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Amanda Degener

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From Within and Without

Handmade paper made by the artist
Handmade paper made by the artist

From Within and Without | Media List


Statement


Handmade paper is my life's
work. I travel the globe to teach hand papermaking and often write and publish
articles about art made with paper. I make and sell sheets of paper, and I
exhibit artwork made with my own handmade paper. As an artist the versatility
of working with handmade paper is very motivating. Fibers can cast tightly
around armatures; they take color and hold light beautifully. Depending how the
fiber is prepared it is capable of looking like fragile translucent skin or it
can appear massive without being heavy. Paper’s lightweight quality allows me
to make large-scale work in defiance of gravity.
Another incentive to work
with handmade paper is because I am in collaboration with nature without
mechanizing her. I am not simply gazing and enjoying her, though I do that too,
but actively learning from her. The plants and colors I process are a mixture
of fiber, sun, soil, and rain; this natural world has a value and life of its
own. While I process the materials
through touch I have a conversation with them. During this collaboration I
cook, beat, color, mould, press, and dry what started as a plant. As my ideas
are being realized my spirit and heart get infused into the work.