By MICHAEL BOYLAN
Weekend Editor

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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