Dashing through states

Work, work, work. I got to test three different types of washi at Paper Connection to see which worked best as hanji substitutes for jiseung. SO NICE to have time to do this. Grateful for a wonderful post by Susan, who took my Boston class. Also for an article on me and the book.

Lauren said that this plant waited for me to flower! Such a sweet greeting. I had a great time in Providence and can't even remember all that I did since my last post, but my talk last night went well, I got to see an old friend from Korea days (she is even in one of the pictures of my book, guess where, in Chapter Two), and the bus to NYC was uneventful. Tomorrow, I climb onto yet another bus and head down to Johns Hopkins, then D.C., so I can get ready for the Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Fair in Silver Spring. I wish I could say it's going so fast I don't feel the exhaustion, but that's not true! The good news is that in my frantic unpacking/repacking this afternoon, I promised myself that I'd make some art in December. I don't make promises lightly.

Being provided for

[Joomchi] I really had no idea that my book tour would be so full, every minute. I have barely slept since I got up at 4:45am on Saturday morning to take the bus from NYC to Boston and teach. I was delighted to finally visit the Boston Paper Collective; great energy! Lots of goodies and equipment and sun. Melinda was a lovely host and I was so touched when I saw that Susan was one of my students (she's famous in the book arts world), as well as the wife of one of my Oberlin classmates! AND the administrator of one of my hanji classes last year. Zoe then came to whisk me away to her wonderful world, full of an outrageously wonderful potluck of acupuncture school classmates (they know how to cook and eat; it was like Thanksgiving times ten), audiobooks, dim sum, corn paper, a beautiful home in the trees, and such calm energy. She had very wise things to say about the different entry points for papermaking and why she was okay hosting me, a perfect stranger, because we were both papermakers. Turns out we are both snakes, too, of the same year.

[More joomchi] Then, Lauren came to whisk me away to the next adventure with Rona, who does beautiful Japanese calligraphy but is also a remarkable artist. Yet another beautiful, incredible home/studio. I feel so grateful to be able to walk into these strangers' homes and see the things they care about so clearly articulated in the way they choose what to live with. We poked around for a bit and then went out to eat dinner, and then came back for tea. SO MUCH to learn from these ladies! I suspected some similarities when I saw the way Rona lived and laid out her exquisite belongings, and was right: her birthday is one day away from mine, and she is also a snake (several decades older).

[Regina has a studio in the same building and went off to test her drop spindle on colored hanji. Works great!] Somehow, Lauren drove us back to Providence that night despite our mutual exhaustion. I get to stay here for a few more days until my Wed night talk in Pawtucket is over and I take the bus on Thurs back to NY (only to turn around on Fri and take the bus to Baltimore, then D.C.). Yet another home chock full of goodies. I have shifu behind me and paper curtains on the side and silk and baskets and bark and prints and fans and washi and and and and.

Maybe we got to bed at 2am, I don't know. I got up late and we slowly got to work so I could finally visit Paper Connection! It was fabulous. More paper, more goodies, more surprises, more delight. I met one of her employees, who ALSO has the same paper knife as I do. She is one of two other people I know in the world who have them for sure and cherishes it as much as I do. After a quick meal, we then entered the magical home of Jan and Mark. Mouth agape, again. Books, rocks, combs, furniture, textiles, gourds, WOW. She was so lovely and of tremendous kindness and hospitality. He named my knife and talked about similar metal equivalents to my corded paper bracelet. It really is such a privilege to be invited into these spaces and share tea. Lauren and I somehow made it to dinner and revived a bit over Cambodian soup before heading home for another night of exchange.


If I'm lucky, I'll get to bed at 1am. As Elizabeth says, let Providence provide for me!

The last drops

[I was using tiny offcuts, some only an inch long, to make this itty bitty basket. I get antsy about little bits left over, so I threw them together as best I could. When you have two millimeters at the end to grip (with needle-nose pliers), a rim finish becomes very un-suave. But it goes to show that you can still start without a knot, as evidenced from the bit of light coming through the center.] The bark for tomorrow's class in Boston is cooked and bagged, and not in the fridge (because the last time I did that, I forgot to take it the next morning). I was buoyed by a very kind blog post (it's almost embarrassing, because she was so kind) by Lauren of Paper Connection. They have been doing an incredible job promoting my talk on Wed, and I am excited to spend more time with her and her team in Providence.

Bottoms up

I went out in that squall last night to walk my book over to someone who has known me since I was 16. Though I went with all kinds of worries about my future, she reminded me that the space I need to make right now is for the book. This was a bit of a revelation to me (I have very bad amnesia, so no offense to those who have already told me the same thing), but became clearer this morning when I got an enthusiastic response from a stranger about my book. I realized that I don't have to blanket the world with the news all at once and that if I could let one new person every day know about it, that would be manageable.

