01 Saturday Jul 2023
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FiberArt Now‘s Summer 2023 edition is out July 1, 2023, with my article “Papermaking Around the World.” Scroll down at this link to see an image and summary of the article.
28 Sunday May 2023
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My art installation “Living Quilt for Santa Rosa” is blooming again for the 4th season, 5 years after the devastating Tubbs wildfire swept through this area in Santa Rosa, CA. It is great to see the golden poppies and blue bachelor buttons blooming at the same time when this photo was taken on May 27, 2023. The white alyssum flowers have already bloomed earlier in the Spring this year. The handmade paper quilt was made with dyed handmade paper pulp containing seeds for wildflowers in the same colors and pattern. The quilt pattern used was a traditional one called “Flying Geese” and the geese were in blue pulp with seeds for bachelor buttons and the white background had seeds for alyssum flowers. The borders for this strip quilt were made with paper pulp dyed the bright yellow-orange of California poppies and had seeds for poppies in the pulp.
This artwork was installed on Nov. 29, 2018, the year after the devastating wildfire (Tubbs Fire) that severely affected the Fountain Grove area as well as other parts of Santa Rosa, California. This artwork was done with the support of a grant from the City of Santa Rosa that asked artists to respond to the fire. I created “Living Quilt for Santa Rosa” with community participation and installed it at Rincon Ridge Park, Rincon Ridge Drive and Fountaingrove Parkway in northeast Santa Rosa, CA. When we installed this work and made the headboard and footboard with volunteers, we were all wearing masks due to the smoke still in the air and the polluted soil. There was also not any water in the park since the underground pipes had all melted with the heat of the wildfires that moved through this area. You can see the skeletons of burned trees and almost no houses still standing in the 2018 photo. In the 2023 photo there are many new houses that have been rebuilt on the hill behind the installation, and many bushes and trees are green again since water pipes have been replaced, and this year there has been lots of rain in California. The headboard for the “bed” fell down and was recycled into the earth after about three years, and the footboard is also starting to decompose and leaning heavily. The flowers continue to reseed and come back each year as the “living quilt” lives on.
These photos were taken by my husband Timothy S. Allen, and it is great to be able to continue documenting my art installation as it changes over time.
21 Friday Apr 2023
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Jane was invited by Helen Hiebert, artist, author, teacher and papermaker, to appear on her monthly podcast called “Paper Talk”. Jane is the featured artist for April 2023. You can listen to the Podcast at this link: https://helenhiebertstudio.com/podcast/episode-106-jane-ingram-allen/
Here is an excerpt from the Notes that accompany the podcast with some images of Jane’s work:
Jane Ingram Allen is a sculptor and installation artist who uses hand papermaking with natural materials and collaborative processes to create indoor and outdoor artworks that raise public awareness about environmental issues. Jane has received numerous awards for residencies and community public art projects in the USA, the Philippines, Japan, Nepal, Brazil, China, Tanzania, Taiwan, Turkey, Indonesia and other countries. She was a Fulbright Scholar artist-in-residence in Taiwan in 2004 and 2005 and a Fulbright Specialist in Turkey in 2015. Jane is a former college art instructor and currently teaches workshops and writes about art for SCULPTURE and other art magazines as well as doing independent curating. She was born and raised in Alabama and has lived in 7 different states and in Taiwan for 8 years. Since 2012 she has been based in Santa Rosa, CA, and continues showing her work in the US and internationally.
We talked about how she got into environmental art, which is so well suited for handmade paper. And we discussed several of her environmental installations.
Allen works often with seeds and paper, and her first project with seeds in the pulp was titled Earth Quilt, created in 1995 (the 25th anniversary of Earth Day). You can see the progression of Allen’s work with students installing the piece on Earth Day 1995 at SUNY Morrisville in Morrisville, NY; the wildflowers starting to come up; and the field in full bloom several months after the quilt was planted.
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Happy Earth Day 2023!
