Artist Statement

Susan Hersey is a painter who, for the past twenty five years, has been working with handmade
paper as a medium for wall hangings, folding screens, and more recently illuminated sculpture.

About twelve years ago utilizing a pulp sprayer, she began to work in a three dimensional format.
The sculptures are made of many layers of handmade paper pulp that is sprayed onto an armature
of reed and gauze or silk with a twig or bamboo frame. They are then coated with acrylic medium
and sprayed on the inside with flame retardant. For optimal sculptural effect they are illuminated
from inside with low wattage bulbs. They also may be quite effectively illuminated from directly
below or above with remote lighting. The sculptures can be designed as wall sconces for
permanent installion over existing wall light outlets.

The wall hangings and folding screens are handmade paper and other media on bronze screening.
These wall hangings and sculptures are one of a kind, though existing designs can be
approximately recreated in concept. She will create custom designs working from color
swatches sized to suit a specific situation. With the wall hangings she has done specific
designs for stairwells and other unusual areas including curved walls. The sculptures have
been designed to create dramatic new environments in homes as well as large commercial
facilities.

Susan Hersey has been a professional artist in the Bay Area for the past thirty-five years.
Her work is represented in collections worldwide.
Textures

Until recently, I worked in a two dimensional format. Beginning as a painter, I responded directly
to my physical environment/ seeking to express the colors and patterns in nature that I
observed at the beach and in the woods. From painting , I found my way to papermaking
in the late seventies, and have found it the most versatile and sensuous vehicle for the
exploration of my ideas.

The summer of 1985 was a watershed year for me. I had the good fortune to spend a month
at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program in Woodside, California and also participate in a study
trip to Japan. Perhaps more than any other influence, the Japanese use of rhythms of nature
spoke to me, contributing to my own dialogue between simplicity and the decorative impulse.

For the past twelve years I have been expanding my work into the third dimension. As a medium,
paper pulp offers endless opportunities for innovation in technique as well as the certainty of
being surprised by the unexpected. The work I do reflects my sense of continuity in the flow
of creative life, the layers and textures of life over time.
Resume

Born: New York City
Education:

1960 B.A./University of California at Berkeley, CA
1957-58 L'Academic de La Grande Chaumiere, Paris
1955-57 Scripps College, Claremont, CA

Travel & Residencies

2005 Paper Conferrencne, Banff, Canada
2000 Papermaking conference in Sarteano, Italy
1994 Travel in Germany, papermaking conference in Amsterdam
1985 Artist in Residence, Djerassi Resident Artists Program,Woodside, CA
Crafts Study tour of Japan

1958-71 Extensive travel in France and elsewhere in Europe

Professional Organizations & Programs:

2001 - ongoing Baulines Craft Guild, master member
1982 -1995 participant, Artspan/Open Studios of San Francisco
1990 -1995 member. Board of Directors, Artspan/Open Studios of San Francisco
1991-ongoing member, IAPMA (International Association of Handmade Paper Makers & Paper
Artists)
1988-ongoing member. Friends of Dard Hunter (early American papermaker)
1987 participant, "Art in Embassies" Program, United States
Department of State. Work exhibited in U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru.

Selected Collections & Commissions

Kaiser Permanente Health Care System
Sliding room dividers : Dental office of Sylvia Jimenez , San Francisco, CA
Lobby wall hanging in "Creatrice Polite", a senior citizen's apartment building, San Francisco, Ca
Sculptural installations in various Bon Marche stores, (1997-1999)
Outdoor sculptural canopy for The Art Garden, San Francisco, CA.
Wall hanging triptych for law office in Boston MA.
Numerous private comissions

Selected Publications

"Paper Road", Santa Maria della Scala in collaboration with IAPMA, Sienna, Italy
"The New Paper Style", Mimi Christensen, Sterling Publishing Co., New York
"Craft of Northern California", Alcove Books, Berkeley, CA

Selected Juried & Invitational Exhibitions:

