Behind the Mind of Papermaking Artist & Author, Helen Hiebert

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Helen Hiebert - Papermaking Artist, Books

Have you heard of Helen Hiebert, prolific author, hand papermaking artist, and teacher? Whether that's a yes or no, Helen was kind enough to answer a few questions on Paperslurry for you to enjoy.

To date, Helen Hiebert has written five how-to books, made countless papermaking installations, sculptures, artist books, and two-dimensional works, as well as keeping up with a hefty schedule of workshops, special projects, and a weekly blog. Phew! Enough of my writing, here's what Helen has to say!

Papermaking How-to Books by Author Helen Hiebert

PAPERSLURRY: How did you come about writing so many great how-to books? The Papermaker's Companion is quite literally the ultimate guide to hand paper making (the perfect studio guide), andPapermaking with Garden Plants and Commons Weeds is just as popular.

  • HELEN HIEBERT: Well, thanks for the accolades! It was actually kind of a fluke. I never dreamt I would write a book, not to mention five books! I was working at Dieu Donné Papermill in the early 1990’s and an acquisitions editor from Storey Books sent me a letter and asked if I’d be interested in writing a book about making paper with plants. Storey published a lot of gardening books and was branching out into craft books and she’d seen a description of a course I was teaching at the NY Horticultural Society called Compost Papermaking. The funny thing is, I don’t think the course even ran, but I got a book contract! After I’d completed that project, the same editor told me about a series they were doing (The Soap Maker’s Companion, The Candle Maker’s Companion…) and asked if I knew anyone who would be interested in writing The Papermaker’s Companion. You can guess what I told her. I was extremely fortunate to have worked at Dieu Donné, where I was exposed to so many papermaking giants as well as techniques. These gave me the foundation and resources I needed to put those books together.

PS: Much of your artwork has a strong contemplative or meditative element. An example I think of right away is your film, Water Paper Time, which is very much about the paper making process. Also, your string drawings of subtly untied knots embedded under translucent paper. Can you speak more about this aspect of your work specifically in relationship with the hand paper making process?

  • HH: I do spend quite a bit of time in my head, researching a subject, whether it is visual or contextual research. And I’m drawn to serene, sensual experiences. Early in my career, I was fascinated with the minimalists, especially Sol Lewitt and the way that he titled his works for what they were: for example: Arcs from four corners, #871; A black square divided vertically by a wavy line. Left: glossy; right: flat. My film Water Paper Time came from this fascination of documenting something for what it is… the work was being made in between the time when I initiated an action in/on the wet paper and when it dried. The only way to capture that was through video, and I was fortunate to find Gretchen Hogue, who understood what I wanted to do and was able to capture it on film.

Helen Hiebert - Papermaking Artist

PS: Thread, string, and lines act as physical and metaphorical elements to many of your installations, sculptures, and two dimensional work. Do you see this as a connector, an element of tension, symbolic of spatial distance, or maybe a combination of all these things? How do you usually approach or think about lines or thread when it comes to creating work?

  • HH: I used to draw a lot as a child, both abstract squiggles and actual objects, often relating to architecture. I thought I would be an architect until I worked for one and naively decided that it wasn’t for me. And I’m fascinated by the transformation of paper from two into three dimensions and the many ways that it can make that transformation. I am drawing with the string in both two and three dimensions. The papermaking process draws the string into three dimensions through tension and shrinkage, as it dries. Connection and similarity are the underlying themes in all of my work. My sculpture Mother Tree has hundreds of crocheted strands (or lines) that represent mother’s milk (they transform from straight, white strands pouring from the breasts into intermingled and intertwined (not straight) strands in a variety of colors – the white strands are the pure milk of one mother and the colored ones represent the milk of all mothers).

Mother Tree - Hand Papermaking Installation - Hiebert

PS: A reoccurring symbol that I see in your work are dresses; from Mother Tree, to Dress Drawings, to the Line Dried installation. This reference to clothing can have a powerful range of meaning; when you use a dress shape in your artwork, what context and meaning does it have for you? Motherhood seems to be more explicitly about nurturing, and in other instances dresses have a broader meaning and reference to larger forces.

  • HH: I don’t see these as clothing at all, but as figures. Motherhood is intense and isolating. When I had my first child, I’d also just moved across the country, and I was yearning to connect with other mothers and to hear about their experiences. Line Dried is a series of dresses with drawings made by stitching metal washers onto the abdomens, reflecting the miracle of birth. The flat dress drawings were a precursor to Mother Tree, two-dimensional studies. I see Mother Tree as connecting all mothers – those that came before me – and those that will come after me. Now, I’m actually reflecting more on my position as a daughter.

Line Dried - Helen Hiebert - Paper Making Artist

PS: Your work ranges from the symbolic to the physical and process-focused. I especially enjoy your Altered Paper series, where the process of hand paper making is in the forefront, and just as important as the end result. Can you talk about this range of approach? How does making paper by hand variably influence these different approaches?

  • HH: I am interested in technique and process, and how things are made. This to me is concrete. I loved math and actually double majored in math and art until the math got too abstract. I see a correlation with my art. The process is easy for me to understand, and I enjoy figuring out how I can alter that process. At the same time, I’m living and experiencing my life, and my work is an exploration of the things I’m thinking about. And since paper is the medium that I know best, I usually intertwine the ideas with the material.

Sculptural Papermaking art - Helen Hiebert

PS: Much of your handmade paper artwork uses abaca, which is a remarkable fiber for paper making and art making. What about it keeps you coming back?

  • HH: Part of it is familiarity. I know how abaca behaves. And it is one of the first fibers I was introduced to at Dieu Donné. I love its translucency, its strength, the ability to make really thin sheets with it, and the shrinkage qualities it offers. It still enchants me, because I don’t always know what will happen when I leave it to air dry.

PS: And one more question: I heard you made a special appearance on Sesame Street…that might be the greatest sing-along song, ever. Was filming this as fun as I'm imagining it to be? I have to ask!

  • HH: When I worked at Dieu Donné, I met this guy who produced videos for Sesame Street. I got to work with him on the project (and was one of the adults in the video). We had several meetings to plan out the shoot and then took over the studio for a full day of filming. The most memorable moment was when he wanted to film inside of the Hollander beater as it was running. One kid and I suited up in raincoats and we let it fly for a few seconds. The pulp was all over the place!

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