Paper Geek

My definition of a paper geek is a person who loves the feel, sound, smell and the look of paper. These people also love to cut, glue, tear, fold, stack, paint, wrinkle, stamp, pierce, punch, embellish, sort and otherwise interact with paper. In my artists' books, I use the papers I have made and/or embellished exclusively in my work. I don't buy ready-made artists' papers. I like the challenge of making my own. These unique materials afford me the freedom to make works of art that reflect my own hand. I make papers from scratch, using cotton and plant materials. I marble drawing papers using acrylics. I embellish brown kraft paper with ink, paint, crayons, colored pencils and even images I have carved on rubber to make my own stamps. I have frequently experienced people's eyes glazing over when I talk about my passion for paper or when I attempt to explain what the book arts are. Even fellow artists may not be familiar with artists' books. So if you're a paper geek or a book arts geek (and you know who you are!) I hope you'll join me on this journey to explore this facinating part of the art world. I'll do my best to find other artists and their work, in addition to chronicling my own process of making interactive, kinetic and surprising books, boxes and, of course, paper.