Handmade paper

This is a selection of my favorite pieces of art paper that I made in papermaking classes in college (around 1992). There's something wonderfully tactile and sensual about making paper by hand that I can't quite explain. Though it was possible for us to make paper to use for printing, and some of my classmates did, I preferred to experiment with using the paper itself as a medium, rather than just a vehicle.

This is a series of abstracts in which I explored negative space and playing foreground against a strong background.

abstract1.jpg (29.5KB)

abstract2.jpg (33.6KB)

abstract3.jpg (33.1KB)

abstract4.jpg (29.9KB)

abstract5.jpg (32.3KB)

Here is a small selection of papers I made just to experiment with creating combinations of colors and patterns which pleased me. The last one incorporates a fiber weaving.

artpaper1.jpg (46.0KB)

artpaper2.jpg (55.6KB)

artpaper3.jpg (51.7KB)

artpaper4.jpg (50.1KB)

artpaper5.jpg (50.8KB)

These next two are from a series of five works based on passages from Shakespeare. I don't think the other three are nearly as good, so I haven't put them up here, but I like these two a lot. The first is mixed media, using handmade paper, foam rubber, fabric, and acrylic paint. The figures in the second are painted in acrylic on handmade paper, while the background is entirely handmade.

"Out, damned spot!" (Macbeth) (35.3KB)

"What thou seest when thou dost wake/ Do it for thy true love take." (A Midsummer Night's Dream) (40.1KB)

All images on this page © 1992 by Laurie Beth Brunner.