Eugénie Barron began experimenting with handmade paper in 1976, after viewing a student exhibition at University of California, Santa Barbara. She studied with and assisted Douglass Howell in his later years, and has maintained a studio in her residence since the early 1980s. Her work in the field has included teaching, writing, and research. While she is continuously drawn to the artistic potential of hand papermaking, the beating of fiber into pulp and the mystery of how pulp dries into paper are what sustain her interest.  Imagine my surprise upon arrival in Saugatuck, Michigan for the 1983 Ox-Bow Book and Paper Intensive. The rural setting was a gorgeous contrast to noisy New York City where I lived at the time. It was my first contact with papermakers other than Douglass Howell. I met so many wonderful individuals with varying skills and personalities, all of whom loved papermaking as much as I did. What a treat.

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