Pivoting a New Papermaking Studio in Post-Hurricane Asheville
Printmaker and papermaker Georgia Deal has recently set up a new studio, Swannanoa Paper in Asheville, North Carolina, after many years of chairing Corcoran School of Art & Design’s Printmaking and Papermaking area. Also a guest editor of the Winter 2020 print and paper issue of Hand Papermaking, Georgia has been in touch after Hurricane Helene with news about using gray water in the studio, and planning for ongoing projects. Please enjoy the following guest post from Georgia Deal. — May
Everything seems to take longer these days with the clean-up post-hurricane, and still not having potable water. The election also took up a lot of my time, and I'm trying to come to terms with the outcome.
As for my paper studio, Swannanoa Paper, I was fortunate to not suffer any damage as we’re located up on a hill, and the most severe flooding was down by the river. Still, I had to continue by using "gray water" for most household and studio chores, and this was a tough realization when I knew I had to start this project for the SGCI Puertograbando in San Juan next April. As I've been focused on the intersection of printmaking and papermaking in recent years, I proposed a panel titled "Possibilities / Posibilidades: Bridging Print and Paper,” and solicited artists who collaborate between these two media and how they have pushed the boundaries of both.
I received so many great applications to speak on projects, and it was very difficult to winnow it down to the one-hour allotted time we have for the panel. Fortunately, the conference organizers suggested we have some tables to set up in the space for showing the various projects, and I was able to invite a few additional artists to send works to display, even though they will not be speaking.
Richly pigmented abaca sheets by Swannanoa Paper.
Printmaker and papermaker Georgia Deal using a box mould to form sheets of handmade paper.
Due to the storm I had to find a new collaborator myself, and began work with a graduate student at Western Carolina University near Asheville, who has a background as a costume designer and textile artist, Holly Hill. I wanted to construct garments with embedded narratives and I needed her expertise here. Although we had particular ideas before the hurricane, we pivoted post-storm to tell our stories about the destruction to the area.
Swannanoa Paper collaborator Holly Hill, making paper.
Video: saving every drop of rain barrel water when pouring 24" x 30" sheets of abaca.
I also had to decide to use the water from my rain barrel as it was all I had before water from our taps became available. When this ran out, it meant using the contaminated water which was all we had available.
The term "pivot" has been my operative word throughout all this, and seems also to be appropriate to many artists when things aren't quite going according to plan! Archival concerns have been tossed out the window now, and the collaboration is well underway at this point, and as in many things, ideas have expanded and are becoming richer in meaning.
— Georgia Deal
Georgia Deal is a printmaker and papermaker whose mixed-media works on paper embody these processes. After Chairing the Printmaking and Papermaking area at the Corcoran School of Art & Design in Washington D.C. for many years, she recently has set up a new studio, Swannanoa Paper in Asheville, North Carolina. See more of Swannanoa Paper on Instagram @swannanoapaper.