6-Week Workshop

Date: Tuesdays, September 16 – October 21, 2025

Time: 5:30pm-8:30pm

Description: Katy will share her decades of experience and deep knoweldge of the histories, fibers, tools, processes, and joys of papermaking. Throughout the series, you can expect a full and comprehensive introduction to processes of creating paper.

This series will introduce you to how to use the Fiber Program’s hollander paper beater, a tool for turning fibers and recycled paper into pulp.

You will also learn to work with dyed pulps, as well as create collages by adding elements directly into your paper before it dries.

The series will cover the following topics (schedule is subject to change):

Week 1: Western sheet forming

Week 2 : Pulp painting with colorful dyed pulps

Week 3: Adding texture and random inclusions

Week 4: Paper straight from plants!

Week 5: Handmade paper books

Week 6: Handmade Paper: Wet on wet collage

Tuition: $270 + $40 materials fee

We really want you to join us in the studio! Full and partial tuition scholarships are available to alleviate some of the financial burden of attending a class.

Please fill out the application here! You can expect to hear from someone on the CC staff within 2 weeks.

If you have any questions, email Jamie Boyle, Fibers Program Manager, at jboyle@contemporarycraft.org, or leave a voice message for them at 412-465-1639.

Materials: All materials will be provided

Location: Contemporary Craft, TImmons Studios (5688 Butler St., Pittsburgh, PA 15201). Note, this workshop will take place in the Papers Studio, which is on the first floor of the building.

There are 2 entrances to the Timmons Studios.

One entrance is facing Butler Street. To access the Paper Studio from the Butler Street facing entrance, there are a total of 8 stairs to attend

One entrance is facing 57th Street. This entrance is accessible by ramp, with no stairs to ascend. The Paper Studio is located down the hallway from this entrance.

If there are accessibility accommodations we can provide, or if there is anything you would like us to know before you arrive, please feel free to call (and leave a message for) Jamie Boyle at 412-465-1639 or email jboyle@contemporarycraft.org.

Cancellations and Refunds: Workshop cancellations are decided three business days before the start date. If workshops must be cancelled due to insufficient enrollment, the entire class fee will be refunded through Eventbrite, or you may leave your workshop fee in your Contemporary Craft account for future workshops.

Refund Policy: Given the special circumstances of a visiting artist workshop, student refund requests must be made at least two weeks before a class begins. There will be a $25 cancellation fee. No refunds will be given without two weeks notice. Processing of refunds takes approximately three weeks.

About the Artist

” For my entire life I have been a working artist, organic gardener, and beekeeper. I create handmade paper as a means to an end. Paper art works take the form of: art lighting, shadow box, stationary, books and sculptures all crafted from sustainably collected plants, recycled and invasive fibers.

Each piece is a vignette that holds a visual narrative. Through layers of vintage ephemera, photos and bits of cloth, tales are told. When etched images are included the dialogue begins. Toys, natural and found objects punctuate the story. No material is arbitrary; I am influenced by overlooked materials found in my community, my own back yard. Rusty old tools are mashed together with deconstructed plants; this is where I find humor, combining these unlikely fellows. Often my works invite the viewer to playfully interact with the art work through light and kinetic elements that bring the imagery to life.” – Katy DeMent