Exploring Paper Materiality: A Papermaking Portfolio Exchange | Kozo fiber paper with various inclusions in a handmade kozo paper portfolio | 13” x10” x 0.625” | 2025
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Paper is an integral part of my process. Through this project, I explored the possibilities of this invaluable material in a form of collaborative material gathering. This piece invited six people in my life who wanted to explore materiality through paper making. I asked each to gather something they were curious about being made into paper and why. From those materials, I created paper in a portfolio exchange. Each collaborator was gifted a handmade paper portfolio that contains their paper and the paper of the other collaborators.
For each paper, I tried to respond to the materials and statements in ways that honored the submissions. This included how I processed the collected materials, if I dyed the paper, and the thickness of the paper. The papers are solely or primarily composed of kozo fiber but some of the papers contain flax fiber. In the video listed order, the material inclusions in the paper are apologies; metal scraps and patterns; leaves and cinnamon; hi chew, candy wrappers, and petals; puppy-destroyed-book covers; philosophy papers; and gingko leaves.
