These photos show the finished installation “Healing the Earth – Nan Hua Prayer Flags” created during my two-week artist in residency at Nan Hua University, Chiayi County, Taiwan, March 15 – 28, 2014. The installation contains 250 handmade paper prayer flags, each a unique creation by the students and me during the residency project. The materials are all natural and biodegradable, and the installation will return to nature with no harm to the earth….in several weeks or months depending on the weather. I was pleased to learn that the flags are still looking good after a heavy rain and thunder storm over this past weekend. Handmade paper is amazingly strong and resilient, and these are still flying high with the good wishes of the participants at Nan Hua University. I will go back to Nan Hua University to give a lecture for their BioDiversity Day Celebration on May 24, so I will post again some updated photos of the installation in late May.
The photos in these posts are made by my husband Timothy S. Allen. For more photos by Tim check out his Blog at allentimphotos2.wordpress.com
Jane Ingram Allen Art Projects 
I enjoyed reading about your project and am looking forward to the photos of the flags after a couple of months exposed to the elements!
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Hello,
Thank you for looking at my Blog. We have had lots of rain since the installation of the handmade paper flags was completed! One of the students who has been there recently said a few of the flags have fallen to the ground and are biodegrading into the soil. This is what I thought would happen and the intent is to heal the earth and okay for the art to go with nature and change over time eventually disappearing as compost to nourish the earth. I will post more photos of the installation when I go there again in late May 2014 and maybe I can also get some photos sent to me for posting from some of the students or faculty on campus. We have had a 4-day holiday in Taiwan so no one has been on campus much for the fast few days. Thank you and best wishes,
Jane
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I’ve always been drawn to the transformative nature of papermaking and this project works with that characteristic in a very beautiful way. Thank you for sharing it! Was that pulp painting you were doing to put the different images on the flags?
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Hi, Sorry I have not had a chance to look at the comments here for a while. The images on the prayer flags were made with a stencil technique using a material called “buttercut” that adheres to the screen. Some were also done with pulp painting and by adding petals, leaves, thread, etc. between layers and doing Japanese style multiple dip papermaking. Some images and messages were also done on the 250 prayer flags with drawing, painting and collage after they were dry. Thanks for your nice comments, and transformation is definitely what I like also with my handmade paper installations.
Best wishes,
Jane
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Hi,
I heard from some of the students and faculty at Nan Hua University who said the handmade paper prayer flags installation still looks good. A few have been blown away or washed down from the heavy rains and winds that we have had in Taiwan in the last two weeks. I hope to go there on May 24 to see the installation again and get some more photos of the installation to post. Now I am going to another university in south Tainan to teach papermaking art to graduate art students for two weeks.
Thanks again for looking and your comments.
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