I started to soak some paper mulberry bark for Saturday's class in Boston, and will get to packing now for that and my Providence event (actually, Pawtucket, but it's close enough). No more excuses, now that the storms and elections have passed!

Bright new week

I did my best to take the long weekend off, though now, it's hard to get back to work after a true break. I escaped to a part of NYC fairly unscathed by the storm (though I did see a tree that had almost flown away, the sidewalk at a steep angle from its norm) and celebrated birthdays with family. Now, I need to prepare for the brief fall leg of my book tour, even if my feet are groaning about more travel. Paper Connection has been a fantastic partner in helping me get the word out about my Boston and Rhode Island events. Thanks to the Watts Program at the John Carter Brown Library for doing such a nice blog post about the latter event.

This will all hopefully distract me from what looms tomorrow. This post about the newest Dead Feminists broadside, though, was a welcome addition to the crazy climate we now inhabit.

Mostly grateful

The rest, just weary. I'm almost done with the second wall of this basket but it's slow going. After walking around today, it seems things are still bad for most of the people who live here, three-quarters still being without power. Everything is upside down for now.

So a few little things: Helen has a wonderful DVD available on papermaking! (it's the studio guide on the left.) Also, I had been part of a book that Rachel pulled together, called Fifty Things. Heart warming, since it's so cold for so many right now!

Listless while listful

I was forced to take a break for the past couple of days once the storm took away our internet. I was amazed and saddened, too, by how dependent our lives are on this weird invention. Anyhow, while I am able to surf off of neighboring wifi, just coming out from under to say hello! I have had to go to a post office one town over because ours is still powerless, so the books are not getting out there as quickly as I'd like, but I have been learning a lot about things not going my way when the wind is having its way. I'm sad that the foliage was erased in a day, but glad that all I lost was screentime, not power or health or loved ones.

Strong waves

[The river has been choppy all day and LOTS of people have come by just to gawk and shoot pics.] The pile was finally replenished! Good, because I already had sold out last night and was worried I'd be stuck with no books to send out into the world. As soon as I uttered the worry words about it, bang, bang! Open the door to two boxes. Then later, bang, bang! And two more. There were supposed to be five in this shipment but this is a great start.

I ordered multi-d boxes and am so excited to get them BUT of course they don't ship on rainy days. So who knows when I will get them. In the meantime, I'll work by candlelight to build the ones for orders I have waiting right now. J/k, we still have electricity! But the internet is out (I'm on someone else's wifi), and along with that, a few other things. Things are really crazy when I don't have time to cut my own nails because I hate the feeling, having been a violinist. This happened in Cleveland for the first time ever, and is happening again now. Now that I'm finally trimmed, I feel less cranky when typing. But I'll still walk away now to make boxes.

Also, thanks to those who are sharing the news: London Korean Links and Hanji Happenings!

A few more hugs

Ominous weather aside, I rushed into town to see Rie Hachiyanagi's installation at Tenri on its last day so I could meet with her. I caught her right before she left Cleveland last week but was excited that I could actually see her work in person for once and talk more about her process, documentation, ability to do and learn anything (this included building scaffolding to install this show!), and performance work. We shared some hilarious stories over tea and I appreciated how articulate she was about everything she does.

[The main gallery houses the abaca and roving but the front of the installation is all plexi, thread, and monofilament. You can barely make out the rectangular shapes in the window space.] Once I got back home, I got to rush out again to see an old friend who is briefly in town for family/work. Eric and I walked to a cafe run by our old classmate and did some much-needed catching up. I don't remember the last time we saw each other in person since he lives in Chicago and I haven't been forEVER. It meant a lot to me that he walked away with one of my books. It was also great to spend most of the day not tearing my hair out with marketing my book and my upcoming events. I love new and old friends!

Pining for last week

I don't know how to attribute all of these photos but figured I'd flesh out what I had left on my camera because last week was so much more fun than this week. This is Karla Elling and her hat!

This is the one image I can't attribute and I'm embarrassed but the scarf was too lovely and delicate not to show. Share if you can identify the artist!

 Elise Kloppers.

 Marjorie Tomchuk, in a blur.

 The rest of Erica's fabulous outfit.

 Jocelyn Chateauvert, and I think the dress involved lots of walnut dye but I could have heard wrong.

Marilyn Wold (at left) designed three pieces but only two are in the photo (I was too close to the front to get them all at once). She is very kind and gentle and sold me a lovely sugeta last year when I was quite depressed (which didn't change the depression, but I'm glad it passed and I still have the sugeta).

