Paper Talk

Founded nearly 30 years ago by paper designer Marianne Guély, Studio Marianne Guély is an exceptional creative atelier at the crossroads of art, design, and craftsmanship. Specialising in the poetic staging of paper, the studio conjures up immersive worlds where imagination is reignited and stories come to life. Internationally acclaimed, the studio weaves tales and visual narratives that awaken the senses and transport the viewer, sculpting the ephemeral to transform it into a moment of eternity. Each creation is a breath — a suspended instant. Paper, a living material, enters into dialogue with space and imagination alike. Operating within the realm of luxury, Studio Marianne Guély conceives and shapes poetic universes, from the infinitely small to the grandiose, where beauty reveals itself in the precision of detail and the finesse of gesture. Studio Marianne Guély’s mission is to establish the Studio as a leading international reference, celebrating and elevating its unique savoir-faire through bold collaborations, iconic installations, and a lasting imprint on the worlds of art, luxury, and architecture.

Cynthia Nourse Thompson is a Professor and the Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Zuckerman Museum of Art at Kennesaw State University. Prior to this position, for six years she was Associate Professor and Director of the graduate programs in Book Arts & Printmaking and Studio Art at University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. She has also served as Associate Professor and Curator of Exhibitions at University of Arkansas; twelve years as Professor of Book, Print and Paper Arts and Chair of Fine Arts at Memphis College of Art; and additionally worked at Dieu Donné Papermill, Harlan & Weaver Intaglio and Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper now the Brodsky Center at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

James Ojascastro is an origamist, papermaker, and botanist, with a Ph.D. in ethnobotany from Washington University in St. Louis in collaboration with the Missouri BotanicalGarden. Ojascastro employs a combination of methods – including fiber trait measurements, experimental papermaking, species distribution modeling, andsemistructured interviews – to explore the history, biogeography, and conservation of papermaking traditions (especially of Nepal and Vietnam) through a botanical lens. Outside of academia, Ojascastro uses his researchbackground to guide and inform what plants and which processes will yield paper suitable for origami art.

Authors and artists Lynn Sures and Michelle Samour talk about their new book, Radical Paper: Art and Invention with Colored Pulp. A landmark book that profiles an artistic movement that has operated largely outside the mainstream art world, this book serves as both an overdue history and up-close look at the range, versatility, and brilliance of art created with colored paper pulp.

Rachel Singel is an Associate Professor at the University of Louisville. Singel grew up on a small farm in Charlottesville, Virginia and received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia in 2009 and a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the University of Iowa in 2013. She has participated in residencies at the Penland School of Crafts, the Venice Printmaking Studio, Internazionale di Grafica Venezia, Art Print Residence in Barcelona, Spain, Wharepuke Print Studios in New Zealand, Proyecto'ace, an Artist-in-Residence Program in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and AGA Lab in the Netherlands. She has studied non-toxic printmaking at the Grafisk Eksperimentarium studio in Andalusia and recently continued her research of papermaking with invasive plants in Japan in summer 2024. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and represented in private collections and public institutions.

Darryl Bedford, an Australian artist and innovator, is redefining the possibilities of paper. Blending traditional origami with cutting-edge digital design, he crafts intricate, kinetic sculptures that challenge our perception of this humble material. Born in Perth, Australia, and now based in London. Darryl is a teacher, Apple Distinguished Educator, trauma-informed practitioner, and paper engineer. His passion for paper extends beyond aesthetics; he believes in its therapeutic potential, using it to connect individuals with the natural world and promote well-being.

Catherine Lucky Chang is an artist, art educator, and yoga teacher based in Palo Alto, CA whose work combines papermaking, printmaking, and painting. Born in Atlanta, GA, she holds a BS from Skidmore College and an MFA from the University of Georgia. Chang’s practice is an exploration of inner peace, wholeness, and joy. Her abstract works on her own handmade paper range from small and intimate to large-scale and immersive. Through intuitive, spontaneous marks, Chang melds line, shape, and color to evoke presence and vitality.

Michelle Samour a multi-media artist whose work explores the intersections between science, technology, and the natural world, as well as the socio-political repercussions of redefining borders and boundaries. Samour has been a Scholar-in-Residence at the Tufts European Center in Talloires, France; and an Artist-in-Residence at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine; The Banff Centre in Canada; and at other institutions. Samour’s has exhibited her work at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Massachussetts; the Museum of Modern Art in Strasbourg, France; and the Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan, WI; and at many other venues. Her work has been featured in Surface Design Journal, FiberArts, and Hand Papermaking, and is included in public and private collections. Samour is Professor Emerita of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts University where she taught historical and contemporary approaches to working with handmade paper and pulp.

Joanna Gair is a multifaceted visual artist and papermaker, living and working in Devonport, Northwest Tasmania.  After graduating with a first-class degree in Visual Art from the South Australian School of Art, in 1993, she established her studio in North-west Scotland in 1999, since then, she has blended her skills as a visual artist with the ancient craft of papermaking, forging a career marked by creativity, innovation, and sustainability. In 2004, Joanna made a pivotal transition to North-west Tasmania, assuming the roles of manager and creative director at Australia's largest handmade paper mill in Burnie. Here, she embarked on a mission to encapsulate the Tasmanian essence through papermaking. Her efforts garnered significant recognition, including the "Premier's Young Achiever Award" from Tourism Tasmania in 2006 and the "Best New Retail Product" at the National Memento Awards in 2007. Since then, Joanna has been the driving force behind her eponymous paper mill, "Joanna Gair Paper," and the launch of the "Eco Greetings" range. Here, she crafts paper-based artworks and design-focused, Tasmanian plant-based paper for a portfolio of environmentally conscious corporate and wholesale clients, collectors, and artists. 

Shanna Leino is a studio artist with a fascination for the many forms of the book. After eight years in beautiful Frankfort, Michigan, she has returned to her home state of New Hampshire. She works in her studio, manufactures a small line of hand tools for bookbinders and craftspeople, and travels throughout the U.S. and occasionally abroad, teaching book and toolmaking workshops.