Washi no yume (Paper Dreams) 2024/25
While working with various sourced papers, Lam was greatly intrigued by Japanese washi, in particular because of its strength and soft translucency. In the fall of 2024 and the winter of 2025, Lam travelled to Niigata, 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 she attended covered the entire washi making practice from harvesting and processing the Kozo plant (Japanese Mulberry) through to sheet forming. She also learned the unique process of Yukizarashi (snow bleaching), a traditional technique in Japan’s areas where snow is abundant.
Below works are composed solely of papers Lam made in Japan and in her Toronto studio. Her aim in this series is to highlight the beauty of handmade paper. These works will be debut in May 2025 at the Artist Project in Toronto, Canada.
Landscapes. Paperscapes. 2024
Below works are Lam's continued exploration in combining handmade 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.
Ink Findings, 2023
Inspired by the history of paper and traditional Chinese ink landscapes, Lam explored ink as a medium. She combined the inks with various handmade papers in this series, using both self made and sourced handmade papers from Asia.
Paper Explorations, 2022
A painter for a number of years, Lam developed a fascination and love for working with paper when she returned to school in 2022 to pursue a Masters in Fine Art. Through various projects during her academic studies she became engrossed with the history, materiality and the immense possibilities of working with paper. She also sought ways to make her practice more sustainable. The below works are composed of recycled papers and old watercolour works.
© 2025 by Cindy Yan Lam. All rights reserved.