Switch Grass Paper is an emerging paper studio in Chicago with a goal to make papermaking accessible to the community by providing classes, workshops, programming, and memberships. We currently offer traveling workshops at various schools and art spaces, and we hope to establish a brick-and-mortar space where we can teach and assist people to realize their projects.
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Switch Grass Paper is an emerging paper studio in Chicago with a goal to make papermaking accessible to the community by providing classes, workshops, programming, and memberships. We currently offer traveling workshops at various schools and art spaces, and we hope to establish a brick-and-mortar space where we can teach and assist people to realize their projects.
Some of our papermaking workshops are centered around prairie plants that grow in Illinois. Since the early 1800s, the vast prairies of Illinois have been reduced to almost nothing.1 Prairies host an incredible variety of plants. For the workshops, we have been working with species such as Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum), Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), and Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardi), among others. We believe that connecting people to these plants through papermaking will raise awareness of the vitality and magic of our state’s ecosystems. One prairie of note—Bell Bowl Prairie—came to our attention through our interest in prairie plants. This land was an ancient prairie and home to endangered species in Rockford, Illinois. It was recently destroyed by the Rockford International Airport to create a parking lot and a more convenient roadway for parcel shipping companies such as UPS and Amazon.2 By bringing more visibility to these greatly diminished landscapes, we hope more people will be inspired to plant prairie in their yards, advocate for the land, and spend time outdoors.
As papermakers and artists based in Chicago, we recognize a lack of publicly accessible papermaking facilities, prompting us to initiate this project. While the city has many amazing spaces offering instruction indifferent art forms and processes, opportunities for papermaking are not among them. The initial idea for Switch Grass Paper originated during our regular two-and-a-half-hour drives from Chicago to Champaign–Urbana, where we utilized the facilities at Fresh Press, a paper studio on the University of Illinois Champaign–Urbana (UIUC) campus. Fresh Press, founded by design professors Eric Benson and Steve Kostell, aims to “change the paper supply chain from forest to farm” by sourcing fibers from agricultural residue, such as corn and soy.
As founders of Switch Grass Paper, we wanted to detail ou rindividual journeys and shared motivations that led to our studio’s development.
Megan Diddie (md): When I began graduate school at UIUC, I discovered Fresh Press and attended the open house at their studio, where I was intrigued by the equipment and use of local fibers. My first experience of plunging a mould and deckle into a vat to form a sheet and using an industrial press got me hooked. I was fortunate to work at Fresh Press through a grant awarded to the studio. As the studio manager, I learned about processing plant fibers into paper, taught papermaking workshops to the local community, and trained students. I used paper to expand my art practice by making artist books and sculptures. After graduating and returning to Chicago, my papermaking practice came to a halt. Soon, I reconnected with Aya, who was working on her own papermaking experiments in the studio and this reignited my drive to work with paper again.
Aya Nakamura (an): In contrast to Megan, I didn’t work with paper during graduate school, and it wasn’t until I graduated and transitioned from painting to drawing that I felt compelled to explore paper. At first, I tried to draw on store-bought paper, but found its straight edges, conventional sizes, and texture unsuitable for the kind of drawing that I was doing. As a result, I began to make my own paper with recycled paper and a blender, and found that I could experiment with sizes and shapes in a way that was freeing. During a residency at the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Hyattsville, Maryland, I learned about papermaking processes and techniques under the guidance of director Gretchen Schermerhorn, and it was there that I made durable archival paper for the first time. I realized that paper could be made from anything containing cellulose fiber, including plant waste and thrift-store jeans. The different types of fibers produced an incredible array of textures, colors, and thicknesses—paper that was curiously alive. When Megan invited me to join her at Fresh Press, I jumped at the chance.
md: We started making the long trips to Fresh Press several times a year, using this time to brainstorm ideas for starting a papermaking studio of our own in Chicago. In 2022, we attended Chop Wood Carry Water (CWCW), a lo-fi residency founded and run by Nance Klehm, whose mission is to connect people to land.3 Her work in soil remediation and prairie restoration was an inspiration to us. The residency allowed us to make work and reflect, and it was there that we solidified our plans to launch a papermaking studio.
Our first step was to apply for grants and raise funds to purchase equipment. We planned to get a Hollander beater to make batches of pulp, build moulds and deckles, and slowly acquire the other equipment we needed. After receiving a generous artist grant from the City of Chicago DCASE Program and running a successful Indiegogo campaign,4 we secured equipment and started running workshops. We are currently organizing workshops throughout Chicago, aiming to generate interest in hand papermaking and connect with communities throughout the city. We would like Switch Grass to be accessible to people of different ages and abilities. Our ultimate goal is to establish a permanent space to collaborate and support more in-depth projects. In addition to Switch Grass, we are both working artists who have incorporated paper in our practices in various ways.
an: I have a studio practice that centers around drawing and explores natural phenomena, everyday thoughts and feelings, and elements of Zen Buddhist practice. I cast paper into different shapes and sizes, resulting in something heavily textured, dimensional, and tinted with the fibers that comprise it. I have developed an affinity and affection for certain fibers; there is the flexibility and semi-transparency of abaca and kozo, which inspires one kind of drawing, and there is the heavier and darker texture of hemp and prairie plants, which for me is more earthbound and brings with it thoughts of gravity, the unseen, et cetera. The paper forms the foundation of my drawing, and I build on the surface with layers of colored pencil. This completes the thought started by the paper.
md: My background is in painting and drawing, leaning more heavily on the drawing side. I have made artist books and sculptures with handmade paper. I am interested in how paper itself can be part of the composition or dialogue of a work. One of my first artist books was assembled with corn and soy paper. I printed a series of drawings meditating on landscape on this paper. The pages in the book alternate between the different fiber sources reflecting crop rotation. Recently I sculpted prairie fibers into a lantern, which was used to illuminate an evening walk through the prairie from where the fibers came. I am hoping to expand upon this idea in the coming months and excited to experiment with new plant fibers.
Each year, we have focused attention on different prairie plants. During our first year, it was Grey-Headed Coneflower, followed by Cup Plant last year, and this year our focus has been on Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium) and Illinois Bundleflower (Desmanthus illinoensis). Each plant has its own personality and transforms as the seasons pass. When I worked at Fresh Press, we documented the different kinds of paper we produced. It would be beneficial to continue this practice with Switch Grass Paper once we have established a dedicated studio space. For now, we are learning and observing.
Stewarding this art form is rewarding in multiple ways. One of them is working from materials that exist in my immediate environment and that bring me outside. Plants can be encountered throughout the season, gathered, dried, cooked, beaten, and suspended in water to make sheets of paper for books, sculptures, and drawings. I think there is a lot of value in showing people how things are made, where they come from, and the labor that goes into the process. It is also a slow process and the slowness is something Aya and I embrace.
an: I would also add that the process of making paper is visceral and hands-on; it puts people in touch with the primordial elements of plants, water, ash, et cetera in a way that feels very satisfying. I would describe the process as alchemical, and I can sense the accumulated years of history and wisdom that have accrued in this one discipline. There is a vast field of knowledge, and we look forward to continuing along this path and sharing what we learn with the people around us.
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