Jane Ingram Allen, a Fulbright Scholar artist in Taiwan in 2003-04 and 2005-05, announces that the Tainan Art Museum in Tainan, Taiwan, now has 34 of her handmade paper mixed media artworks in their permanent collection. The works were created by Allen during her two years on the Fulbright grant working in 14 different communities all over Taiwan. The Tainan Art Museum will keep the works in their archival storage and have them available for research and exhibitions. Allen hopes that the Tainan Art Museum will have an exhibition of her “Made in Taiwan” works in 2027.
These works are part of an ongoing series of map-based works that Allen calls “site maps.” The “site maps” are a record of her experience of a particular place and time and are made entirely from materials collected in that place. They are based on tourist maps, road maps, historical maps, geological maps and cultural resources that depict the particular characteristics of a place, as well as her personal experience of a place. Each “site map” is made up of multiple sheets of natural plant fiber handmade paper Allen made from local plants and joined with natural fiber string so that the constructions will fold up like maps. These are mixed-media works that use acrylic painting, drawing, collage and other techniques. They are two-sided and hang in space so that viewers can travel around them and look through them to get another view of that particular place.
My exhibition of 80+ handmade paper artworks created in Santa Rosa and at artist residencies around the world are on view at Spring Lake Village Art Gallery, 5555 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa, CA, till May 30, 2025. The show is open every day for viewing, and visitors should contact Spring Lake Village Art Committee Member, Les Saldanha, saldanhales@hotmail.com or cell phone 707-367-1874.
The opening reception is Saturday, April 12, 3:45 to 5PM with an Artist Talk in the Auditorium and reception in the Art Room immediately following.
Here are some photos of the exhibition at Spring Lake Village taken by my husband Timothy S. Allen.
Summer so far has been very busy! It has also gotten very hot after a rather cool June. I have been making new works and building a new papermaking mold and deckle for creating really BIG sheets of paper as well as having family visits and getting ready for teaching workshops and installing new exhibitions.
Educator Grant from Surface Design Association: I received a 2023 Educator grant from the Surface Design Association to make a Portable Large Papermaking Mold and Deckle. I needed a large papermaking mold that could be transported in our car for the EXTREME Papermaking Workshop I am teaching at Sitka Center for Art & Ecology(www.sitkacenter.org), in Otis, Oregon, August 5 and 6. The workshop is already full, and I am looking forward to working with these students at this beautiful place on the central Oregon coast.
Here is a photo of the new portable folding papermaking mold that can make sheets of paper 7 feet x 3 feet using a pouring method. This should be fun to use in the workshop – just one of the many papermaking techniques I will cover in this workshop that includes all sorts of inventive and EXTREME ways of making paper that I have discovered in my papermaking travels around the world. I will now be able to use this foldable large papermaking mold and deckle for other papermaking workshops I will be teaching in Santa Rosa and surrounding areas.
Article in Summer 2023 FiberArts Magazine: Speaking of travel around the world my article “Papermaking Around the World” was just published in the Summer 2023 issue of FiberArt Now. Here is a link for a summary of the article: https://www.fiberartnow.net/summer-2023/
Scroll down to my article “Papermaking Around the World” and see an image of my Izmir, Turkey Site Map and read about my papermaking adventures as an artist in residence in 5 countries: Costa Rica, Tanzania, Turkey, Bali and Taiwan. The Summer 2023 issue can be ordered at www.fiberartnow.net
Izmir Site Map (front view), 2015, mixed media on handmade paper from plants of Izmir, Turkey, created during Fulbright Specialist Artist in Residency at Ege University Museum of Book and Paper Arts, Izmir, Turkey, 60″ x 48″ two-sided suspended installation.
Upcoming Exhibitions:
Solo Exhibition in Mountain View, CA: “Jane Ingram Allen – Papermaking Around the World” at Mountain View Performing Arts Center Lobby Gallery, August 15 – Oct. 2, 2023. For more information: https://www.mvcpa.com/events/lobby-art.
This exhibition features a selection of handmade paper “site map” works I have made as an artist-in-residencies in countries around the world including Taiwan, Japan, Costa Rica, Brazil, Tanzania, Indonesia, Thailand, and the USA. Exhibit hours are Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 12 p.m. – 1 pm, and one hour prior to every public performance. See the Calendar of Events for performance dates and times: https://www.mvcpa.com/events/calendar
“Turning Over a New Leaf” (detail), 2000, mixed media participatory installation of 2000 handmade paper kozo fiber leaves made during artist in residency at Mino Paper Art Village Project, Mino City, Japan, 6 feet x 24 feet x 3 inches deep.
