Tags
Wishing you a peaceful, healthy, happy
and light-filled New Year.
24 Sunday Dec 2023
Posted Uncategorized
inTags
Wishing you a peaceful, healthy, happy
and light-filled New Year.
18 Saturday Feb 2023
Posted Uncategorized
inTags
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.
25 Tuesday Oct 2022
Posted Uncategorized
inTags
eco-art, fiber art, handmade paper, installation art, Jane Ingram Allen, papermaking, Santa Rosa
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.
Workshop: Papermaking from Scratch with Local Plants at Fibershed Learning Center, Pt. Reyes Station, CA. https://fibershed.org/programs/education-advocacy/learningcenter/ 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: “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.
22 Saturday Oct 2022
Posted Uncategorized
inTags
climate crisis, Gallery Route One, handmade paper, installation, printmaking, Pt. Reyes Station, water
Here is the link to the video made by Shelley Rugg for the Artists Talks at Gallery Route One, Point Reyes Station, CA: https://youtu.be/r8N_HNwqZuA First is the talk by Zea Morvitz and then the gallery walk-through with Jane Ingram Allen and Jami Taback.
This site-specific installation of In Deep Water – Rising, will be on view at this northern CA non-profit gallery in their project space through Nov. 13, 2022. The work by collaborating artists Jane Ingram Allen and Jami Taback utilizes hand papermaking and printmaking and focuses on water and climate change.
For more information about Gallery Route One and the exhibition see the website at http://www.galleryrouteone.org
The photos below are by Timothy S. Allen at the opening reception on Oct. 8, 2022.
29 Wednesday Jun 2022
Posted Uncategorized
inSummer 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”.
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.
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
27 Friday May 2022
Posted Uncategorized
inThis work is from a series of “Guns into Flowers” artworks I started in 2018 after another mass shooting at a school in our country.
Enough is Enough, and we need to demand that Congress pass some common sense gun regulations.
07 Monday Mar 2022
Posted Uncategorized
inAnnouncing another opportunity to learn more about hand papermaking:
Saturday, April 23, 2022
Hand Papermaking Workshop with Jane Ingram Allen in Santa Rosa
5017 Maiden Lane, Santa Rosa, CA 95409
Phone: 857-2344-2432
Email: info@janeingramallen.com
https://janeingramallen.wordpress.com and www.janeingramallen.com
EXTREME Hand Papermaking! – Saturday, April 23, 10AM to 4PM
Workshop Fee: $150 – Includes all materials and use of equipment. Send check to Jane Ingram Allen, 5017 Maiden Lane, Santa Rosa, CA 95409 or pay with a credit card using Paypal to info@janeingramallen.com
Due to so many wanting to take the March 19 workshop, I decided to offer it again in April! Join me in my Santa Rosa studio for 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 suited for beginning and experienced papermakers and promises to challenge you to stretch and expand your ideas about papermaking.
Class size is limited to 4 people, and all must be vaccinated. All Covid protocols in effect will be followed.
03 Thursday Feb 2022
Posted Uncategorized
inPapermaking Workshop in Santa Rosa, CA, March 19. 2022
EXTREME Papermaking Workshop, Saturday, March 19, 2022, 10am to 4pm, Workshop Fee: $150 – Includes all materials and use of equipment. Join Jane in her Santa Rosa studio (5017 Maiden Lane, Santa Rosa, CA 95409) for indoor and outdoor EXTREME 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. This class is for beginning or advanced papermakers. Attached flyer gives complete information.
Papermaking Workshop in Oregon, Aug. 9-10, 2022
Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, Otis, Oregon (central Oregon Coast)
Papermaking Around the World, August 9-10, 2022. Link for more info and to register: https://www.sitkacenter.org/workshops/3099-papermaking-around-the-world
In this 2-day workshop participants will learn about hand papermaking techniques, equipment and plant fibers used in different countries around the world (Taiwan, Japan, Nepal, China, Thailand, the Philippines, Bali Indonesia, Brazil, Tanzania and Turkey).
Papermaking Workshop in Washington State, July 18, 2022
Pacific Northwest Art School, Whidbey Island (near Seattle)
Introduction to Hand Papermaking, Monday, July 18, 9am to 4pm. Link for more info and to register: https://pacificnorthwestartschool.org/product/ingram-allen-jane-6262-intro-to-hand-papermaking-july-18/
In this 1-day workshop, explore techniques of hand papermaking including sheet forming, pressing and drying as well as techniques of laminating, embedding and watermarking. Learn how papermaking can be used for a variety of art creations and make an array of handmade papers using Western and Asian papermaking techniques.
