What is

your opinion of paper? Is it the best thing to write on

ever invented? Are you sometimes left in awe when you

consider all of the wonderful things you can do with

paper?

If so, the

first national collegiate juried handmade paper art show

is your cup of tea, or more appropriately, sheet of

paper.

The

exhibition, which will be presented at the Robert C.

Williams American Museum of Papermaking, will feature

many different art forms including dynamic paper

sculptures, surreal pulp paintings, a paper quilt made

with 625 pieces of paper made by hand, handmade books

with pop-up figurines, and three dimensional paper

collages. The exhibition will begin Dec. 9 and run

through Feb. 9.

More than

400 entries were submitted by college students across the

country. The jurors selected the best 39. The competition

was juried by Jo Ann Moser from the Smithsonian's

National Museum of American Art and Jane Farmer, an

independent curator formerly of the Smithsonian. The

program was co-curated by Lynn Sures of the Corcoran

School of Art in Washington D.C. and Cindy Bowden from

the Robert C. Williams American Museum of Papermaking.

"The

opportunity for students like myself to have their work

featured in museums is invaluable," said Suzanne

Gray, a student from the University of Alabama Book Arts

Program. "Paper as an art form is an innovative

medium that can intrigue and engage the viewer. The

exhibition will offer a chance to see a variety of

cutting edge paper art in one location."

The juried

show opened in Chicago in September at the Chicago Center

for the Book and Paper Arts, Columbia College. After the

show leaves Atlanta in February, it will head to SUNY

College in Buffalo, N.Y. and then the Corcoran Gallery of

Art in Washington D.C. The exhibition was the first of a

tri-annual event designed to encourage students to

explore the medium of papermaking in their art.

In addition

to seeing the exhibition, patrons can also tour the

museum. The museum is the premier collection of pulp and

paper related artifacts in the world. The exhibits trace

the art, science and history of papermaking from the

forerunners of paper to the advanced technology.

The Robert

C. Williams American Museum of Papermaking is in the

Institute of Paper Science and Technology at 500 10th

Street NW in Atlanta. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 5

p.m. Call 404-894-7840.

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