Linea Paper



Linea Paper

About The Artist

Ann Marie Kennedy • Raleigh, NC
Paper • CUSTOM COMMISSIONS

In these works, I explore paper’s ability to contain memory and the residue of place. The pieces are made using a hand papermaking process. I compose materials like plants, linens, shredded cloth and lace in a slurry of wet pulp. The pulp itself is created from textile materials and are processed in a Hollander beater. As I lift the papermaking tool, out of the water, the materials float around in the pulp and rearrange themselves, often creating a sense of organic movement and disrupting the sense of order I am trying to impose. I often add marks and lines using a type of pigmented pulp. The paper dries translucent, revealing the materials within the piece. These works refer to a particular moment in time, but also to the nature of memory itself the way we revise and re-pattern it while contributing to its illusion of stability.



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Q&A with the Artist

Tell us how your work is made.

I create artwork from paper pulp using hand papermaking processes. Starting with textile fibers such as linen, cotton, raw flax and abaca I process them in a hollander beater to create the paper pulps I work with. This allows me to customize the qualities in the final work. I add color by pigmenting pulp paint that I use for stencils and painting. I arrange materials in wet paper pulp in a type of frame called a deckle box. When I lift the box out of the vat, the materials tend to rearrange themselves creating a sense of arrested motion. The water drains from the deckle box, leaving a residue of fiber. When dried under pressure, the paper forms into the final work, and can be translucent, textured, smooth and/or opaque.


What makes you passionate about the medium you work with?

Papermaking often produces failures and unexpected results. This inspires my curiosity and draws me back into the process. As a relatively new art medium, there isn't a lot of research and information how to work with paper pulp. Making tests and experimenting with paper pulp is part of my creative process, deepening my understanding of the material, while also feeling like I'm finding out something new each time I work.

What is something unique about you or your practice?

My work can appear fragile, but is both strong and has integrity. The translucency draws the viewer into the surface and inspires curiousity about the nature of the material.