09 Sunday Apr 2023
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Jane Ingram Allen has been invited by curator Maureen McNeil to show her work in the exhibition “Focus on the Flatfiles – the View from Red Hook” at Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, NY. The show opens on April 15 and continues through May 28, 2023. Jane’s work featured in the show is titled “Red Hook Site Map”, acrylic and collage on artist-made handmade paper created with materials collected in Red Hook during her 2003 residency at Kentler International Drawing Space. For more information: https://www.kentlergallery.org/Detail/exhibitions/544
Jane has been invited to have a solo exhibition at Mountain View Performing Arts Center, Mountain View, CA, titled “Papermaking Around the World” that will feature a selection of handmade paper and mixed-media works Jane has created at artist in residency projects in over 15 different international countries as well as in the US. The show will open August 15, 2023 and continue through October 2, 2023. This exhibition is in the lobby of the historic performing arts center in downtown Mountain View. For more information: https://www.mountainview.gov/depts/cs/mvcpa/subsite/events/visual_arts.asp
Jane Ingram Allen and Jami Taback have been invited to exhibit their collaborative project “In Deep Water” in Taiwan at the Live Forever Foundation Gallery, Taichung, Taiwan, from Dec. 2, 2023 to March 2, 2024. Jane and Jami will go to Taiwan in late November to do the site specific installation of this large scale multi-part work about water and climate change using hand papermaking and printmaking. The artists will also give gallery talks and a hands-on workshop in Taichung, Taiwan, at the Foundation’s Vital Space Gallery. The exhibition is being curated by Iris Hung and will be in the Foundation’s large and beautiful light filled gallery with 20 foot high ceilings. The artists will make a site-specific installation of their work in Taiwan using approximately 35 panels suspended from the ceiling in the space so that viewers can feel immersed in the installation.
23 Thursday Mar 2023
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Jane Ingram Allen just received an Educator Grant from the Surface Design Association (https://www.surfacedesign.org) to help with equipment for teaching workshops in papermaking art, and in particular to make a large size papermaking mold and deckle for teaching her workshops at Sitka Center for Art & Ecology August 5-6, 2023, in Oregon. The papermaking equipment will be constructed by Jane to fit into a normal car so she can use it for other workshops teaching how to make really BIG handmade paper. For more information about Jane’s papermaking art workshops: https://jiaclasses.wordpress.com
Here’s the Updated Schedule for Spring and Summer Papermaking Workshops
Saturday, April 1, 10 am to 4 pm – Open Papermaking Workshop – Class Fee: $160 (includes materials and use of equipment)
Description: This workshop could be an introduction to hand papermaking for some, but I decided to make it an Open Workshop so that each participant can focus on whatever aspect of papermaking they are really interested in. I will work with each participant to help them individually on specific aspects of papermaking art. The emphasis will be on creative use of local supplies and improvising to find what you need and create the paper you want for art and other uses. Participants will come away with many new ideas about handmade paper as well as an array of handmade papers in natural and dyed colors that can be used for drawing, painting, collage, printmaking, sculpture, mixed media and fiber works. Papermaking is an exciting way of using natural plant fibers and combines well with many other techniques. This workshop is for beginners and experienced papermakers who want to learn more about making handmade paper.
Saturday, May 6, 10 am – 4 pm – Sculptural Hand Papermaking – Class Fee: $160 (includes most materials and use of equipment)
Description: This workshop will expand your papermaking into three dimensions by introducing various ways to make handmade paper sculptural forms, including use of molds, drying on 3-D surfaces, construction techniques, modeling with pulp and using armatures. Participants will create small sculptural works and come away with many new ideas for handmade paper sculpture and can continue using handmade paper to create sculptures and installation art. This workshop is for beginning and experienced papermakers and will stretch your imagination and skills into the 3rd dimension and beyond.
