Artist, Calligrapher, and Papermaker Pamela Paulsrud with Jamie Thome

On December 3rd, 2020, we visited with artist, calligrapher, and paper maker Pam Paulsrud. 

Through her investigation into the concept and process of handwriting, Ms. Paulsrud became intrigued with the ability to communicate beyond the message encoded in the text. Handwriting is a visual language emanating from our thoughts and emotions, a remnant of a process. Each line, each stroke, is distinguished by the materials, the mood, the day, the rhythm, the breath—a visual language within a language, a cross between a fingerprint and an EKG, telling not only who we are but also how we are in that moment of time. Paulsrud’s intrigue lies not only with line and space but heartbeat and breath—and resonance, that energetic quality, that vibration that seems so illusive. 

Her mark making began as an abstraction of handwriting, intuitive movements, with particular attention to the rhythm and mood, referencing response to her environment. As she develops a new body of work, she feels herself drawn to nature—time that she spends not necessarily seeking or looking but simply being—and then seeing—the lines, the stories, the visual language. The rolling cornfields blanketed with snow suddenly appear as text—the smooth sand along the shoreline tufted by tiny stones emerge as musical scores inscribed with calligraphic lines of remembrance. She sees before her that meaning—language embodied in the “mark.” 

When Paulsrud began paper making years ago, it was for the purpose of examining and exploring the creative process from inception to completion. From the formation of sheets, to working with fibers in its various degrees, she was led to create spontaneous marks within the pulp. The medium became an art unto itself and now offers a multidisciplinary approach in her exploration of capturing sound/resonance in paper with cymatics—sound wave phenomena. Paulsrud’s artwork, her life—informed and inspired by both the inner and outer landscape. 

For more information about Pam and her work, visit her website: pamelapaulsrud.com

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