Book Arts Statement

I’m a hand papermaker specializing in unconventional, sculptural books. 

My work is generally intimately autobiographical. Although my work may seem like an exercise in self-indulgence, I’d counter that notion by suggesting it addresses fundamental human experiences (like guilt, shame, fear, love, loss, and hope) and resonates with others on a deeply emotional level. Upon exhibiting my work, I often provide extended copy. When people read about the inspiration behind the work, they confess they’ve had similar experiences. I’ve seen people respond to my books with laughter and tears.

I use unorthodox materials that support my stories. For example, tomato paste, fish skin, clothing of the departed, or human hair may be integrated into my sculptural objects if they support the story behind the work, regardless of their archival properties.

I’m an advocate of old-world techniques. I use a Hollander beater to process most of my fibers, but I beat Asian fibers by hand. I strenghten my paper using a 14^th-century Italian sizing technique with hot gelatin. Sometimes I embellish the paper with ink made from berries and nuts. I employ several binding techniques, but my favorite is the Coptic stitch, which is often executed with four to eight curved needles.

Although I know how to letterpress, I most often produce the copy for my books with a typewriter. I find the chatter of the mechanics and the bell’s dinging to be a most satisfying sensory experience. 

Whatever the inspiration, my books begin with handmade paper and end with a carefully crafted and unique object that I hope will be cherished by others for generations.

Paper Garment Statement

When I was a little girl, my father told me that eating tomatoes would make me “big, strong, and hairy-chested.” I avoided eating tomatoes for twenty years.

As a rule, my sculptural work is inspired by childhood myths or adult anxieties regarding my body. Like my childhood association between the consumption of tomatoes and the growth of chest hair, I sometimes find body stories or body experiences to be simultaneously comical and horrifying. It is often these extremes in emotional reactions that drive me to produce the work, to better comprehend each situation.

Recently, the parameters of my work have expanded to include the well-being of loved ones. Coping with familial illness and motherhood has altered my outlook on the world and my responsibilities in life.

I use clothing as subject matter because it provides me with a ground on which to investigate identity and corporeality. My garments are metaphors. They can encompass narrative qualities, illustrate and dissolve bodily fears, or act as talismanic devices.

In addition to utilizing handmade paper, I often incorporate non-archival media into my work. I derive great joy from transforming everyday materials into something personal, meaningful, and beautiful. When I see tomato paste, dog hair, sausage casings, spent tea bags, or dried fish skins, I envision a work that may be transitory in nature, but rich in surfaces.