Papermaking with Plants
With Rhiannon Alpers
Intertwine your love of plants with your curiosity about how they transform in the papermaking process. In this two-day exploration, we’ll work with local and native harvested plants to create both swatches and finished sheets using local and indigenous fibers. Materials will be gathered in advance from a variety of sources, including Rhiannon’s Portland garden and partnerships with community gardens. As we dive into the beating and sheet-forming processes, participants will have the opportunity to take home wet sheets for drying and future creative use. Throughout the two days, students will learn how to cook, process, pull, and dry fibers to create a set of truly unique handmade papers.
Age Range: Adults and youth ages 16+ accompanied by an adult
Date & Time: Friday & Saturday February 27th & 28th from 10am to 4:00pm (half hour lunch), registration cutoff date February 24th
Cost: $150.00 + $28 materials fee
Students can email the instructor if they have 1-2lbs of plant stalk fiber (1 full brown paper bag) of lily, bird of paradise, yarrow, or hasta.
To help ensure an enjoyable experience for all, we kindly encourage guests to consider attending fragrance-free in support of those with allergies and sensitivities.
FIBER FEST, running January 10 to February 28, 2026 – celebrates fiber arts and artists with exhibits, demonstrations, and classes.
Rhiannon Alpers is a papermaker, letterpress printer, and book artist based in Portland, Oregon. She holds both a BA and an MFA in Book and Paper Arts, with 25 years of experience as an educator and commercial printer/bookbinder. She has exhibited nationally and internationally. Her editioned book work is held in the collections of the Library of Congress, Yale, Stanford, Cornell University, Cynthia Sears Artist’s Books Collection (BIMA), and Rijksmuseum Research Library, among others. Her limited edition and one-of-a-kind artist books are published under the Gazelle and Goat Press imprint. More information about her work is available at rhiannonalpers.com.