Founded in a five-hundred square foot warehouse space in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1980, Pyramid Atlantic expanded to a four-thousand square foot space in Washington, D.C., near the Maryland suburbs, in 1986. The original shop focused almost exclusively on papermaking. The larger facility in Washington, located conveniently near a rapid transit rail stop, offered papermaking facilities and added printing and printmaking equipment to provide a wider range of opportunities for artistic expression. The two shops functioned simultaneously for almost three years, but eventually it became apparent that resources were stretched too thin. The Washington location had stimulated a strong following and so the Baltimore location took on its own life as a private artists' cooperative. The Washington site soon became too small for the growing programs and the proposed sale of the building which housed the facility created uncertainty about the future. More importantly, this site was within the jurisdiction of Washington, D.C., and, consequently, Pyramid Atlantic was no longer eligible to receive funding from the Maryland Arts Council, which had been very important for its subsistence and development.(1) Undaunted and ever resourceful, Helen Frederick found a large, ground-floor space in the back of a shopping center in Riverdale, Maryland, in Prince George's County, near the University of Maryland in College Park. Pyramid Atlantic completely renovated spacious new studios and moved there, its present home, in July of 1990. Located just within the highway that surrounds Washington, D.C., the new shop is also very near other highways and rail lines, making it convenient to residents of Baltimore, Washington and its suburbs, and the entire mid-Atlantic. The move was facilitated by the moral support of the Prince George's Council for the Arts and the Prince George's Economic and Community Development Council, which recognized how the facility could serve as a catalyst for recasting the county's image. Known as the working-class sister to Washington's more affluent suburban counties, Prince George's County has the potential to be a mecca for artists: low rents, good transportation, and proximity to a major cultural center. Furthermore, the transplantation of Pyramid Atlantic advanced the county's plans to revitalize older commercial areas such as Riverdale. The Arts Council provided a larger-than-usual general operating grant for Pyramid's first year in its new location and helped arrange contacts to convince the board of Pyramid Atlantic to lease the five-thousand square foot space, while the Economic and Community Development Council provided some technical assistance for the relocation. Throughout the early years of the facility, one of its most critical challenges was to acquire and upgrade equipment. By 1987 it was adequately equipped, and now the papermaking facility boasts one pound and five pound Hollander beaters, a 4 x 8 foot Hilger vacuum table, a hydraulic press, and various traditional Western and Japanese moulds, up to 30 x 40 inches. In addition, custom moulds can be made to any size; it is now common for resident artists to produce pulp paintings scaled 4" x 8". The printshop has a state-of-the-art, handmade 40 x 70 inch American French Tool etching press, which is used for intaglio and relief printing as well as plate lithography; this press is capable of the fidelity of nineteenth-century presses. Also available are darkroom facilities for photographic etching, plate lithography, and photo-silkscreen images. For bookbinding there are two binding presses and for letterpress printing, two Vandercook 4T presses, a Universal IV, and a Chandler & Price. With sufficient room for several artists to work at once, the facility also includes a growing library of reference books and two small exhibition areas. Outside there is an extraordinary, small garden plot devoted to papermaking plants such as tororo-aoi, cotton, and flax, cultivated by Frederick and college interns in 1991. The physical facilities of Pyramid Atlantic, however, do not begin to suggest the vast array of activities that take place under its auspices. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Pyramid Atlantic's programs is the great variety of workshops it offers. Past workshops have included such varied topics as Japanese woodcuts and papermaking, paper casting, mixed-media intaglio, Turkish ebru marbling, and artist's book structures. Most of the workshops are held on weekends to allow for as broad participation as possible. Each year the workshops have become more numerous and more ambitious. From mid-February through mid-June of 1993 alone almost twenty separate workshops were offered. The schedule included both one- and two-day workshops, ranging from "Creating Large Sheets of Paper" and "Recycling for Handmade Paper" to "Monoprints" and "The Altered Photograph." Book arts workshops included, for this period, a four-day workshop on beginning letterpress, and workshops on "The Book as Object," "Sculptural Books," and the "Use of Polymer Clay in Artist's Books." In conjunction with Bookmakers, an independent supply house for high quality bookmaking and bookbinding materials, located in the same building as Pyramid Atlantic, two highly specialized workshops on book repair and paper conservation (leafcasting and paperfills) were offered in March and May of 1993. Each of Pyramid's workshops is taught by one or more specialists. For those artists who prefer to work alone, Pyramid offers individual studio rentals and open studio workshops. Artists can rent the papermill or the printshop on a daily basis. Resident artists Tracy Krumm (papermaker), Susan Goldman (printmaker), and Gordon Fluke (letterpress printer and book artist), facilitate projects and act as technical advisors and faculty members. Writer Buck Downs helps to coordinate the writers and visual arts book program, which includes public forums and readings. One to three month residency and apprenticeship programs funded through state, local, and private foundations are offered year-round to artists and students in all disciplines. As if all this activity within a mere four-month period were not ambitious enough, an intensive, multi-week Summer Institute has been offered for the past several summers. This year's Institute, called "Pyramid Parallels, 1993," in honor of the Year of the Craft, will recognize the large Asian community in the area. A group of noted artists has been invited to create their own unique sculptural paper vessels, and specialized demonstrations will showcase lacquered paper, luminous paper lamps, and tie-dyed paper boxes. In July 1993, Paul Wong, Akiro Kurosaki, and Tom Nakashima, among others, will present classes. Last year's summer institute focused on "Washi: Japanese Papermaking," with numerous workshops and panels held over a two-week period. The session ended with an Asian festival which will be presented annually. Concerns for the history of papermaking and its contemporary approaches were integrated with performance, music, and dance. Previous