Saturday, June 3, 10am – 4 pm – EXTREME Papermaking – Class Fee – $160 (includes materials and use of equipment)
Description: In this workshop we will do some indoor and outdoor EXTREME and Experimental Papermaking using a variety of pulps such as kozo (paper mulberry bark), cotton blue jeans, sisal, flax and abaca as well as at least one plant fiber gathered locally. We will do such things as make really big paper using pouring methods, make really thin but strong paper using Japanese techniques, make thick sculptural cast paper, burn handmade paper using a flame retardant, make holes, tear and shred paper, make paper that moves and produces sounds and blend some strange and exotic pulps for special effects. Come prepared for some extreme experimental papermaking to produce unique handmade paper for artwork of all kinds. This workshop is suitable for beginning and experienced papermakers and promises to challenge you to stretch and expand your ideas about papermaking.
Additional Spring & Summer Workshops in other places:
Papermaking from Scratch using local plant fibers, at Fibershed Learning Center, Pt. Reyes Station, CA,
2-day workshop: Saturday & Sunday, March 11 & 12, 10 am to 4 pm each day.
eventbrite.com/e/473025982447 or contact Fibershed Learning Center at learningcenter@fibershed.org – Cost $320 (includes supplies).
Note: This workshop was great in spite of the two days of rain, and we made handmade paper from 7 different local plants!
EXTREME Papermaking, at Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, Otis, Oregon, 2-day workshop: Saturday & Sunday, August 5 & 6, 9am – 4pm each day. Register at http://www.sitkacenter.org/workshops – Cost $240 (includes supplies).
To register for a Workshop: Send check for class fee by mail to Jane Ingram Allen, 5017 Maiden Lane, Santa Rosa, CA, or pay with PayPal using a credit card at www.paypal.com. Click on Send Payment and send class fee to info@janeingramallen.com I will contact you by email when I receive your registration. Classes are filling up fast and enrollment is limited to no more than 5 people in each workshop.
Hope to see you in an upcoming workshop! Would love to hear from you, and thanks for your interest in my work. See more of my work on my site at https://janeingramallen.wordpress.com and my older work at www.janeingramallen.com
18 Saturday Feb 2023
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Boruca tribe of Costa Rica, Costa Rica, handmade paper, Le Diamante Vert, Marie M'Ayala Saurat, plants for papermaking, Uvita
I just returned from spending 6 weeks in Uvita, Costa Rica, for an artist in residency project at Le Diamonde Vert, home of French choreographer/dancer Marie M’Alaya Saurat. My husband Tim and I are happy to be home, but it does seem cold here in Northern California compared to the hot humid weather in Uvita. I am compiling my research on the papermaking and the local plants I used in Costa Rica and finishing up a few works I started there duringthe last week or so. We spent a couple of days in San Jose, Costa Rica, before our flight home, and it was great to have luxurious warm showers, a huge bedroom, nice restaurants and a beautiful pool on the premises.
During the residence in Uvita I made paper from 6 plants: Plantain Leaves (Musa x paradisia), Shell Ginger Leaves ( Alpine zerumbet), Corn Husks (Mais), Leaves of a Roadside Grass (Papsalum saccharoides), Red Hibiscus Bark (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) and Black Mulberry Bark (Morus nigra). I think those are the correct scientific names, but it was really difficult during this residency to find anyone who knew about the local plants. Marie had one book on Plants of Costa Rica that was very helpful.
During this residency I also used some kozo, abaca and blue jean pulp that I had brought with me in the suitcase, and I enjoyed combining the local fibers and this added pulp that I could process by hand and with the kitchen blender I also brought with me. I used a modified Japanese papermaking technique with formation aid and multiple dips into the vat, forming thin but still strong handmade paper. I enjoyed using the blue color from the blue jean pulp as well as the natural colors of the various plant fibers. The light in Costa Rica is terrific, and I experimented with making holes in the paper and joining the pieces of handmade paper with natural threads so that they move easily for dance and also are easier to fold and transport after the residency.
I also put together some artworks with the handmade paper of Costa Rica that I could bring back with me to show in California and other places. Here are some photos showing how I shaped and joined single sheets to make long suspended panels to take advantage of light coming through the handmade paper. I will continue working on this “made in Costa Rica” series of works and also doing some writing and interviews about my residency in Costa Rica.
