Mandy Brannan – Background

During the early eighties, after a jewellery /silversmithing internship in industry (Ruthin, Wales) arranged by Goldsmiths of London, I visited Kenya for three months and stayed for two years!!! That adventure resulted in my moving to Clovis, California, where most of next 18 years were spent raising two daughters.

It was during this time in California I was introduced to the art of Japanese Papermaking and became involved in several arts/papermaking groups, including ‘Ramspott’ and ‘The Friends of Dard Hunter’. I studied both Japanese and Western styles of papermaking which led to the development of a personal style of papermaking that involves the combination of traditional techniques with experimental production and pigmentation methods. My style of papermaking allows me to create papers that are rich with colour and texture, resulting from multiple layers which I have manipulate in the sheet formation process.

In 1999 I moved to St Cloud, Minnesota, and in 2005 moved to Minneapolis, Mn. where in the April of 2007 became part of the North East Arts community by acquiring a studio at the Northrup King Building and taught at the Minnesota Centre for Book Arts.

In 2008 I decided to return to England to continue my studies and was accepted at Camberwell College of the Arts, London in the masters program. After receiving my Masters in Visual Arts / Book Arts I then attended University of the Arts London on the PGCE HE teaching course specialising in Arts Education.
Also in 2009 I made the monumental decision to leave the US and remain living in London, England permanently……..

CV

Recent Exhibitions and Book Fairs

2019/17/15/13/11/09 BABE, Bristol Artists Book Fair, Arnolfini Gallery
2010/17/16/15/14 Small Publishers Fair, Conway Hall London
2019/18/17/14 Turn the Page Artists Book Fair, Norwich
2017/16/14/13/12/11/10/09 Leeds International Contemporary Artists Book Fair
2012/11 Handmade & Bound Artists Book & Zine Fair, St Brides, London
2010 Handmade & Bound, Whitstable, Kent