Brit Micho, Curator of Exhibitions
Developed by Fiber Art Now magazine (est. 2011), Paper Made II is an international, juried exhibition of contemporary art created from paper, paper product, or using a papermaking process. This year marks the second iteration of this exhibition. Coming to FWMoA, this exhibition features 22 of the 40 juried artists whose works range from compelling two-dimensional works to large-scale, sculptural installations. These artists continue to show us what can be done creatively with paper, transforming this humble material into the realm of fine art.
Within this juried show are the works of artists Mari Jablonski and Meg Black—two artists whose attention to detail and technique take paper art to a whole new level.
Ring Story I is the first in Mari Jablonski’s ongoing series of tree ring themed works that repurposes discarded didactic materials from the National Park Service (NPS) to express humanity’s connection to our beautiful but fragile federally protected lands. This work is filled with a variety of texture and repetition of form, fashioned with vibrant colors that reference the hot springs of Yellowstone and the waters of New River Gorge National Park.
The use of the tree ring motif is to extend an idea of storytelling—that of perseverance and vulnerability—showing that growth happens despite good or bad conditions. These conditions can be natural or man-made, which is one aspect Jablonski highlights:
“Our relationship with [National Parks] is becoming one of dominance: once shaped solely by natural forces, today they are at the mercy of human politics, environmental law, recreation, and economy. Often without our knowledge, protections are lifted, millions of acres sold off for mining and drilling, funding cut, and research and monitoring largely terminated. The parks are in crisis, and I hope in some small way to help bring attention to them.”
One of the most eye-catching features of her work is the amount of detail and precision put into the piece. Upon close inspection, the materials used for its creation become apparent: discarded NPS publications such as maps and brochures, sustainably resourced papers like mulberry and lokta, seed beads, and skeleton leaves.
Jablonski shreds and cuts down NPS publications which are then reshaped through processes such as handspinning, rolling, or folding. In Ring Story I there are at least 9,300 individual pieces of folded or rolled paper!
The paper spinning process Jablonski employs originated in ancient Japan for spinning mulberry bark into a paper yarn strong enough for textile production. This means that all of the ‘thread’ strands you see are not yarn threads, but in fact either mulberry paper or NPS publications spun to resemble thread. The small rice-shaped ‘beads’ are also shreds of rolled paper that were made using a quilling tool and adhered together with glue.
The majority of the paper is folded using the modular “golden venture” technique, which was brought to the U.S. by undocumented Chinese immigrants. They used it to make beautiful sculptures (mostly bald eagles to symbolize freedom) while in immigration prison in York, Pa., where they waited years for asylum hearings. “Golden Venture” was the name of the ship they were smuggled here on, and today their folding technique is known worldwide by that name.
These laborious processes are part of the artistic intent behind Jablonski’s work, almost acting as a form of the art itself as this piece took 2 months to complete. She states that the rolling, spinning, and folding “…are slow, meditative acts of mending and reverence for me: the repetition, accumulation, and time involved seem to mimic growth in nature, but here my own hands get to take part and help me feel connected to these places.”
The other featured artwork and technique were created by Meg Black who calls herself a pulp-painter. Pulp-painting is a technique that Black has created using abaca paper, cotton paper, and pure pigments that allows her work to remain permanently vibrant and beautifully textured–it has never been done before!
Her process begins with beating the abaca paper, one of the strongest plant fibers in the world, in her hollander beater for at least 6 hours. The beater has a strong blade that breaks down the fibers on a molecular level–it opens up the cell walls and allows the nucleus to absorb the pure pigment added to the mix. Abaca, in this state, holds the lightfast color beautifully.
Once separated from the water, she applies the pigmented pulp to her base sheet with two simple tools: a turkey baster and a squeeze bottle. If she needs to create a new color, she blends the pulp in the palm of her hand which can sometimes result in a beautiful marbling effect. The abaca pulp at this point resembles a slick gel texture which is what allows her to achieve the details in her work. Texture is added to the painting with beaten cotton paper applied with spoons.
To finish the painting, the piece is, in a sense, vacuum sealed in order to remove the bulk of the water and condense the pulp together. Once the plastic is removed, the artwork is then placed under a wool blanket with weights placed over it. The weights keep the piece from warping, which is a constant problem during the 7-10 days it takes for the paper to dry.
Black’s innovative process is finalized once the pulp dries–as the oxygen evaporates from the pulp, the pigment hydrogen bonds together, allowing the color to remain as vibrant as the day it was made.
If you wish to see the innovative and visionary works of these artists, these Paper Made II works and more will be in the galleries until February 1st, 2026.