By NVOS artist Karen Lynn Ingalls
It's not that often that you get the chance to see how paper is made – and, what's more, how it can be made in ways that are creative and colorful and that make the most of various kinds of old materials, recycling them into art.
New NVOS artist Sequoia Buck demonstrates just that during Napa Valley Open Studios this year.
An accomplished papermaker and commercial photographer, some years ago Sequoia began to combine the two arts, printing her photographs onto her own papers, and combining them with collages created using her own colorful papers, paint, stamping, and whatever other materials come to hand (eggshells from her chickens, for one).
The papers come in a variety of colors. Some are embossed with various textures and designs; some have flowers or leaves embedded in the paper.
During Open Studios, Sequoia demonstrates the whole process, beginning with the creation of the paper pulp. If it's not too busy, visitors may get a chance to try their hand at papermaking, too.
Each piece of paper is created one at a time, by dipping a screen into the pulp, removing the paper from the screen, adding texture if desired, and pressing the paper to emboss it and squeeze out water.
It's a wet and messy process – and absolutely delightful.
Finally, the paper is set out to dry, a process that takes a number of hours.
In addition to her handmade paper-and-collage artwork, Sequoia has made one-of-a-kind greeting cards and journals bound with her handmade paper and finished with a manzanita branch.
You can find Sequoia and her artwork, and discover all about the papermaking process, at Studio #48, just west of Calistoga. Follow Petrified Forest Road to Sharp Road (you'll see the signs), and you'll find her studio at 5140 Sharp Road.
She and her partner Tom Atkins also grow organic vegetables at their CSA (community supported agriculture) farm, so you'll see their weekend farmstand as you come in, too.
NVOS artist Karen Lynn Ingalls is also showing her artwork at Studio #48; come see them both! She will have a painting in progress on the easel, and is glad to answer any questions you have about her creative process. You can see her work online at www.KarenLynnIngalls.com.
