Instructor Spotlight: Don Widmer

Don Widmer teaches Pulp Painting Experiments on Saturday, November 7, 10:00AM-4:00PM

Tell us about your experience and key highlights of your work as it relates to the workshop you will be teaching for Artists Book House (ABH).

I studied paper arts at Columbia College, receiving my MFA in 2012. Since then, I have continued to explore papermaking, specifically pulp painting using stencils and colored pulp to create imagery within sheets of paper. I use hand-cut mylar stencils to mask the pulp, which I apply with spray bottles, squirt bottles, spoons, or tweezers. I am always exploring different ways to apply the pulp, different plant materials, and different techniques. Much of what I teach is structured, but I encourage flexibility and experimentation within the moment of creation.

Where can readers find examples of your work?

Website: dwidmer.com

Instagram and Facebook: @donwidmerpaperarts

Some images of my work can be seen in Radical Paper: Art and Invention with Colored Pulp.

What can prospective students expect to learn in your workshop?

I like to demonstrate some of the specific ways I use to create my art and techniques I've acquired over the years. These might include how to correct mistakes, how different additives (to the pulp) can be used to achieve different results. I like to address many of the questions or issues that come up during the moment of creation, and to discuss options for solving problems or where to go to find more information.

If a student were to walk away with one or two key lessons, skills, or principles from your workshop, what would you hope that would be?

I think it's important to play and experiment with pulp, to begin with an idea of what to create, but to remain flexible and open to unexpected results.

Can you name an example or two of past workshops you’ve taught, and what most excited you about them?

I usually teach my technique of creating imagery within sheets of paper using pigmented pulp. I love seeing people's wonder when they see what can achieved with stenciled pulp, and also the magic of papermaking, the idea that plants and water can achieve such diverse results.

What are the most important features of your workspace?

good overhead lighting, an overhead hose, and a selection of my favorite music.

What are some of your favorite tools in your studio?

Favorite tools would include my Reina beater, my restraint drying system, an army of spray bottles and giant rolls of mylar for making stencils. 

What inspires and informs your work?

I am often inspired by odd bits of history and storytelling, folklore, and music. 

How did you first become associated with ABH?

I know several of the people associated with ABH from my time at Columbia College, where I received my MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts with a concentration in Book and Paper Arts

What interests and excites you most about working with ABH?

ABH brings the knowledge of book and paper arts to the Chicago community, and I'm very excited to be a part of this.  

Other than your ABH workshop, can you name a few other key events or projects in your near future?

You can find me exhibiting, selling, and demonstrating my art in juried art fairs throughout the year. I am currently working on a new tunnel book in collaboration with Colombian author Daniel López