Ladders is an integration of handmade flax and abaca paper with woven textile studies and fiber remnants.
The woven fiber elements come from color and texture studies made by a beloved relative who spent decades weaving. They were experiments for larger works—small investigations rather than finished pieces. She gave them to me, along with thousands of yards of raw material, to incorporate into my handmade paper before her passing. Within these constructions, the weavings take on a new role, becoming structural elements that help to shape the work rather than remnants that are preserved. Combined, the paper and fiber create structure, hold tension, and record the work of the hand. The torn edges and open rungs represent the spaces where life refuses to be neatly contained. They remind us that some conversations remain open, some questions are never fully answered, and some moments continue to evolve within us. The beauty lies not in perfect resolution, but in the texture left behind. The edges are not “broken”—they are permeable. My process is slow and incremental. Paper is formed sheet by sheet; connections are built strand by strand. The resulting works reflect an ongoing connection between two material practices, allowing one artisan’s experiments to become part of another’s art.
