Sure, art is fun to look at and great to decorate your house, but who knew it could also be practical and that just about anyone can do it? Alison Rusk does. The sheer simplicity of artistic paper making is the premise on which her whole business is based.

Paper Alice, she calls it. Based out of her home studio right here in Tipp City, she offers classes on almost every facet of paper crafting imaginable: scrapbooking, stamping, card making and, of course, paper making. Fascinated by the work I had seen her do before at several local fairs and festivals, I decided to drop in on her paper making class and see what was so great about making your own paper.

“There are so many possibilities,” Alice said with a smile.

She’s right. Lining the studio were scrapbooks, notepads, planters, flower pots, greeting cards, checkbook covers, lampshades and the like all hand made by Paper Alice. As she walked two other classmates and me through the surprisingly easy steps of making our own paper, my eyes leapt back and forth between all the glitter, leaves, petals, grasses, foils and such that I could choose from to include in my own masterpiece. After blending, pouring, straining and ironing, I was pretty impressed with my little notepad-sized sheet of homemade (recycled) paper. As both an artist and a lover of Planet Earth, I quite liked this whole paper making thing.

“That’s the real beauty of papermaking: you’re recycling. It’s all made of scrap, so you’ll never have to throw away junk mail or scrap paper again. You’ll never look at junk around the house quite the same,” Alice explained. It’s so simple that any age group can do it. Alison regularly teaches classes at elementary schools and libraries in addition to the classes in her studio at home. “Everybody loves it. Kids love it, older people love it. It’s so great to see people excited about it. It feels good to pass on my passion.”

Her passion began 22 years ago after seeing a man named Arnold Grummer making paper with his kit and templates on TV. Alice got into it and, after selling her work for a while, was asked to be a designer and distributer for Arnold Grummer’s company. She’s been doing it ever since and loves every minute of it.

“I can’t call it work,” she said.

After taking the class and bringing home two sheets of paper, two paper cast molds, two small note cards with matching envelopes and a smile, I’ve got to say I was excited to do it again. I recalled that my sister had purchased a kit a few years back and will be breaking it out shortly to make a lovely homemade paper gift for a family member whose birthday I had forgotten.

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