Featured image: Aya Nakamura and Megan Diddie cooking kozo and mitsumata fibers. Courtesy of Switch Grass Paper.
Written by April Behnke
During many long drives to and from Fresh Press Paper, the papermaking studio at University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Chicago-based artists Megan Diddie and Aya Nakamura dreamed of a place to make paper closer to home.
“There were no spaces for the public to access professional paper-making equipment in Chicago,” explained Diddie. “We talked about providing that access, not just for our own art practices, but bringing it to the whole community.”
“We thought, why isn’t anyone doing this? Why don’t we do it?” added Nakamura.
With financial support gained through grassroots fundraising and a grant from the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the two launched Switch Grass Paper in early 2023, a mobile papermaking studio currently offering traveling workshops for all ages and levels in sites across the Chicago area. Thus far, they’ve hosted sessions in locations including Northwestern University and even in local city parks.
For Diddie and Nakamura, the practice of papermaking is ripe for creative expression. Each artist relies on handmade paper in their personal art practice, incorporating the material in customized ways.
Nakamura makes time-intensive abstract drawings on her own irregularly shaped and heavily textured paper, while Diddie incorporates unique materials into the paper she creates and uses for her figurative paintings, sculptures, zines, and books.
And their teaching takes a similarly unusual approach by relying upon the use of free, low-cost, and sustainably sourced materials. They produce their paper pulp from plant fibers drawn from Illinois’ lush prairie landscape, like the rattlesnake master, a perennial herb in the parsley family, and even fabrics, such as second-hand denim, from local thrift stores.
“We design our workshops to help our students experiment and learn what paper is capable of,” explained Nakamura. “The way we teach requires them to reckon with materials in a way they wouldn’t if they bought them from a store. They learn that they can introduce so much visual and textural variety based on what they physically put into the paper.”
Though mass produced paper is ubiquitous, Diddie and Nakamura believe that handmade paper is worth the effort because it offers members of the creative community countless new avenues to explore. But, as with ceramics and woodworking, there are preconceptions about the process.
“Papermaking is often seen as craft. We want to show people that it can be part of a serious art-making practice,” said Diddie.
Nakamura is hopeful about its future. “I think papermaking is the next wave,” she added. “Given the response we’ve had so far and how excited people get about it, I can see it catching on as something that’s practiced seriously here.”
Learn more about Switch Grass Paper at switchgrasspaper.com and on Instagram at @switchgrasspaper. To book a papermaking workshop, or to sign up to participate in one, email switchgrasspaper@gmail.com.
April Behnke is a Chicago-based painter and writer whose artistic practice centers on the building and breaking of patterns. She received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2011 and her BFA from Cornell University in 2006. Behnke has exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the Rockford Art Museum and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. Though born in Boston, Behnke has roots in the Midwest and a passion for exploring the region’s art scene.