Learn the basics of making handmade paper in the European tradition. Students will learn the basics, from dry fiber to sheet formation, as well as techniques for embellishing bare sheets into works of art using a technique called pulp painting.

Pulp painting uses finely beaten paper pulp that can act almost like paint to make brilliant imagery in handmade paper. When dried, the painting is an actual part of the paper, which can stand alone or be transformed further through drawing, printing, traditional painting or whatever you can think of for a mixed media creation. This class will cover various pulp painting techniques including direct painting, stencils, collage inclusions and other means of pulp-based mark-making. Techniques for making paper at home will also be discussed.

Students will leave the workshop will a number of their own wet papers that will dry at home.

No prior experience necessary.

About the instructor

Oakland-based Michelle Wilson is a papermaker, printmaker, book and installation artist.

Her work has been part of exhibitions at numerous institutions, including the X Initiative in New York, NY, the Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts, the 2006 International Biennial for the Artist's Book in Alexandria, Egypt, and at the Joshibi Art Museum outside of Tokyo, Japan. In addition, she is a hand papermaking consultant to Signa-Haiti, an NGO in the process of developing a sustainable and bio-dynamic economy in Haiti.

Wilson has an extensive range of teaching experience; from universities, to grade schools, workshops and community art venues. Past institutions at which she has served as an instructor include San Francisco State University, the UC Berkeley Extension Program, Cumberland County College, Bryn Mawr College, Moore College of Art and Design, the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial, Appel Farm Arts and Music Center, and was a 2010 New Courtland Fellows through the Center for Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia, PA.

She has worked will all ages and abilities, including ESL, GATE, and special education. From 2011-2013, she served as the Teaching Artist at the Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center through Southern Exposure's partnership with the Beat Within. Currently, she teaches workshops for adults and youth throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Kala Art Institute, the San Jose ICA Print Center, and Magnolia Editions.

Wilson has a BFA from Moore College of Art and Design, and an MFA from the University of the Arts, both in Philadelphia.

For more information, visit michellewilsonprojects.com.

See also: Gualala Arts Workshop Registration, Payment & Cancellation Policy.

The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA,
is open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and weekends from noon to 4:00 p.m.
Please call (707) 884-1138 for more information, or email info@gualalaarts.org.

Serving the coastal communities of northern Sonoma & southern Mendocino Counties.