ART 324 | Fabrics: Papermaking

Papermaking was a course that fulfilled my Global Citizenship or Aesthetic Perspective, as well as counting towards my Art Education Concentration. Professor Cushman taught the class every Monday evening for three hours. The first half — two-thirds of the course was in person, while the end was virtual.

The Papermaker’s Companion by Helen Hiebert was our course textbook. It outlined everything we learned about in regards to the technical aspects of making paper. We also watched a few videos and read a few articles during the course to supplement the book.

Throughout the semester, we focused on learning how to make paper through various methods. We also had seven reflection essays to write, two ArtXposure papers to write (related to contemporary artists, typically visiting artists that would speak in our class or have their art up in the LCVA), an artist research project, and our final project.

By the end of the semester, we had created many sheets of paper, some as cards, others as envelopes, and a few left as regular sheets. Another assignment we had was a partner project, where we investigated a global issue and created an installation that reflected the issue. The installation was put up for a few weeks in Bedford. My partner and I created a piece that addressed the issue of deforestation and destruction of habitats.

Our final project included a PowerPoint with quite a bit of research and a cast paper piece that was wearable. I thoroughly enjoyed doing the research for my project. Through both actual books from the Greenwood Library and electronic articles from the internet, I researched traditional vaquero clothes. Our PowerPoint was meant to be used to present our research. I had a hard time keeping to the time limit when presenting, because I had found so much interesting information.

However, when it came to completing the pieces, I ran into some trouble. I was too ambitious and planned to create four different pieces: a sombrero, a sarape, chaps, and boots. Each piece was to be made from pulp, casting it to dry as a wearable piece of paper. I started out creating the sarape and was making good progress. However, the paper became too heavy and saturated from the water, despite my attempts to sponge out the water, and it almost completely fell apart. From there, things just kept getting worse. I was working for hours on end, just for the pieces to fall apart on me. It was too late for me to change the project, so I had to adapt and modify. In the end, I was able to complete the pieces, albeit differently than I had originally planned.

I included this project, because it was a learning experience for me. I had bitten off way more than I could chew, and I learned the hard way that I need to plan better before I get carried away. If I had had more time and resources, I may have been able to complete the piece how I originally imagined it; however, I did not take those factors into account when I was planning this piece. In the future, I know that I need to consider all aspects of a project before I start it.