| Annie Morris Simcoe
Mixed media and handmade paper artist
I make all of my own paper using materials that I gather near my home in Western Maryland, where I live with my husband Jeff and dogs Elzie and Bo. I began making paper about ten years ago while I was a student at WVU. Until making the leap to full time artist in the summer of 2009, I worked as a research hydrologist at WVU. My job required me to spend a lot of time outdoors where I was constantly amazed by the natural landscape of the Appalachian Mountains. During the fourteen years I have lived in this region I have spent a lot of time hiking, cross-country skiing, and exploring the rivers. It is from all of these experiences that I draw inspiration for my art works, as well as many of the raw materials.
The first step in the process is to boil plant fibers such as banana peels, corn husks, or cattails in a solution of caustic soda to break down the cellulose fibers. Then they are beaten to form a pulp. Sheets of paper are hand dipped from the pulp, pressed, and dried. Making the paper is only the first step in my art. Once the paper is dry, I often stitch it on a sewing machine in patterns inspired by the natural landscape of the Appalachian region and art quilts. The stitching simultaneously strengthens and weakens the paper. My paper is perforated by the needle of the sewing machine but is held together by the thread.
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