Exhibition in Taichung, Taiwan, Dec. 2, 2023 – April 2, 2024: “Jane Ingram Allen and Jami Taback – In Deep Water – We’re In This Together” will be a site-specific installation of collaborative work utilizing Handmade Paper and Printmaking by the two artists created in response to our present climate crisis and relating to water. The exhibition will be in the Live Forever Foundation Vital Space Gallery, Taichung, Taiwan, and is curated by Iris Hung. The show also includes works on water and the climate crisis by two Taiwanese artists. Jane and Jami will travel to Taiwan in late November and stay for 10 days to create this installation of the ‘In Deep Water” project emphasizing that water and climate change are global problems. The artists will present a Gallery Talk at the opening on Saturday, Dec. 2, and the public is invited. The artists will also teach a hands-on workshop in Taiwan about papermaking and printmaking and their process for creating the 36 suspended panels of printed-on handmade paper joined with threads.
In Deep Water collaborative installation by Jane Ingram Allen and Jami Taback (detail), 2022-23, mixed media installation of handmade paper, thread, printmaking, ink, gel, burning and other materials, 36 panels each about 2 feet wide and 12-18 feet long, suspended site installation shown here at Sonoma Community Center in January 2022.
Here are some of the upcoming art activities and exhibitions I am participating in during the coming months.
Exhibition: In Deep Water – Rising at Gallery Route One Project Space, Pt. Reyes Station, CA.http://www.galleryrouteone.org/exhibitions This exhibition Oct. 8 – Nov. 13, 2022, features the collaborative work of Jane Ingram Allen and Jami Taback about water and the climate crisis. The show closes on Nov. 13, and there will be and artists talk at 4pm that day.
Exhibition: “Bountiful Harvest”, at Iowa Center for the Book, Iowa City, IA.https://uicb.uiowa.edu This exhibition includes one of Jane’s Taiwan Site Maps, made with materials harvested in Taiwan. The group show Oct. 31 – Nov. 14, 2022, features artworks by selected members of International Association of Paper Making Artists (IAPMA) with a variety of artworks utilizing handmade paper and paper mulberry fibers and celebrating the concept of harvest.
Exhibition: “Off the Grid: Contemporary Fiber Art” at Yolo Arts Barn Gallery, Woodland, CA. This group exhibition includes two of Jane’s recent fiber art works, Daily Scrolls and No More Guns. The show runs from Nov. 10, 2022- to March 15, 2023. https://yoloarts.org/the-barn-gallery/
Exhibition: “In Deep Water – Turning the Tide” at The Tides Converge Gallery, San Francisco, CA. This exhibition features a new site specific installation of the collaborative work of Jane Ingram Allen and Jami Taback. The show opens with a reception 5-7 pm and artists talk at 5:30 pm. The gallery is located at the Presidio in SF (https://www.presidio.gov/places/tides-converge), and this exhibition is open during office hours 9 – 5 M-F until March 15, 2023.
Workshop: Papermaking from Scratch with Local Plants at Fibershed Learning Center, Pt. Reyes Station, CA. Jane will lead participants through the entire process of making paper from local plant materials, from gathering plants to finished paper, in this two day workshop on Nov. 19 – 20, 2022. Enroll here:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/399100218497
Exhibition: Living Leaves for Pepperwood Preserve at Pepperwood Preserve, Santa Rosa, CA. Jane received a grant from Creative Sonoma ArtSurround Program (www.creativesonoma.org) to create a site-specific installation at Pepperwood Preserve, a large nature preserve in Santa Rosa dedicated to land and environmental preservation. Jane’s project includes a large outdoor installation “Living Leaf for Pepperwood Preserve” sited in front of the Dwight Center and an indoor installation “Falling Leaves” in the Dwight Center Gallery. The exhibition opens with a reception on Dec. 1, 2022 and runs through March 30, 2023 and is open to the public – http://www.pepperwoodpreserve.org
Residency: Diamante Verte, Uvita, Costa Rica. Jane has been awarded a 6-week artist-in-residency in Costa Rica from Jan. 4 – Feb. 13, 2023. During the residency Jane will use local plants of Costa Rica to create a new series of handmade paper artworks and collaborate with choreographer Marie M’Alaya Saurat ( https://cieartevivi.wixsite.com/mariemalaya) who directs this artist-in-residency program in Uveta, on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.
IN DEEP WATER – RISING at Gallery Route One, Pt. Reyes Station, CA, through Nov. 13, 2022Jane preparing plants for papermaking in Taiwan, 2005, method to be used in Fibershed Learning Center Workshop Nov. 19-20, 2022.Jane making “Falling Leaves” for Pepperwood Preserve, Santa Rosa, CA, indoor and outdoor art installations Dec. 1, 2022 – March 30, 2023, at Pepperwood Preserve, Santa Rosa, CA.Taiwan Site Map – Cash Receipts”, 2004, Made in Taiwan Fulbright Project, work included in exhibition at Univ. of Iowa Center for the Book, Iowa City, Iowa, Oct. 31- Nov. 14, 2022.“No More Guns” 2019, work included in “Off the Grid” exhibition at Yolo Arts, Woodland, CA, Nov. 13, 2022 – March 15, 2023.
