Stop by the HCCC Craft Garden to watch United by Hand artist Drew Cameron conduct a papermaking demonstration as part of the ongoing Combat Paper initiative. Drawing from the 2,000-year-old tradition of Western hand papermaking, Drew will be repurposing plant-based fibers from donated military uniforms and civilian clothing into handmade paper.
While the United by Hand exhibition is on view, the public is invited to donate uniforms for this demonstration and ongoing project. Visitors are also invited to cut the donated textiles into small pieces in preparation for papermaking. This activity will take place in the main gallery throughout the exhibition.
At the demonstration, Drew will take the small pieces of fiber and feed them into a Hollander Beater, making pulp for a handmade paper flag, 9.5 x 5: Houston, which will be on view in the exhibition as well as at the Combat Paper Workshop held the following day. The flag will serve as a symbol of communal support for the veterans’ population and a pledge of commitment to raising awareness about war. The Combat Paper Demonstration and Workshop will promote an open and accessible atmosphere, in which visitors can share their stories and participate in a dialogue about war at home and abroad.
About Combat Paper
Founded in 2007 by Drew Cameron and Drew Matott, Combat Paper welcomes free expression and invites participants to communicate their experiences through the language of hand papermaking and pulp printing. By conducting workshops within communities of individuals affected by war, using donated textile artifacts, Combat Paper creates an open and accessible atmosphere, in which individuals can share their stories as part of a collective voice. More information at https://www.combatpaper.org.
About the Artist
Drew Cameron (San Francisco, CA) is a papermaker, based in the Shotwell Paper Mill, and the co-founder of Combat Paper. Cameron served in the U.S. Army from 2000 to 2006 and spent four years in active duty as a Field Artillery Soldier, with a tour in Iraq in 2003, where he was promoted to Sergeant (E-5). From 2004 to 2006, he served in the Vermont Army National Guard. He has held residencies at the Museum of Contemporary Craft (Portland, OR), University of Illinois (Urbana, IL), University of Iowa Center for the Book (Iowa City, IA), and Southwest School of Art & Craft (San Antonio, TX). His work can be found in 33 public collections and has been shown at the Museum of Contemporary Craft (Portland, OR), Craft and Folk Art Museum (Los Angeles, CA), the Corcoran Gallery (Washington, D.C.), Courthauld Institute (London, UK), and the Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.), to name a few.
