During the process of papermaking, water moves like oscillating currents. Fiber, pulp, equipment, and tools come together with the flow of water in the hands of a papermaker. In the water, fibers circulate and then connect and form bonds. In papermaking, water ebbs and flows, like river currents or the tide, making things completely different. Just as important, water plays a significant role in moving and connecting material, similar to its effect on Rhode Island’s topography, spanning 400 miles of shoreline and miles of intersecting rivers. Water is the driving force of reinvention and innovation in textiles, craft, and paper.
PAPER TIDES, the 2023 North American Hand Papermakers Conference, will focus on the ways that papermaking practices, methods, techniques, research, education, and technology act like water in completely re-shaping materials and landscapes. Please join the North American Hand Papermakers in Providence, Rhode Island, from Oct 19-21, co-sponsored by Rhode Island School of Design’s Fleet Library, Paper Connection International and the New England Chapter of the American Printing History Association. With the Elaine Koretsky Memorial Address from distinguished sofer Shel Bassel on traditional Hebrew calligraphy, the Anita Lynn Forgach Keynote Address from founder and art director at the Morgan Conservatory, Tom Balbo, and many other engaging presentations, demos, and panels by leaders and innovators in the field. More than 24 speakers and 8 demonstrators will share their latest work on topics ranging from ancient and modern papermaking techniques, book arts, tools, slow craft, collaborative models, sustainable practices, educational strategies, and innovation through techniques and research.