Summer art activities include making handmade paper outdoors on my patio and assembling things indoors in my garage studio in Santa Rosa, CA, for upcoming exhibitions and public art projects.
I have been selected for Sonoma Creates Art Surround (https://www.creativesonoma.org/artsurround/) a new public art program that will partner artists with organizations in Santa Rosa and Sonoma County, CA, to create new site-specific artworks in public spaces working with the community. The project offers grants of $1000 to $10,000 to each of the selected artists to do one or more public art projects during the months of July to December of 2022. I should know in a few weeks what organizations I will be working with and where my installations will be sited. I hope to do more eco art installations with handmade paper and seeds in the pulp to change over time and work in harmony with nature. Here is a photos of my installation last year in Steckborn, Switzerland, titled “Living Quilt for Steckborn”.
Jane Ingram Allen, Living Quilt for Steckborn, installed in April 2021 and starting to transform, 8 feet x 10 feet x 1 foot, sponsored by Haus zur Glocke https://www.hauszurglocke.ch/home, Steckborn, Switzerland, handmade paper pulp, dye, seeds for wildflowers, soil, boards.Jane Ingram Allen, Living Quilt for Steckborn, blooming in September 2021, 8 feet x 10 feet x 1 foot, handmade paper, dye, seeds for wildflowers soil, boards, installed in April 2021, organized by Haus zur Glocke and city of Steckborn, Steckborn, Switzerland.
Check back here soon for updates about the art installations I will be doing in Santa Rosa, California, and Sonoma County, California during the coming months.
Summer Workshops with Jane Ingram Allen in Oregon
Jane’s “Papermaking Around the World” workshops this summer at Sitka Center for Art & Ecology are both full. One session will be August 7 and 8, and another session will be August 9 and 10 at Sitka Center in Otis, Oregon, on the beautiful central Oregon coast. For more information about the programs at Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, see the website at http://www.sitkacenter.org
During these “Papermaking Around the World” workshops participants will be learning to make handmade paper using materials, equipment and techniques from countries around the world, such as Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Tanzania, Indonesia, Brazil, Nepal and Turkey…all countries where Jane has been an artist in residence. Jane will be teaching more papermaking art workshops in her Santa Rosa, CA, studio during the Fall of 2022. Email her to be put on the email list for workshops and classes in hand papermaking: info@janeingramallen
Continuing work on Collaborative Art Project “In Deep Water“
Jane is continuing to work with printmaker Jami Taback on their “In Deep Water” Project. The installation of “In Deep Water” at Rowan University, Discovery Hall, Glassboro, NJ, is coming down at the end of August 2022. Here is a photo of one part of the multiple panels being created for this installation. Jane and Jami will be creating more handmade paper and printmaking panels for this ongoing installation art project about climate change and water.
Detail of “In Deep Water” panel, one sheet 18″ x 12″, handmade paper, dye, printmaking, ink
The next exhibition of “In Deep Water” will be Oct. 8 – Nov. 10, 2022, at Gallery Route One Project Space, Point Reyes Station, CA. http://www.galleryrouteone.org
The installation of “In Deep Water” in the beautiful gallery space at Sonoma Community Center, Sonoma, CA, is now open for viewing. “In Deep Water” is a collaborative art project by Jane Ingram Allen and Jami Taback focused on water and the climate crisis. The artwork will be on exhibition at Sonoma Community center Gallery until Jan. 30, 2022, Monday through Friday, 10am to 4pm, and visitors can go see it without an appointment if they come in groups of no more than 4 people, wear masks, maintain social distancing and have proof of vaccination with them. Email Jane at info@janeingramallen if you would like to have a tour of the gallery with the artists.
You are also invited to a Zoom program next Saturday, Jan. 22 at 2pm Pacific Time for demonstrations of papermaking and printmaking to learn more about how this work was made and see the processes used in its creation. Go to this webpage for a direct link to this Saturday’s Zoom Program: https://sonomacommunitycenter.org/in-deep-water-endangered/
Thanks again to Jill Valavanis, Fine Arts Manager at Sonoma Community Center for all her help with this exhibition. The Sonoma Community Center exhibition of “In Deep Water” is supported in part by an Emergency Grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.
“In Deep Water” from right side.In Deep Water from left side. In Deep Water with Jane walking behind it.Detail of In Deep Water showing light coming through the workDetail of In Deep Water showing some of the panels attached to the floor platforms.Detail of In Deep Water from the other side.In Deep Water (view of whole installation) This installation at Sonoma Community Center is approx. 14 feet high, 24 feet wide and 8 feet deep, and this work can be installed in many different ways in different spaces.
These photographs of the installation “In Deep Water” by artists Jane Ingram Allen and Jami Taback were taken by Timothy S. Allen (allentimphotos2.wordpress.com). Check here for more photos of the demonstration session that will be posted after next Saturday’s Zoom program.
Jane Ingram Allen Art Projects 