The studio is professionally equipped with a Hollander beater, woolen felts, presses, traditional English moulds, and a drying system. I make papers using many fibers, including cotton rags, flax, hemp, abaca, kozo, ramie, kenaf, esparto, and straw. I tailor the beating in the Hollander to the type of fiber and the paper's intended use and I fill orders of all sizes. I can vary the measurable qualities of the paper, such as weight, format, fiber, sizing, fillers, color, structure, and watermarks, as well as those qualities harder to measure, such as the sound, hardness, and feel of the paper. My international circle of customers, consisting of artists, bookbinders, designers, and conservators, appreciate this variety and their responses to the papers have led to constant development and improved production. For one project I made rag paper following historical methods; it was then traditionally marbled and used as wallpaper in the restoration of the Leipzig-Gohlis Palace. Because I use neutral sizing and lightfast pigment colors in combination with calcium carbonate buffering, the papers from the studio are age resistant, in accordance with international standards. The sheets vary in weight from 30 grams per square meter to 600 grams per square meter and range in size up to 70 x 100 cm. I work closely with printmakers and printers, so that the qualities of the handmade papers are particularly suited to the desired printing technique. Likewise, I try to accommodate the artist's desire for distinctive optical or tactile qualities in the paper.    My studio's underlying principle is the recognition of paper not merely in the classical sense as a carrier of print, but also as an artistic medium in its own right. In my workshops and courses I convey the fundamentals of hand papermaking as well as the creative potential that paper offers, and I explore a variety of modern techniques: pulp painting, collage, pulp spraying, and sculpture. I aim to push the limits of the possible (i.e., in making oversized sheets) and to make real what seems impossible. As artists come into contact with paper as a medium, new perceptions arise that allow them to discover the potential of paper and prod them to explore.   In 1998 I received a stipend to travel to Japan for a year. Under the guidance of Tsuneo Naito, among others, I had the opportunity to learn traditional Japanese papermaking. The skills that I acquired in Japan (such as the preparation of long-fibered materials like kozo, mitsumata, and gampi; forming sheets using nagashizuki; and air-drying on boards) I am now integrating into the paper studio as a Japanese paper working space. I hope to draw a connection between the Eastern and Western crafts of papermaking and to expand the range of possible materials and products for the artists I work with, while still maintaining quality. This includes experimenting, such as using homegrown, long-fibered materials like flax or hemp in combination with nagashizuki, which results in a superior paper.   Another important field of activity for the studio is the creation of artists' books, whereby, in close collaboration with artist and printers, I make paper for an edition. This entails more than just meeting specifications for color and format of the sheets and of their subsequent printing and processing. The entire process of creation for such a project demands an extensive examination of each artist's book as a whole. The technique used to produce paper with special watermarks for one edition, Lampersberg Album (published by the Dronte-Presse in Berlin, 1995), I later incorporated into another book, Der Mann und der Mond (published by the Carivari-Verlag in Leipzig, 1995), with original drawings in the form of one-of-a-kind watermarks. This integration of drawing, watermarks, and text brought a new dimension to the artist's book and was awarded with the Teimann Prize for book art at the 1995 Leipzig book fair. My next project in the field of artists' books, in 1997, employed a watermark technique to bond an original manuscript to the paper. The text is not on the paper but in the paper itself. The book, Dickicht Anpassung, was published by the Mariannenpress in Berlin, in a limited edition of 100 copies. (The text, by Johannes Jansen, a writer living in Berlin, was awarded a prize at the 1996 Elfriede Bachmann Competition in Klagenfurt, the most important competition for contemporary German literature.)   In this technique, the mould is first coated with light-sensitive material and then, using a photographic process, the watermark is directly developed on the mould. A white cotton base sheet is made using a normal mould. On top of this is laid a second sheet of black hemp, pulled from a separate vat and formed on the watermarked mould. These hemp sheets are formed so thin that holes appear in the sheet where the watermarks are. When the black sheets are laid on top of the white cotton sheets, the watermark shows through as white text on a black background.   The ultimate effect of this technique is of white, handwritten text on a black surface. The convention of black print on white paper is thereby reversed. A new aesthetic effect is achieved and this effect is reproducible. Dickicht Anpassung is bound using traditional Japanese techniques and its simple black cover, also made of handmade paper, reflects the existential, Kafkaesque nature of the text. The graphic effect of the handwritten form of the text, a personal artistic expression, is emphasized by the watermark technique. As an aid to the reader, the full text is printed as an addendum to the book.    Watermarks were originally used as trademarks or to identify the producer or to indicate paper quality. They also provided the papermaker with a means of expression, especially within the context of heraldry. Perhaps the first watermark with a political message, the Pro Patria watermark (and its numerous variations) emerged from the wars of liberation between the Netherlands and its Spanish occupiers. This watermark was widely used again in Germany during the period of Napoleonic occupation. In the 19th century watermarks continued to develop as an element of paper design. They reached their high point of artistic and technical quality by the 20th century with detailed shadow watermarks, employed especially in depicting portraits.   In 1963, American President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, then a symbol of freedom and democracy during the cold war. As a sign of solidarity with the citizens of this encircled city he declared, "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner), which has since become a familiar quotation. A watermark was made at the time to commemorate the occasion of his visit and it bears the president's image and signature. After much research, I managed to secure the original embossing tools and paper mould with the watermark. Making this paper now in my studio, I feel I am preserving a piece of world history, on paper.