Lisa Miles provides the vision and capable hands behind Dutchess Press. She creates one-of-a-kind and limited edition artist books, prints, and handmade paper. Her areas of expertise include papermaking, printmaking, bookbinding, natural dyemaking, design, color theory, and art history. Her artistic research has led her to study traditional Mesoamerican amate and Austronesian daluang bark papermaking techniques in Mexico and Indonesia.
For inquiries, commissions, and collaborations: holla@dutchesspress.com
Artist Statement
My work meditates on the book as an artifact – a tool for communication across continents and centuries. I am interested in language transmission, translation, and decipherment. Inspired by ancient makers, my artist books speak to a universal audience that transcends a single language or cultural perspective.
The focus of my artistic practice is creating one-of-a-kind beaten bark paperworks using plant-based materials and natural dyes. By incorporating modern advancements alongside archaic practices, I am examining the role of humans as tool users and makers of meaning. As a 21st century artist, I am reacting against the Technological Revolution by returning to the techniques and origins of early human civilization.
Approximating the ancient Mayan papermaking method, I beat bark paper using a volcanic stone on a wooden board. Instead of the ficus native to Mexico, I cross cultures and use Japanese kozo and mitsumata fibers. In my process, I “draw” with strands of plant-dyed bast fiber. The image isn’t created on top of the paper; it is the paper. The imagery is composed face-down during the wet stages of the formation process. The landscape is only visible once the dried sheet is released from the board. My work is deeply inspired by long, meditative walks in Northern New Mexico. Made entirely of plants, I think of my undulating landscapes as “...a way for the universe to know itself.” (Carl Sagan)
Education
University of Iowa Center for the Book
MFA • Book Arts
New England School of Art & Design
BFA • Graphic Design
Santa Fe Community College
AA • Book Arts & Printmaking
