Paula Damm
laid out, 2022
artist made kozo paper, thread, kozo wood, indigo dye, sumi ink, plastic clasps, zipper 32x32x8
This project was born from my Residency at the Morgan Conservatory in March of 2022. My initial goal was to make a child’s garment from my beloved kozo. I started imagining the child wearing this dress on the first day of school and challenged my Kozo and the more robust Kozo bark paper to be manipulated through knitting, gluing, layering, and sewing. Socks, shoes, and backpack added to the ensemble, but my storyteller self knew something was missing. As a school nurse for 21 years, I lived with the effect school shootings around the country had on my school and the fear that one would happen at my high school. The tragedy of each event was unimaginable, transforming these previously safe spaces of learning into killing fields. Something else was needed. I then realized my child’s school required all students to wear a “safety first” bullet proof vest at all times. Sadly, I created it. I, too, had been transformed along with my paper.
