Hand-Beaten Bark Paper & Natural Dyes with Lisa Miles

Deepening her connection with the natural world, papermaker and book artist Lisa Miles creates hand-beaten bark paperworks using bast fibers and natural dyes. Her process transforms raw materials into undulating, abstract landscapes where image and paper merge seamlessly. Each piece is crafted by "drawing" with plant-dyed fibers on a wood board, a process done upside down and backwards, then hand-beaten with a volcanic stone. The final image only reveals itself after the sheet dries. Striving to localize her practice further, she has been cultivating a fiber and dye garden at her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and is working towards embedding the spirit of place into each piece, while making offerings to desert pollinators and honoring the slow, meditative journey from seed to sheet.

Above: Portrait of Lisa Miles.

Banner: Lisa Miles, Codex Chup Cabal, 2017. Hand-beaten Japanese Kozo, Indigo, Fustic, Osage Orange, 144” x 8”.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Lisa Miles is a papermaker and book artist who creates one-of-a-kind, hand-beaten bark paperworks. Originally from New England, Miles is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She holds an MFA in Book Arts from the University of Iowa Center for the Book, a BFA in Graphic Design from the New England School of Art & Design, and an AA in Printmaking from the Santa Fe Community College. In 2016, she researched papel amate in Mexico, with support from a University of Iowa Stanley Graduate Award for International Research. In 2017–2018, she received a Fulbright Arts Research Grant for her project, “Bark Paper, Plant Dyes, and Book Arts in Indonesia,” where she studied daluang bark paper in Java and fuya barkcloth in Sulawesi. In 2018, Miles was awarded the Holle Award for Excellence in Book Arts from the University of Alabama. Her work is held in public and private collections, including the British Library, Fisher Fine Arts Materials Library, and University of Denver Special Collections, among others

https://dutchesspress.com/

Above: Lisa Miles, Sanctuary, 2023. Hand-beaten Japanese Kozo, Indigo, 24” x 18”.

About Dieu Donné

Dieu Donné is the leading non-profit cultural institution dedicated to serving emerging and established artists through the collaborative creation of contemporary art using the process of hand papermaking.

Since 1976, Dieu Donné has introduced artists to the untapped potential of hand papermaking as an art medium through residencies, fellowships, exhibitions, workshops, artist talks, and publications. Through extensive collaborations with Master Papermakers, Dieu Donné works with artists from a wide variety of practices to explore the creative possibilities in hand papermaking – fostering experimentation and producing innovative works of art. Dieu Donné strives to teach a new visual language, providing a transformative experience that leads to artistic breakthroughs.

How to Attend

This online event will take place on Thursday, June 12, 6:30 - 7:30 PM ET. Attendees can access the live event through Eventbrite’s Online Event Page. (Please note that you will need to log into Eventbrite to access the talk.) The talk will last approximately 45 minutes, followed by questions. This program is pay-what-you-can, with a suggested donation of $5.00.

All Dieu Donné virtual events include the option of live automated captioning. A captioned recording of this event will be posted online following the event.

This program is made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and generous foundation and individual support.