Paper Comes to Life in Kirkland Arts Center's New Exhibition PAPER TRANSLATIONS

The receipt from the grocery store. The post-it note on the desk. The napkin used to wipe up a spill. Paper is all around us, even in an increasingly digital society, yet it is often overlooked. We often pay more attention to the messages it conveys or its functional uses rather than its inherently poetic qualities.

Danielle Bodine, Barnacle Giganticus, mulberry and recycled papers, waxed linen
This fall, Kirkland Arts Center presents Paper Translations, an exhibition that seeks to disrupt our relationship to paper as a utilitarian material and reintroduce us to this malleable medium as a precious gift. The artists in this show - Dona Anderson, Mary M Ashton, Danielle Bodine, Zia Gipson, Lois James, Dorothy McGuinness, Jean-Marie Tarascio, and Sande Wascher-James - demonstrate the incredible transformations paper can undergo in the hands of an artist.

Part of what makes paper such a good artistic medium is its mutability; the artists in this show fold, stain, paint, cast, felt, tear, cut, sew, and weave it into a variety of forms, merging cultural tradition, personal memory, and storytelling. Ashton and Gipson borrow papermaking traditions from Asian cultures, while Tarascio and Wascher-James take published books and alter them, challenging their structure and meaning.

Sande Wascher-James, Equal Pay Day, fine Italian papers in shades of green
"Paper is one of our great communication tools for visual and literary art, education, business, important news, as well as our inner thoughts and emotions," says the show's curator, Mary M Ashton. "Music, poetry, literature, and scripture are transcribed, shared, and influenced by the aesthetic qualities of the paper on which they are presented."

The artists in Paper Translations are putting on a variety of free public programs throughout the run of the exhibition to showcase some of the many aspects of this unique material. On September 17, Mary M Ashton will go over the process of Japanese Papermaking from 2:00 - 4:00 pm. Children ages 6 and up are invited to make Wacky Baskets at a mini workshop with Danielle Bodine on October 8 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm. Finally, come see talented weaver Dorothy McGuinness at work on November 5 between 2:00 - 4:00 pm and discover how she makes her Contemporary Baskets. For more details, visit kirklandartscenter.org/paper-translations.

Dorothy McGuinness, Hexahedron 2, watercolor paper, acrylic

Join us at the free Opening Reception on Friday, September 16, 6:00 - 8:30 pm in the KAC Gallery. Free parking is available; drinks ($3) and light snacks will be served. Artists will be in attendance.