Artist: Handmade Paper, Paper Mosaics, Mixed Media, Surface Design

Handmade Paper Art Pieces: Typically I begin by mentally constructing each piece. I’ll dwell on this quite awhile because I am truly “building” on canvas or board with my own 100% cotton, highly textured handmade paper. Using these textures mean that I must try to predict most aspects of the final painted piece. This is exciting but also difficult. Changing the direction of the piece once I begin the final step of painting the handmade paper with acrylic paints, bitumen and other painting mediums is not easily forgiven.

Paper Mosaic Home Decor: I am motivated first by color. Texture is a close second. After years of making large sheets of paste papers and exploring a huge number of surface design techniques, even the tiniest scraps started to look appealing. I began incorporating paper mosaics into artwork and then into functional pieces that can help accessorize a home in a variety of bright, wonderful colors.

Instruction: I teach papermaking, paste painting, and paper mosaic classes for all ages at the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, Sievers School of Fiber Arts and other locations. I encourage all my students to keep their eyes open for things that will make great marks in wet pulp or on a painted surface. Part of the fun of creating is the hunt for objects that have multiple purposes. Simply put, I believe that artists can see the “usual” unusually.

Professional Affiliations: Administrative Director at the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI. President of The Handmade Paper Guild, Vice President of Signature Artists Cooperative.