Lois James

Imprints I
pulp painting on handmade paper collage
30 x 15 x 2 in.

I create paper prints by combining papermaking and printmaking techniques and painting with paper pulp onto a wet handmade paper base. The pigmented fibers in the paper slurry are a combination of cotton and abaca (which comes from the banana plant). The painting fibers are beaten very finely until they look like watercolors. I burn Mylar stencils from my drawings and photos, and the stencils create fine lines and allow the pulp to flow onto the wet surface.

My influences are the patterns, colors, forms, and markings I discover while walking shorelines, woods, and archaeological sites. Paper can convey great weight, depth and transparency inspired by the microscopic worlds of rotting leaves, fish skins, bones, tree bark, kelp, seaweed, and stones. Walking shorelines, observing patterns within stones and other life forms, and watching the movement of water is one of the great pleasures in creating my work. My paper prints reveal the myriad patterns of natural and ancient worlds while being firmly grounded in the ancient ritualistic process of papermaking.

I have been working as a mixed media, fiber and paper artist for over 20 years. My environmentally inspired work has been shown in galleries and museums from California to Cape Cod and in Japan and Costa Rica.