During the last few weeks in Costa Rica, my husband Tim and I also took a few excursions. One trip was to a nature preserve near Uvita that is up in the mountains where we could see different birds and different plants early one morning, and we also took an early morning trip to the national park beach area to see shore birds and animals…they said there were crocodiles and howling monkeys but we did not see any! We also took a one day trip about 2 hours away to Boruca village to see natural dyeing and weaving of the indigenous Boruca tribe of Costa Rica. That was an exciting journey over winding dirt roads, and we had lunch with Marina, a Boruca woman who is the expert and teacher of weaving, spinning and natural dyeing. We saw demonstrations of the natural dyeing to get an incredible variety of really bright colors on the cotton yarn that Marina also showed how to hand spin. The plants used in natural dyeing were all growing around her house so I was able to collect some samples and maybe can find out more about these plants. The weaving that Marina demonstrated is using a back strap loom with thread heddles and produces thick cloth for bags and straps that is sold in the village and at local markets. We encountered the Boruca tribal crafts first at the Uvita Farmer’s Market where they were selling their carved and brightly painted wooden masks, gourd art and the natural dyed hand woven bags and straps.
During the last week Marie and I worked together more to create a collaborative dance performance piece that will make use of some of my handmade paper and thread constructions at a performance art festival in May in Havana, Cuba. Marie will take the handmade paper and thread constructions I made folded up in her suitcase for the festival in Cuba. Here are a few photos showing the collaboration and creative process of working with a dancer to create a collaborative work about water and rivers. It was the first time I actually made my art for dance, as other earlier collaborations with choreographers were from them seeing an installation I had already done and then creating dance to go with it. I will post more here about the “way of water” festival in Cuba and hopefully get some good video from Marie of the performance in Havana.
Overall, this residency was a great chance to see Costa Rica, use new plants for papermaking and experience a different culture as well as collaborate with a dancer/choreographer to make new work. It was a difficult residency in that Marie’s place is not set up for anything but dance. There is a large wooden dance porch area, but there is no space for a visual artist. Our bedroom was very small and upstairs with no access to water. I did all my work on one table on the narrow tile porch along the side of the house and the pulp cooking out in the yard. Marie’s house is far from parks or beaches or stores, and we used lots of taxis. I had to buy vats/large plastic tubs, buckets, and any thread I could find in local stores. I also had to find and buy a hot plate to cook fibers as Marie had no way to cook anything outdoors, and I could not use the small kitchen we used for making our food. Marie did have a large stainless steel cooking pot that I was able to use, and I brought everything else needed for papermaking in my suitcase. Marie’s yard had all of the plants I used, but more would have been nice to try if I had access to other areas. I have learned from experience being an artist in residence in many different countries to bring the essentials and find something that can work locally. The most difficult thing was finding an alkaline that would work for cooking the paper pulp. I finally found some lye in a big local supermarket and was able to use that to cut down on the cooking time and make the plant fibers soft and easy to beat by hand and with my kitchen blender. I was happy with the work I was able to do there, and Costa Rica is a beautiful country.
03 Friday Feb 2023
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I am continuing to make my handmade paper artwork in Uvita, Costa Rica, and this is the end of my 4th week as an artist in residence at Le Diamante Vert, with choreographer and dancer Marie M’Ayala Saurat. This morning Marie and I worked together with some of the handmade paper pieces to think about the choreography she will create to go with the handmade paper artworks. At the Facebook page of Marie she has put up some video and images of us working together this morning with some of my “made in Costa Rica” handmade paper artworks. Marie and I are doing a collaboration with handmade paper art and dance/movement, and this work will be presented live for the first time in May 2023 in Havana, Cuba, by Marie at a festival where she has been invited to present this new work about water and the healing flow of water for life. Check the link from Marie’s facebook paper here:
This week I also made paper with a local grass that is growing along the side of the road in front of Marie’s house. This grass is bright green, and I noticed a local horse eating it! I have made paper from long-leafed grasses in many different places around the world, so I thought this one would be good to try in Costa Rica. The paper is a nice green-yellow color and it forms pulp without too long a cooking time or too much beating by hand. It is, I think, a grass with the scientific name of Papsolum sacharoides. I used the leaves and took out the hard white center stem to make paper for my artwork in Costa Rica. Here are some photos of the plant and the process of making the paper pulp from this local grass.
