Where: UIC Students at Columbia College Chicago - Papermaking Studio
When: March 8th + 15th, 2024
With Melissa H Potter, artist and professor
Sponsored by The Anthropocene Lab, The UC Office of Sustainability, The UIC Greenhouse and The Art Department

This program is a two-day workshop to research and implement materials grown in Art Garden @ UIC for hand papermaking. A focus on Experimental Farm Network-sourced kenaf will center the program on the history and utilization of pre-industrial paper for micro-industry, social engagement and climate-responsive product development. The workshop takes place in the Columbia studios but focuses on practices that can be replicated in smaller-scale and informal spaces. Mulberry fiber, also a bast fiber like kenaf, will be used as the primary material for our program as it is a realistic material to teach in a two-day format and assures outcomes for the fiber. The kenaf will be processed and studied alongside mulberry to produce a pulp log for fiber use. Factors include cooking agent (kenaf may require lye, which is not appropriate for studio use), material viability (harvested post seeding, container vs. land grown, stem branching, etc) and work timing.