The centuries old process of hand paper making has fascinated me since my first exposure to it. The process was originally an integral part of society, providing paper for writing and printing of information which was essential to the functioning of any developed society. Most early paper was of a light color to better present the work of calligraphers, artists and printers. I started working with
handmade paper over forty years ago after being introduced to the process by Kathryn Clark at Twinrocker Hand Paper making Mill. I have continued to explore and fine tune the medium in order create my Midwestern landscapes, My wife, Fran and I established a studio in a rehabilitated barn on our farm in the Wabash Valley in 1973. The farm and the surrounding landscape have become the major influence on my work as an artist. My interest in color and my early training as a graphic designer has given me the vision which allows me to stylize my paper making skills into the artwork you see in my shop. We normally think of watercolor, oil, or pencil as common mediums artists use to produce their work. I use the medium of pigmented cotton fibers suspended in water to produce my one of a kind handmade paper pieces. Hand papermaking, sometimes referred to as pulp painting, is a liquid medium which allows the me to manipulate a variety of possibilities such as: embedding flat items, embossing, contouring the edges of each piece to follow images such as clouds or water and land forms, and creating multiple color variations and gradations to name but a few. The finished paper piece always has a unique mat finish which would be difficult to achieve in other mediums. When viewing my work you need to remember that all of the color is the result of light fast pigments which have been added to the white cotton pulp while it is wet. These pieces are not pastels which is a common misconception because the papermaking medium is so unusual.
