2026
During a hot and heady month of July 2025, when there was not a cloud in the bright blue sky, Catherine Frood, Marketing Executive at St Cuthberts Mill and I were discussing, what if the River Axe, the river that is filtered through the limestone of the Mendip Hills and Cheddar Gorge, that supplies the other vital ingredient to make Somerset Paper – dries up? Cathy’s reply was, “That has never happened”.
A month later, as my seven-month-old puppy fetched sticks from the river downstream of the mill, water levels looked dangerously low. No rain had fallen; drought persisted; ditches were dry; flood defences were forgotten; grass stopped growing; and trees shed leaves to conserve energy.
Like farming and farmers, both drought and deluge have major consequences and costs, and this vulnerability kept us consistently watching the weather. Thankfully the rains came and the River Axe continues to flow.
Why is a sheet of paper so expensive?
On that July day, a small group of us—including CFPR colleagues and UWE MA Printmaking students—toured the Victorian St Cuthberts mill, wonderfully cooling on such a hot day. It was fascinating to watch: thick paper pulp caught on wire meshes, passed along reels, dried between rollers, wound into rolls. Each sheet was inspected and finally cut, packaged, labeled, and sealed by hand.
Cathy and I then discussed a paper symposium: Shall we? Who doesn’t love paper?
This special edition—a call for papers on paper—coincides with the symposium on 27th January at Frenchay Campus, University of the West of England, Bristol. We have been staggered by the number of people wishing to attend: more than 100 in person and 200 online.
The day starts with the group from St Cuthberts Mill—Catherine Frood, Nicola Dobson, Lee Hasemore, and Emily Vincent—chaired by me. We explore The Ecology of Paper. Next, Michael Craine and Steve Hoskins discuss the importance of Ink for Printmakers. I follow, looking under the microscope to explore The Relationship of Ink on Paper. In the afternoon, printmakers and Somerset Paper Ambassadors Jemma Gunning and Aga Kubish share their creative practices.
In parallel, there are workshops with Master Printer Laura Clarke (CFPR) on handling large paper and preparing paper for editions. MA Multidisciplinary Printmakers work around the theme of 'Curiosity,' drawing on their unique backgrounds and styles to produce an eclectic mix of materials. They showcase their work using the Cabinet of Curiosities. Angie Butler (CFPR) presents the Women’s Portfolio, entitled Allyship Women Artist Printer Portfolio, and displays it through the Curio Cabinet, as shown at Woolwich Print Fair in November 2025. John Purcell Paper, Two Rivers Paper, St Cuthberts Mill (Somerset Paper), Pookie Press, and Double Elephant will show paper samples and products.
This special edition of a call for Papers on Paper presents the longer version of the presentations by artists and academics:
An Entanglement of Art and Science in Paper, by Johanna Love
The intra-action of Paper and Hedgerow Chemistry, by Rachel Marsh
Dust Forest: Material Ecologies and Paper as Tertiary Memory in Contemporary Printmaking, by Emilia Telese
The Invisible Paper: Reconsidering Newsprint in Contemporary Printmaking Practice, by Monika Rycerz
Paper and Print in Exeter’s City Region: Mapping Materials, Landscapes, People and Connection, by Nicola Thomas and Emma Molony
From Source to Sheet: Searching for Cairo’s Papermakers, by Laila Hammoud, Dima Tannir, and Katherine Van Uytrecht
Expanding Paper Practice: Storytelling Practices on Paper from Two Dimensions to Three, by Kimberly Ellen Hall
Unfolding peripheral acts, by Miriam Hancill
Paper as a Responsive Threshold: Material Correspondence and Assemblage in Collagraph Printmaking, by Montana Torrey
Experimental Printmaking on Handmade Paper, by Heike Berl
If you miss the day, we are recording the event and make it available on our CFPR YouTube channel. Thank you to all the speakers and authors who have worked to ensure the papers are ready for the day.
Finally, and most importantly, thank you to those behind the scenes for their hard work in bringing this symposium together, especially to Julia Kowlaska, Laura Clarke, Mike White, Xavi Aure, Fabio D'Agnano and the MA Multidisciplinary printmakers. Thank you also to St Cuthberts Mill for their sponsorship and generous support of Somerset Paper, John Purcell Paper and Two Rivers Paper for their beautiful paper samples, and Cranfield Colours for pots of ink! Fingers crossed that the day goes smoothly.
I hope you enjoy these articles. Once the (cotton) dust has settled, we might even do another one.
Carinna Parraman,
Professor of Colour, Design and Print
Centre for Print Research, University of the West of England, Bristol
January 2026.