Papermaking Workshop in Washington State, July 19-22, 2022 Pacific Northwest Art School, Whidbey Island (near Seattle)
Papermaking from Scratch using Local Plants, Tuesday July 19 through Friday July 22, 9am to 4pm each day. Link for more info and to register: https://pacificnorthwestartschool.org/product/carlile-kovacs-flora-6235-felt-animals-may-23-25/
This 4-day workshop will cover how to make paper from scratch (starting with gathering local plant materials such as leaves and bark) and using minimal equipment and facilities. The emphasis will be on problem solving and creative use of local natural materials to make unique handmade paper art, with sustainable methods and materials that do not harm the environment.
OTHER NEWS
“In Deep Water” Exhibition in Sonoma, CA, Ends on February 23, 2022
“In Deep Water” an installation by Jane Ingram Allen and Jami Taback continues at Sonoma Community Center Gallery, M-F, 10am to 4pm, through Feb. 23, 2022. The Sonoma Community Center webpage about this project gives all the details: https://sonomacommunitycenter.org/event/in-deep-water-endangered/
This collaborative installation uses hand papermaking and printmaking and focuses on water and the current climate crisis. “In Deep Water” will be shown at other venues around the world in 2022-2024.
Jane’s Handmade Paper Art in New Book by Helen Heibert
Jane’s handmade paper art using wildflower seeds in the paper pulp is featured in a new book by Helen Heibert, The Art of Paper Craft. The virtual book launch event is on February 15th at noon MST (Denver). You can read all about the online event and register here:
https://helenhiebertstudio.com/the-art-of-papercraft/.
For more information contact Jane by email info@janeingramallen.com or phone 857-234-2432
15 Saturday Jan 2022
Posted Uncategorized
inTags
handmade paper, papermaking, printmaking, sculpture installation, Sonoma California, Sonoma Community Center, water and climate crisis
“In Deep Water” a collaborative art installation about water and our climate crisis, utilizing printmaking and papermaking by artists Jane Ingram Allen and Jami Taback is now on view at Sonoma Community Center Gallery, Sonoma, California, for scheduled private tours with the artists. Contact Jane by email at info@janeingramallen.com to set up a time to view the work in person before it closes on January 29, 2022.
The Zoom programs for the Artists Talks on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 2pm and the Artists Demonstrations, Jan. 22 at 2pm are open for all and will be recorded for later viewing. See the website of Sonoma Community Center at https://sonomacommunitycenter.org/event/in-deep-water-endangered/?instance_id=6574
for updated information and the links to the Zoom meetings and recorded programs.
The Sonoma Community Center exhibition of the “In Deep Water” project by Jane Ingram Allen and Jami Taback is supported in part by an Emergency Grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. The whole installation measures about 24 feet wide, 16 feet high and 8 feet deep, and it is made up of 12 panels, each about 2 feet wide and 14 feet long of handmade paper with printmaking on the papers joined by natural threads so it all folds up for easy transportation, and it can be very different at each place where it is installed. Jane and Jami plan to continue adding to this project and exhibiting it around the world. You can walk behind this installation and view the work from the other side too! This photo shows the completed installation of “In Deep Water” at Sonoma Community Center Gallery. Photo is by Timothy S. Allen, https://allentimphotos2.wordpress.com
Other photos of the installation will also be posted on this Blog in a few days.
23 Thursday Dec 2021
Posted Uncategorized
inTags
climate change crisis, Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grants, Gallery Route One, handmade paper, installation, jami Taback, printmaking, Sonoma Community Center, water issues
I am happy to report the receipt of an Emergency Grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts to help support the exhibition of “In Deep Water” at Sonoma Community Center Gallery, Sonoma, California, January 15 to 31, 2022. This collaborative project with printmaking artist Jami Taback results in a mixed-media multi-part installation combining hand papermaking and printmaking and about the climate crisis and water. This grant is for the unexpected opportunity to exhibit this work at the Sonoma Community Center Gallery for two weeks in January 2022. We have also been selected to exhibit this project at Gallery Route One, Point Reyes Station, CA, in Nov. – Dec. 2022, and we will continue working to expand the installation creating more panels to make site-specific installations in multiple venues. We hope to exhibit this work at other places in the US and internationally in 2022 and 2023. The grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts is a great holiday gift! And we are so thankful to be able to do this in-person exhibition at a great gallery space. We are planning a gallery talk and opening at Sonoma Community Center the weekend of January 15-16, 2022, so watch for an update in early January to set the date and time for these events. Joy and Peace to all in 2022.