Helen Hiebert

Lamps & Lanterns: Creating Innovative Structures that Capture Light

Course Description
In this workshop, participants will create a sampling of lamps, lanterns, screens, and other structures that lend themselves to illuminating paper. We’ll utilize hand papermaking techniques, such as embedding wire and string to create structure within sheets of paper; designing watermarks which appear when illuminated; and creating shaped papers to fit certain lamp forms. We'll also use techniques which lend themselves to working with pre-made sheets of paper, (either handmade or purchased). We’ll start with a few traditional structures, such as a wire framed lamp, and then we’ll proceed to more complex structures including a shadow lantern, composed of lightweight wooden panels which can be assembled as a lantern or screen featuring cut-outs that cast shadows onto a second layer of paper; a Chochin lantern, a collapsible Japanese-style paper lantern; and small Japanese-style lattice-work shoji screens. We'll talk about various natural and electric options for working with paper and light. Participants will have time to work on projects with the group as well as on their own creations.