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Washi no yume (Paper Dreams) 

While working with various sourced papers, Lam was greatly intrigued by Japanese washi and by Japan's renowned craftsmanship, artistic integrity and preservation of traditional methods.  In the fall of 2024 and the winter of 2025, Lam travelled to the Niigata prefecture of Japan, a region known as "snow country" and home to a papermaking tradition dating back more than 300 years to study traditional washi making.

Lam studied under the tutelage of Master Papermaker Hiroaki Imai and Washi Researcher/Papermaker, Paul Denhoed. The intensive programs covered the entire washi making practice from harvesting and processing the Kozo plant (Japanese Mulberry) including the unique process of snow bleaching, a traditional and renowned process of the Niigata area.

Below works combine handmade papers Lam made while she was in Japan along with papers, she made locally in her home studio. Her aim in this series was to highlight the soft translucency and strength of paper made by Kozo fibres.  

Landscapes to be continued...

Below works are Lam's continued exploration in combining pulp painted paper with various sourced handmade papers from Asia. 

In Conversation: Part II 2024

This quadriptych, Never Ending Conversations is the first work in a new series. The series explores themes of connections and balance in relationships, particularly those between human and non-human life forms we share this planet with. 

This work was developed from Lam's recent intensive studies in the hand papermaking at the Paperhouse Studio in Toronto. The training and time at the studio was supported by a grant from Canada Art Council for professional development.  The papers in this series are all handmade by the artist.

This work debuted at the Artist Project in Toronto 11-14 April, 2024. 

In Conversation: Part I 2024

Lam developed a number of these works in pairs to explore balance in relationships. Her explorations were carried out by creating movement through mark making with stitching, along with paper layering to highlight the textural qualities of handmade papers.  She used a combination of sourced handmade papers from Nepal (Lokta), Japan (Washi) and papers she made. 

These works debuted at the Artist Project in Toronto 11-14 April, 2024. 

Touch, 2023

In this series, Lam continued her abstract landscape explorations with handmade papers and stitching. Working with the Paperhouse Studio in Toronto, she learned to make paper by hand. Many of the papers below with coloured pulps and inclusions were handmade by the artist. These works highlight the textural qualities of paper.