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Japanese Papermaking
Japanese Papermaking Explained by Morgan Conservatory Cleveland Asian Festival May 18, 2025
The 2025 Cleveland Asian Festival attracted over 40,000 visitors over May 17 and 18, 2025. There were performances, lots of food, cultural information and more including information and community resources. We caught up with Ryan Cermak at the Morgan Conservatory booth.
Their website says that the Morgan Conservatory is a 501(c)3 non-profit and the largest arts center in the United States dedicated to every facet of papermaking, book arts and letterpress printing and to cultivating the talents of established and emerging artists. An international destination that is free and open to the public, the Morgan Conservatory is a working studio, gallery, gathering place for the community, educational hub and purveyor of some of the finest handmade papers in the world. Since opening to the public in 2008, the Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory and Educational Foundation has been a rising star in the Cleveland arts community and the papermaking world.
The Morgan Conservatory's 15,000 square foot converted industrial space is home to professional and aspiring artists dedicated to the ancient art of papermaking, book arts and letterpress printing. The Conservatory has been transformed into an art facility with studios; an 85' double-wall gallery; a space for community events; and a unique kozo garden was installed to grow fiber for specialized papers.
Ryan was showing some of the many steps that go into the art of papermaking - in particular Japanese paper making - which begins with growing certain plants to produce specific fibers.