Papermaking Gallery and Kodama

About

Paper is quietly magnificent and magical. It stands, intertwined within so many aspects of our lives. The connections are limitless and yet, barely noted. Paper carries function, purpose, clarity, our crafts, our art, our expressions, and our music; it holds our histories, our research, sciences, our interconnectedness; it unassumingly carries forward and protects our thoughts, gifts, belongings, hopes and really, anything considered.

I began my lifelong paper journey with a two-day course in western hand papermaking at Women's Studio Workshop, in Rosendale, New York. Following that, I worked as apprentice and then instructor at Magnolia Editions in Oakland, California, where it was my great honor to learn from and work with David Kimball and Donald Farnsworth, their customers, and the Magnolia Editions environment. I currently enjoy teaching hand papermaking at ASiF Studios, a fantastic art center and gallery in Grass Valley, California.

Hand papermaking has been an important part of my life alongside raising a family and embracing all of life’s adventures and challenges. I am grateful for available time in this paper studio to create for myself and to share these processes with my community.

Kodama

Tree spirits or deities exist in many cultures. Kodama is the Japanese term for these sacred protectors. When my children were young, we were introduced to this concept from the delightful animated film, My Neighbor Totoro. Hand papermakers source their cellulose fibers from various types of plants rather than whole trees. Kodama Papermaking became the name above our studio door and still resonates as we strive to continue to embrace reverence, protection, and sustainability in our relationship with nature and Mother Earth.