Oh, and the FDH blog has announcements from me plus a shot of my demo in Cleveland. Fun stuff. Plus Melissa shared her take of the marvelous gathering of huggers here.

The load grows

[Gold: paper from the conference live auction; spirals from Velma, as well as the ecoprinted bag!] Now that the book is on sale, I have run out of excuses to not get onto social media (not really; I still hope I can avoid it though I know I'm deluding myself), send press releases, and cut a book trailer. But what feels more pressing are applications for the near and far future, to reach toward an always shifting life. And those require enormous sucks of time, energy, and faith. Plus, I am preparing for spring and summer teaching gigs, which would be easy if I taught the same thing each time, but I want to try new things. If I'm lucky, I'll finish one big packet of teaching materials, an interview for my book, and more application revisions by the end of the night. If not, then I start all over tomorrow (and fondle paper still strewn all over the floor, post conference, in between tasks).

The book has arrived

I didn't think it would happen this quickly, but my book is finally available for sale! If you go here and then click through on the bottom, you can order online (either order as a person with a credit card, or choose the other link if you are ordering for a library, retailer, wholesaler, etc.).

Back to the recap:

Andrea is on the very left, keeping the runway line in the wings in order. Karla Elling's hat is entirely too fabulous, and made of lots of prickly pear skeletons (which I prefer infinitely over chicken wire).

Zulay with paper hat and scarf.

Danielle modeling for the Korean designers.

TOM! Going from a hat by Mike McLaughlin to a hat by Asao.

Bill in a war protest vest.

Asao trying to add commentary: his entire outfit is made from shifu (from hanji, I think, but can't remember exactly) but he had bought a scarf from a Korean designer that was part hanji and part silk. I was amazed, actually, to hear how much hanji in general was used as I listened to the descriptions during the whole runway show. Gratified, too.

Gibby and her outfit made entirely of paper, including the shoes!

Betsy and her book necklace.

Mimi in a paper hat and ecoprinted outfit. I was amazed to meet her because she works so hard but is so tiny! It was fun in general to meet people whose faces I had completely made up and constructed in my head for all these years. I am still recovering from conference and wondering how it will all ripple into my life.

Home, somehow

My publisher sold so many books that I only had 14 to take home (they don't even fit this box. It's padded and includes two copies of the book in sheets). It's now a published title!

Luckily, Julie helped me find a fabulous model for my dress so I didn't have to suffer through the runway show myself. Abbey is an intern at the Morgan and was an enormous help (plus, infectiously high-spirited).

Julie with Lauren, who is modeling Susan Kelley's dress. Julie made her own coat, and the colors are from indigo and persimmon dye. She used joomchi techniques to felt the blue to the base sheet under. She was also a total lifesaver this week, always in such a positive mood, a tireless worker bee for the Morgan (she's on their advisory board), and a hell of a lot of fun to be around.

This is another gorgeous creation by Julie, modeled by Mason's fiance, Kate (he is next to her, another enormous asset to the Morgan). I was telling Julie how incredible this garment was but she credits a lot of the oomph factor to beautiful Kate.

Abbey and Junia, who bought this hanji scarf on the first night of the trade fair; she looked fabulous in it and even performed later in the evening in a surprise song!

Erica made and modeled this fabulous dress. She is one of the many people I was so excited to meet in person, for the first time, after being in books and shows together and only knowing the name.

Tom in his tyvek jumpsuit, plus various other paper accessories (aside from the frog necklace, which is a real frog puffed up and complete with a zipper to make a little purse).

Kerri was behind these temporary tattoos that stand for Dard Hunter. I was so happy to see her again after years--she was the model of the ideal student, artist, and teacher when I first started grad school.

Abbey and Steph, who is modeling a Korean design by In Mi-ae. I had met Steph in Oakland when I was teaching at Mills and have advised her on grad school options, being a book artist, and doing research as a Korean American in Korea. It was great to see her so happy as a new MFA student in the Iowa program.

Seeing Sandy throughout the conference made me so happy. She's so warm and friendly and I love that she modeled a bag, complete with classy black gloves!

Kate in Julie's dress. Susan MC'ed the runway event, and the cardboard cutout looked on until auctioned off. I'll continue later with more images; that conference was SO packed that it's a miracle I ever made it home last night. Horrid traffic into NY added 2 hours to the drive, and I had to pull over for two naps, so I was in the car for almost 12 hours (that includes backtracking to the hotel in the morning after leaving my camera that night in a hurry--I felt like I had holes in my head the entire time from an average of 5 hours of sleep each night, a bit of a commute, and multiple responsibilities). But I'm in recovery now, heating up soup, and enjoying all of the goodies I brought home.