and process. The result is a beautiful collection of contemporary jewelry reminiscent of rock strata and sea-washed wood... Her pieces are beautiful, and touch something in me that wants to make use of the thousands of pieces of junk mail that haul out to the curb on a bi-weekly bases.

INSPIRATION: Papermaker Gill Wilson

Gill Wilson's work with natural fibers and patterns..

KINDRED SPIRIT::
Yesterday, I was taking a break from prep work for my fall classes at Bloomfield College (beginning next week), when I came across the work of papermaker Gill Wilson. ...From the UK, I think, she originally studied paper making in Japan. For the past couple of years she has been creating work for clients in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Greece, the Middle East and Japan...

KINDRED SPIRIT: Takahiko Hayashi

The Nest of Invocation 42x27.5cm - paper making, painting, collage 林孝彦　2012

Jiyoung Chung:The Healing Holes of JOOMCHI Paper

Air, Wearable Joomchi paper

Paper Artist: SHIOYASU Tomoko...

"Water Fall" 2007/paper / h660×w300×d90(cm), Shioyasu Tomoko

Came across this amazing paper artist this morning, Shioyasu Tomoko working in Japan.... There is something about the scale and delicate intricate nature of her work the arrest me. We are kindred spirits of a sort.

"Water Fall" another view...

She expresses her take on enormous energy of the nature by sprawling and precise handwork. Her techniques include: cutting paper with a knife, melting layered synthetic paper with soldering iron and drawing on a synthetic paper which repels water.

See more of Shioyasu work and that of other innovative Japanese artists at the ART COURT GALLERY.  

Also, are you a paper lover? As a member of both national and international paper-making communities, I am excited to share with all my friends a wonderful joint conference opportunity. This coming October 17 - 20, 2012, the Friends of Dard Hunter (FDH) and The International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists (IAPMA), will join together in Cleveland, Ohio for a 5-day international conference hosted by The Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory and Education Foundation.

This will be a truly unique experience with workshops, demonstrations, exhibits, and events all centered around hand made paper and paper artists from around the world. FDH meets annually somewhere around the continental US. This however is only the second time since I have been making paper that IAPMA has met in North America, as their conference moves around internationally through Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. You can imagine the wealth of diverse work and products that will be represented at a joint conference between the two organizations that boast close to 1,000 members between them. If you are interested in going, please CLICK HERE for registration details.

Keepsakes from former years...

Each year FDH papermakers  create a keepsake portfolio to share techniques. To participate (receive a keepsake) you simply have to create sample sheets for the packets or be an attendant at the conference. This summer I will be busy making miniature snowflakes for the keepsake -- and counting the hours until the conference starts...  Hope to see you there! In fact please contact me if you are planning to go or want more details about past conferences.

Looking forward to experiencing paper makers like Shioyasu, who have found their own unique voice using this very diverse medium.

In the meantime, where ever your feet land....
HAPPY SUMMER! ♥ ♥ ♥

Ultimate Recycle....

El Anatsui (born 1944), is a Ghanaian sculptor active for much of his career in Nigeria. My new inspiration. He creates these amazing wall sculptures with discarded liquor bottle tops... Love the way they drape the wall.... There is some sort of dialogue here that really intrigues me, as I am thinking about how to suspend the giant snow flakes I am pouring in pulp and silk thread brought back from Turkey...

New Inspiration: STUDIO JENS PRAET

Established in 2007, studio Jens Praet is a design studio based in Panzano in Chianti, a small town near Firenze, Italy, run by Belgian designer Jens Praet. Jen's takes recycled paper to a entire new level...

I AM.....

CLICK HERE to see YouTube trailer

I can not wait for this documentary to come to my city. OMG! The things that Tom Shadyac said, how they resonated in my soul... My goodness. His interview on Oprah's show yesterday was amazing!

I Am 2011- Click link  to sign up when DVD is available on Amazon.
Read more about the Documentary HERE.

RALPH & ROSALIND ON LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY!

Visions of Textiles Dancing in My Head...

Leonore Tawney
The Bride Has Entered, 1982
Art Institute of Chicago

The Personalities of Hands...

About five years ago now, as I was struggling between continuing to work full time or give more time to my art. My dear friend Janet Taylor Pickett introduced me to photographer Bill Westheimer. I remember the day I visited his studio in the gorgeous carriage house of a mansion no longer standing in Llewellyn Park, West Orange, New Jersey. He was busy collecting images of the hands of people that use them for work (which I guess we all do in one way or another).... After he photographed my hand, he ask me to write a statement about what working with my hands means to me...

PROCESS: Collage for the Soul...

 ...Have been teaching collage workshop classes for two weeks now, at Bloomfield College and the Montclair Art Museum... Deeper I head into the subject, the deeper my own personal exploration with papermaking and the possibility of combining the two mediums becomes.

Photographer: FRANK JACKSON

...The Bible says there is a season for everything under the sun. Contemporary idiom says that people come into your life for reasons and seasons.... If that's so then I am very glad to have found the work of Frank Jackson again after all these years.

Hunt Slonem...

...Mentors don't necessarily have to be people you know, nor even people who are alive for that matter. This morning I was blog surfing and came across Sophie Munn's article about Hunt Slonem... I have loved his work for years, I have to admit, without having any idea who he is. The above painting baring proof. Completed in 2008, it's called "Homage" which is a nod to both Matisse and Slonem (note the birds behind the figure' right shoulder).... So Sophie's post made me dig a bit. What is it about Slonem's work that touches me so deeply?...

THE GOLDEN THREAD

I grew up watching my Grandmother recycle – everything! Nothing in our house was ever wasted...

POWER OF THE FOLD...

Last week I finally got to see "  Between the Folds"   shown on Independent Lens (PBS). Much more that I could have ever imagined, Between the Folds chronicles the stories of ten fine artists and theoretical scientists who have abandoned careers and scoffed at hard–earned graduate degrees—all to forge unconventional lives as modern–day paperfolders."