Ann Kalmbach will present an introduction to Seed to Sheet, a project aimed at material sourcing for handmade paper. Ann is a co-founder and Executive Director of Women’s Studio Workshop, an artists’ workspace centered on printmaking, papermaking, photography, book arts and ceramics. It is the oldest and only residency program for women artists in the country.
Ann engages with state and regional arts agencies to construct artist centered programming to build the creative economy as a central tenant of economic development. She has also produced 15 artists books with her longtime collaborator Tatana Kellner, and has been an artist in residence at: Sirius Arts Center, Ireland; Hessische Landes Museum in Darmstadt; Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY; The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH; and the University of Southern Maine.
The WSW hand papermaking program began in 1978. Since then, WSW has become the largest publisher of hand printed artists’ books in the US. After years of making handmade books and stationery, WSW developed ArtFarm- their research and experimentation project to grow papermaking plant fibers to discover indigenous and invasive plants that artists can use to enhance their work. That process is Seed to Sheet.
This presentation features a selection from Seed to Sheet hand papermaking projects WSW has supported over the years, and includes information on the WSW youth oriented arts education program, Hands-on-Art.