More losses: RIP Michael Bixler and Helmut Becker

Not long after I heard about losing Serge, I was stunned to hear about the passing of Michael Bixler. We only met once in2010, and while his work was centered in printing and type casting and design, my interaction with him was through his building of one of the first American hanji vats (made for Lynn Amlie when she taught at Wells—another RIP!!). I wish I knew where that vat was now. Here are very cursory bits of my passing interactions with him and Winnie, and his obituary.

I feel like I was still such a baby then, all of these images are from almost exactly 14 years ago.

Soon after that news, we lost an unparalleled papermaking giant, Helmut Becker. I failed to meet him in Canada over the last years of my research but always knew of him as a generous, community-minded paper person with a giant wealth of experience and information, especially around his deep research and practice with flax. I am in touch with his family to try and glean enough info to do him justice in my book, since he also made beaters in his wide-ranging career, but if you have any images or stories that you are willing to share, please let me know.