This week we also took an early morning tour to a nature preserve for some bird watching. See many of Tim’s bird photos taken in Costa Rica on his site at allentimphotos2.wordpress.com Tim has been with me for this residency to document my art project and also is having a great time taking photos of all the many interesting birds we can see in Uvita and near here. One of the sites on the bird watching tour that I enjoyed seeing was an old sugar mill there in the middle of the rain forest. I was told it is being repaired and will be used to make some special liquor with the crushed and cooked sugar cane. Here’s a photo of the wood-fired sugar mill in the forest.
Also, this week one of the things I did was make handmade paper and put it to dry on the large sacred tree growing from Marie’s deck. After the paper was dry I removed it to capture the many three-dimensional markings on the old tree. I put the six sheets all together to form a long panel that Marie may use for part of her choreography about water and the flow of life.
This photo shows one of the panels of “water” handmade paper put together with natural thread of Costa Rica that will be used in the performance work.
This image shows Marie’s cat lounging on the handmade paper artwork. The cat seems to like hanging out with me and the hand papermaking process even though it involves lots of water!
Marie’s cat napping in the handmade paper artwork.
28 Saturday Jan 2023
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I am enjoying an artist in residency in Costa Rica at Le Diamant Vert (Green Diamond) in Uvita on the southwest Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. It’s a beautiful place with wonderful beaches and tropical plants. I am continuing to make paper from some of the local plants and also doing mixed media constructions with thread and other natural materials and a bit of painting on the collaged handmade paper constructions. I am creating some paper and thread sculptural constructions inspired by my time in Costa Rica that my host Marie M’Ayala Saurat, a choreographer will use in performance works. My husband Tim continues to take photos of my art project as well as doing some bird watching and photography of birds we see every morning here. See his site at https://allentimphotos2.wordpress.com.
Here is one of my pieces hanging on the dance platform/deck at Le Diamant Vert. I am making several hanging pieces that may be worn, used as props or provide setting for the modern dance work of Marie. Check back for more photos and news about my residency.
21 Saturday Jan 2023
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I have been busy in Uvita, Costa Rica, during the second week of my art-in-residency at Le Diamant Vert with host Marie M’Ayala Saurat, choreographer and dance originally from France. I have cooked up and made pup from four local plants: Banana leaves, Corn husks, Shell Ginger leaves, and Red Hibiscus bark. I have succeeded in finding caustic soda (Sodium hydroxide) at the Uvita supermarket in the cleaning aisle and used for unstopping drains. I am trying it today and cooking some bark from an at present unknown tree that looks and acts a lot like mulberry or at least in the Moracae family, that is one of the best plant families for making handmade paper. I hope it turns out to be a good paper source as this tree is in Marie’s backyard and I also saw it in a vacant lot near the creek across from Marie’s place. Here is a photo of a leaf from this tree. I’m going to try and contact a local nursery to get some more information about this tree. It does appear to have green mulberry looking fruits on it too.
I’m also continuing to make paper with all four pulps mixed together now and also adding in some blue jean sheet pulp and abaca and Japanese kozo I brought with me in the suitcase.
Here are a few photos of some of the paper I have made in Costa Rica.
