Poetry on Badger Papers
Paper, ink, paint, cord, found natural objects
Artist Statement
“I have a passion for the making of paper and teaching others this skill. It is very important to share my knowledge of paper with others, so they may experience the discovery of paper, its beauty, and the many artistic uses of paper.” Tom Bennick
Tom Bennick mailed his handmade paper and poems with the change of each season to his colleague Helen Grainger Wilson, and dozens of others, for almost two decades. Declining his request to have his artwork deteriorate with the elements, she saved every piece. Most of his poems and envelopes are exhibited here.
Badger Paper #23
With the coming of fall I become aware of life’s impermanence.
Please attach this weathered bit of paper in a place where it will waste away as a reminder of impermanence.
wormy green apples,
long dusty shadows
and autumn frost
Tom Bennick; Fall, 2006
Gentleman Tom Bennick (d 2021) was a cherished gift to Idaho. He was a retired teacher; then paper-making artist/teacher, poet and philosopher. “Paper, like life, is taken for granted.” He added: “When making paper, the whole world is involved: the sun, rain, soil, fire and hands. I have a spiritual connection with the fibrous, speckled paper I make with indigenous fibers. It is imperfect, like I am, and everything else in the world.”
Tom Bennick and Helen Grainger Wilson collaborated on projects as TVAA artists and ICA and IPUL (Idaho Parents Unlimited, Inc) Teaching Artists. Tom will be widely missed.