Paper Making: A Form of Sustainable Art
Poster Number
2
Format
Poster Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Trent Burkett
Faculty Mentor Department
Visual Arts
Abstract/Artist Statement
Nearly two thousand years since its invention, papermaking continues to be a prominent technology that has propelled knowledge chronologically and geographically. In the twenty-first century, papermaking has become an art form rather than, as it once served as during the fifteenth century, a method for mass communication. Due to the pollution needed to form paper and the energy used to transport the product, paper production wastefully consumes natural resources. However, I believe papermaking can continue to be an important invention to understanding human history while also being a sustainable production. Through the Pacific Fund Undergraduate Research Fellowship, I proposed to create a series of hand bound books, prints, and paper sculptures using sustainable methods. I conducted experiments using Eastern and western traditional papermaking techniques with local grown plant fibers from the San Joaquin Valley. The local plant fibers cut down waste production and provided opportunities to regenerate soil with drought resistant plants. After developing a mobile papermaking facility, plants were collected, dehydrated, and processed for paper molds, which were later dried into paper sheets. These varied in flexibility, durability, and surface texture which determined the use of the paper for two-dimensional paper prints or threedimensional sculptures. The research has been documented into a logbook organized by plant identification with descriptions of the properties of the mature paper product.
Location
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
Start Date
20-4-2013 10:00 AM
End Date
20-4-2013 12:00 PM
Paper Making: A Form of Sustainable Art
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
Nearly two thousand years since its invention, papermaking continues to be a prominent technology that has propelled knowledge chronologically and geographically. In the twenty-first century, papermaking has become an art form rather than, as it once served as during the fifteenth century, a method for mass communication. Due to the pollution needed to form paper and the energy used to transport the product, paper production wastefully consumes natural resources. However, I believe papermaking can continue to be an important invention to understanding human history while also being a sustainable production. Through the Pacific Fund Undergraduate Research Fellowship, I proposed to create a series of hand bound books, prints, and paper sculptures using sustainable methods. I conducted experiments using Eastern and western traditional papermaking techniques with local grown plant fibers from the San Joaquin Valley. The local plant fibers cut down waste production and provided opportunities to regenerate soil with drought resistant plants. After developing a mobile papermaking facility, plants were collected, dehydrated, and processed for paper molds, which were later dried into paper sheets. These varied in flexibility, durability, and surface texture which determined the use of the paper for two-dimensional paper prints or threedimensional sculptures. The research has been documented into a logbook organized by plant identification with descriptions of the properties of the mature paper product.