Artist Spotlight: Jane Ingram Allen (USA)

“My artworks begin with making handmade paper from plant fibers and then using mixed media techniques.  This series is about wildfires, water, and climate change, inspired in part by the wildfires in Santa Rosa, CA, and the ever-present threat of fire, living in an area where water is a continuing concern with long periods of extreme drought and water rationing. In my work, I use controlled burning of my handmade paper and fiber constructions to make unique patterns, holes, and colors in the handmade kozo fiber paper I create using Japanese techniques and my own papermaking innovations.  This work emphasizes the terrible beauty of fire that can be beneficial, purifying, and warming as well as destructive and terrifying. I feel that harmony with nature should be our goal to help mitigate climate change effects and work together for a better environment.”