2009
Artworks Downtown, "Friends along the Journey", Baulines Craft Guild
Masters and Apprentices, San Rafael, CA.
Gallery of Wood Art, "CODAchrome a snapshot of craft in America", St. Paul, MN
O'Hanlon Center for the Arts, "Works with Paper", Mill Valley, CA.
Front Porch Gallery, "Fiber - It's Good for Your Art", Carlsbad, CA.
2008
Gualala Arts Center,"New Directions in Handmade Paper", Gualala CA.
Falkirk Cultural Center, "The Parlors of Earthly Delight, San Rafeal, CA.
2007
AAAS Gallery, "Fiber Artist Collective", Washington DC
Friends of Dard Hunter juried exhibition, Adams Bank, Silver Spring MD
Morris Graves Museum of Art, "Espressions in Handmade Paper II", The Deckle Edge,
Eureka, CA
2006
Gualala Art Center, "North Coast Mastery", Baulines Craft Guild, Gualala, CA
Marin Community Foundation,"Inspired by Marin", Baulines Craft Guild, Novato, CA
2005
Fiber Art Center, "Fiber Feast", Amherst, MA
Salem Fine Arts Center Gallery, "Fiber Artists Collective", Winston-Salem, NC
2004
Cultural Arts Council Gallery, "Explorations in Handmade Paper", The Deckle Edge, ,
Santa Rosa, CA.
Gualala Arts Center Gallery, "Expressions in Handmade Paper", The Deckle Edge,
Gualala,CA
American Craft Council, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
2003
Sebastopol Center for the Arts/'Innovations in Fiberart", Sebastopol, CA
L'Attitude Galleries, "Off the Wall", Boston, MA
American Craft Council, Fort Mason, San Francisoc, CA
2002
Hoffman Gallery, Oregon College of Art and Craft, "Art on and of Handmade
Paper",Portland, OR
California Design 2002, 600 Townsend,San Francisoc, CA
2001
Tasmaniana Library, "Island Postcards", Hobart, Australia
American Craft Council, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
Sebastopol Center for the Arts, "A Fine Hand", Sebastopol, CA
2000
The Goldstein Museum, "Paper Trivia & Treasure", St. Paul, MN.
Artisans, "Form: Paper & Fiber", Mill Valley, CA.
Santa Maria della Scala, "Paper Road", Siena, Italy
1999
In Sight Gallery, "Gathered Strands" textile & fiber work, San Francisco, CA.
American Craft Council, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA and St. Paul, MN
1998
Marin Technology Center, "Eight Paper Artists", San Rafael, CA.
American Craft Council, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA.
1997
Lynn House Gallery, "Pulp and Water: Contemporary Paper Art",
Antioch Civic Arts Commission, Antioch, Ca.
Soundscape Gallery, "The Deckle Edge: Eight Paper Artists" Santa Rosa, Ca.
American Craft Council, Fort Mason, San Francisco, Ca-
1996
Sterling Vineyard, "The Deckle Edge", Calistoga, CA.
333 Bush Street, "Sculptural Lights, Paper Tapestries & Vessels", San Francisco, CA-
Metra Gallery, "Re-flected site and illuminated objects", San Francisco, CA
1995
Fisher Gallery, Farmington Valley Arts Center, "Everything Under the Sun:
Contemporary Crafts from the San Francisco Bay Area", Avon, CT
Sausalito Arts Festival, Sausalito, CA
Mill Valley Arts Festival, Mill Valley, CA
Snowgrass Institute, "Paper Trail West 1995", Cashmere, Washington,
Danville Fine Arts Gallery, "The Art of Handmade Paper", Danville , CA
UCSF Faculty/Alumni House, "The Deckle Edge; Eight Paper Artists", San Francisco, CA.
Lindsay Dirkx Brown Art Gallery, "Handmade Paper", San Ramon, CA.
1994
Contemporary Craft Museum, "Made in California", San Francisco, CA
Snowgrass Institute, "Paper Trail West 1994", Cashmere, WA
The Arts Center, "Paper/Fiber XVII", Iowa City, IA
1993
Westbrook Gallery at the Georgia Institute of Technology,"Paperworks", Atlanta, GA
California Contemporary Crafts Gallery/"Media:Fiber",Corte Madera,CA .
1992
Sun Gallery, "On the Edge: Art Forms in Paper", Hayward CA
1991
Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival, Mill Valley, CA
1988
Studio 7 Gallery, "Innovations in Paper", Holualoa, HI
Sun Gallery, "Dimensional Paper", Hayward, CA
1987
Carrara's Cafe Gallery, Installation of Wall Hangings, Emeryville, CA
1986
South of Market Cultural Center, Installation of Wall Hangings, San Francisco, CA
1982
Textiles by Design, "Paintings in Paper", Berkeley, CA