13 Friday Jan 2023
Posted in Costa Rica Residency 2023, Uncategorized
I am an artist-in-residency now in Uvita, Costa Rica, at le Diamante Vert (the Green Diamond) hosted by Marie M’Ayala Saurat, a dancer/choreographer originally from France but now settled in Costa Rica to make a place for artists and creative people to experience the beautiful nature and culture of Costa Rica. Marie also offers classes in yoga and natural healing as well as creating original dance and videos and other art. For more about Marie and her work see her website at https://cieartevivi.wixsite.com/accueil/marie-saurat
During this artist-in-residency I will be using natural materials from Costa Rica for my work with handmade paper and creating mixed media eco art installations. I will also collaborate with Marie to make some props, costumes and an installation of handmade paper to be used in an outdoor dance performance that Marie will present next year in Havana, Cuba, at a performance art festival. This work will also be used for Marie’s performances at other festivals in different countries around the world, so it has to be easily portable. I am committed to using natural materials with nature as a partner and eventually the work will return to the earth as mulch. Our focus in this collaborative project is water, and I will be making many shades of blue and natural colored paper. The blue pulp is cotton fiber colored with indigo a natural plant dye used all over the world. I will also be using other natural fiber plant materials and perhaps some other plant dyes I find from Costa Rica. I also plan to use natural fiber string to connect the handmade paper and make flexible suspended panels, referencing rain, waves and waterfalls.
Costa Rica is warm and tropical with many interesting plants and fruits to try. The local farmer’s market is fantastic. There is also a beautiful waterfall near here that we will go to see. Every day Marie collects leaves, flowers, seed pods, strange fruits and other natural materials from Costa Rica and brings them to me for sharing and inspiration. Today I will incorporate some natural weaving from the many coconut trees growing nearby and use it in some of my handmade paper. I have also eaten some coconut meat and drank coconut milk directly from a coconut growing here at Marie’s place. There are also many banana trees here, and I gathered some Costa Rica banana leaves to make handmade paper. I used ones that were drying so as not to damage the plants. This photo shows me taking the leaves off the long stem and tearing them up to put in the cooking pot. The photos are all taken by my husband Timothy S. Allen (allentimphotos2.wordpress.com) who is here with me in Costa Rica to document this project and also take his own photos of Costa Rica birds and other things that catch his eye.
I have collected banana leaves growing near Marie’s house and cooked them and prepared by hand for making paper. The leaves are very strong, and I cooked them all day (maybe 6-8 hours) in 12 tbs. of soda ash. Then I rinsed the cooked leaves and beat the plant material with a wooden hammer. Then the fibers were cut with scissors and put into my electric blender for a few minutes to make the pulp. I formed the sheets using a modified Japanese technique on a Western style mold and deckle. The size was 4 x 6 inches as I only finished beating a small amount so I could quickly try it! The finished and dried banana leaf paper from Costa Rica is interesting paper that has high shrinkage creating a sculptural form naturally as it dries. The color is a rich brown and the texture grainy. For some later sheets of banana leaf paper I added a little Abaca (a sheet pulp I brought in my suitcase that is from Musa textilis – also in the banana family), and this mixture of pulp made paper that is stronger and easier to work with but still having some nice color and texture from the Costa Rica banana leaves.
Today, I will be finishing the processing of shell ginger leaves that are also growing outside Marie’s house in Uvita. I have used this plant before and know it makes a good rich brown colored paper. The flowers of this plant are beautiful and a shell pink color. I will keep posting my other experiments with papermaking from plants of Costa Rica. Uvita is in the Pacific Coastal tropical forest in the south of Costa Rica and famous for whale watching and the great beach that is in the shape of a whale’s tail. Maybe my husband Tim and I will go on a whale watching boat tour this weekend.
This photo shows the garden at Marie’s house where I have set up a table with a hot plate for cooking gathered plant materials outdoors. One end of the table is also used for the hand beating of the cooked and washed fibers. In the background you can see some of the many red hibiscus bushes growing around Marie’s place. I also plan to use some bark from the hibiscus bush to make handmade paper. I know hibiscus family plants make paper, and I have used many different hibiscus bark fibers in other countries.
I will continue to post weekly, or maybe more, updates about my residency in Costa Rica. Email me at info@janeingramallen.com if you want more information about this residency.
Jane Ingram Allen Art Projects 