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The artist Barbara Tomecak largely works in paper, producing the most beautifully organic shapes, ethereal extensions of nature. Much of her work hangs in its own space, interacting with the world around it, never crowding it, never dominating it, just balancing with it as a moment in time. Barbara started experimenting  creatively with paper through the medium of origami. It was seemingly by chance that she became connected to papier mache, a discovery by accident, one that was formed out of necessity, and it is one that has served the artist well, as she sees it now as her has since primary means of expressing herself creatively.   Barbara had already dealt with both paper and gauze as materials, actions, processes within her work, but she began to see them over time becoming something else, something more, viewing them within another context, one very different from that in which she was used to.  She discovered an inbuilt hardness to the process, a textural ...

Illustration: Lisa Hochstein. Compass salvaged paper collage. Paper work is very often considered to be, within the textile world at least, an integral part of the process of both textile design and textile artwork. In many cases the paper work is the first stage of a fairly lengthy process whereby ideas are first formulated, often changed and manipulated before being transferred to another medium, whether that be textile printing, weaving, quilting, embroidery, or indeed fine art painting. However, it should be noted that paper collage is in its own right an art form and should not be seen as a mere process towards another medium or idea. The work of the California based artist Lisa Hochstein shows us through her varied work, excellent examples as to how an artist can use a medium like paper collage in tandem with both textile and fine art painting without the paper collage medium feeling an awkward second best. Through her work, she is able to show us the maturity that paper collag...