summer institutes were less specific, but included workshops offered by such outstanding artists and lecturers as Betty Lou Chaika, Tim Barrett, Brad Freeman, Keji Shinohara, and Nance O'Banion. Although Pyramid Atlantic is primarily dedicated to innovative, collaborative exchange between artists, providing a setting that will encourage both experimentation and professional development, many of its programs and activities are directed to the general public. As a tax-exempt organization receiving support from membership dues, program fees, private contributions, corporate support, and state and local funding, Pyramid has an audience and constituency beyond that of the professional artists who use the facilities. For example, every year Frederick, staff, and interns conduct workshops in papermaking for sixth- through twelfth-graders at local schools. In enhancing their understanding of materials and handmade objects they emphasize the interdisciplinary aspect of the experience. As Frederick says: "I think paper is a perfect medium for small children and adolescents. They learn the science of it. They connect it to social studies, culture, history, nature, and create a new sense of balance as they work." As part of many open houses and festivals at Pyramid Atlantic, children have been encouraged to participate in making paper, marbling, bookmaking, folding origami forms, and other paper-related approaches. Because her time for such involvement with children is limited, Frederick has often scheduled papermaking and printmaking workshops for teachers. In March of 1993, for example, New York artist Ken Polinskie presented a workshop specifically for adults who were interested in teaching handmade paper to children. The high professional standards of the faculty at Pyramid Atlantic permit college and university students to arrange internships for credit. They can focus on papermaking, printmaking, bookmaking, or arts administration. In addition, papermakers and schools in need of ready-to-use pulps may purchase them from Pyramid's paper mill. The mill also produces both standard and custom sheets of paper, made to desired size, color, and texture, and works with local institutions, such as the Smithsonian Institution, as well as many designers and individual artists. If one aspect of community outreach and education involves welcoming the public to the Pyramid, another facet is collaboration with other arts organizations in their facilities, such as a lecture by Kathleen Edwards and Pat Nick on contemporary printmaking workshops, which Pyramid co-sponsored with the National Museum of American Art. Recently a project by Miriam Schapiro was co-sponsored at Pyramid with the National Museum for Women in the Arts, another Washington institution. A lecture by the artist followed several months later at the Museum. In 1993 Pyramid will co-sponsor a panel, "Perspectives on Contemporary Culture" at the Washington Project for the Arts, as well as "Writing Across the Artist's Book," a new Writers and Artists program to be presented at the Arlington [Virginia] Art Center. Beyond the programs and services directed toward professional artists and the general public, the amateur and the collector receive their share of attention as well. An active membership program allows people to support Pyramid Atlantic and receive benefits ranging from workshop discounts to invitations for special events. In 1990, a Print and Paperwork Subscription series was initiated to allow subscribers to purchase works of art created at Pyramid and to view works in progress. When prominent artists come to work at Pyramid Atlantic, supporters are invited to meet the artist, watch her or him at work, and hear the artist and technical collaborator discuss the project. Many of the people who attend are collectors, who can see the artist's works and purchase them directly from the workshop. Such noted artists as Ke Francis, Tom Green, Tazuko Ichikawa, Bilge Friedlaender, and Shoichi Ida have produced work for the print subscription series. A collector might choose to be a "modern day Medici" and sponsor a notable artist's visit to Pyramid. The sponsorship program provides uninterrupted time for artists to experiment at the press or in the paper mill, with technical assistance and time to themselves. Unlike similar programs at other workshops, it is not necessary for an edition to result from the experience, although it usually does. Pyramid Atlantic also publishes books under its own imprint, with recent editions by the Guerrilla Girls, Johanna Drucker, and Davi det Hompson. To further encourage the appreciation and collecting of artists' books, Pyramid Atlantic sponsored the first "Art Book-A-Fair" in 1991 at the National Museum for Women in the Arts, for national dealers of the contemporary book, book artists, papermakers, and binders to present their work for purchase. So well received was this first art book fair that a second one was held at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, also in Washington, in November 1992, and it promises to be an annual event. At the heart of Pyramid's diverse activities is the spirit of collaboration. A non-profit organization with a hard-working board of directors, an advisory council, and a small professional staff, Pyramid Atlantic is a living example of the possibilities of this approach. But behind every event, activity, project, workshop, and collaboration has been the guiding spirit of Helen Frederick, the organization's founding director and, until 1992, its sole Executive Director. Last year she achieved a long-time goal of extricating herself from the day-to-day affairs of the programs and facility to become its Founding and Artistic Director, turning over most of the administrative duties to a newly hired Executive Director, Cynthia Wayne. Although she managed to maintain her own artistic activity during her entire tenure as Executive Director, Frederick began 1993 with a well-deserved sabbatical to concentrate on her own art, to travel, and to prepare for a number of upcoming exhibitions. During her absence, however, the ideas, principles, and spirit with which she endowed the workshop continued to guide its activities. In a recent panel discussion, she expressed a belief that has influenced her endeavors at Pyramid Atlantic and might well serve as the touchstone for all artistic collaboration: The historic premise of alchemy was that there was a method for speeding up the natural transformation of ordinary materials to more precious minerals that could be further transformed, ultimately to become gold, the immortal metal of the gods. It was believed that the alchemist could control this transformation and attain power, a form of collaboration with the Creator. I see this concept of transformation as being parallel to the intensified creativity involved in a print collaboration...Pyramid has that little alchemy, whatever it is, whenever it is, so it comes off, because of the trust and the love and the fear, the engagement between artists, technicians, and community, that is the spirit of Pyramid Atlantic.

‍