Watercourse: Mississippi

Temporary Site-Specific Installation: Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, IA
“Paper: Medium and Message” exhibition

Dyed muslin fabric, overbeaten abaca paper pulp

27 X 8 feet 

2018

Using Harold Fisk’s 1944 Corps of Engineers map of the historic meanders of the Mississippi River, these sheets were formed using overbeaten abaca paper pulp as the shapes of the river’s path. The pulp was then transferred to the walls covered with dip dyed muslin. As the pulp dries, it clings to the fabric and shrinks, creating a highly dimensional surface. The paper is strong enough to give form to the fabric and to bridge gaps between fabric panels. 

Research

Running, Lee, “Handmade Paper and the Landscape.” SUS-RURI: Proceedings of a Workshop on Developing a Convergence Sustainable Urban Systems Agenda for Redesigning the Urban-Rural Interface along the Mississippi River Watershed Held in Ames, Iowa, August 12–13, 2019. National Science Foundation Workshop, December 23, 2019 (PDF of images)