How Papermaking Renewed my Passion for Photography
Last year, I hit a point of stagnation with my art. I felt stuck in the endless cycle of creating images that served to complete assignments, but did not reflect greater themes that spurred me to create. I had moved away from experimenting with analog and hybrid photography, leaving my film camera and rolls of film to collect dust in a corner. Thus, I decided to try something new.
One of the incentives of the curriculum at the School for the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) is that there are no medium-specific majors. Although I mainly take photography courses, where most of my interest and technique lie, there is nothing stopping me from taking metals, woodworking, or papermaking classes.
So I embarked on a journey with ‘Papermaking,’ taught by Milcah Bassel. Throughout the semester, I learned the pros and cons of forming sheets with different fibers, how to convert fibers into usable pulp, and spent many, many hours forming sheets in the studio. I got to meet a whole new set of peers, some mainly papermaking, others printmakers, others still painters and 3D artists. Furthermore, as a 2D artist, Milcah pushed me to experiment with the third dimension and to utilize the medium to its fullest.
Finally, for the final project, I internalized the critiques and skills I learned in my time in Papermaking to create a multimedia project that covers the mediums of photography, fibers, and papermaking. After several months, I once again felt inspired and proud of a project I was undertaking. After countless hours of research, online and hands-on, I was left with “A Walk Down Memory Lane.” This piece features 6 11x17 recycled cotton sheets stitched together with a needle and thread. On the paper itself, I cyanotyped six differing images showcasing my growth as a photographer over the years. Out of cardboard and crocheted wool, I constructed a spool, which–with the rest of the parts–fashioned a several-foot-long ‘film-strip.
Without the artistic freedom granted to me by SMFA, there are so many opportunities, techniques, and sources of inspiration that I would never have stumbled upon. Now, my work often includes a multi-media element, allowing me to keep my love for photography alive and learn new artistic mediums.