For over thirty years, my studio practice has centered on paper as a primary medium — exploring its tactile, sculptural, and organic possibilities as a vehicle for artistic expression and cultural inquiry.

My engagement with paper as a living material was significantly shaped by my time in Germany, where I joined an international association of paper artists. This experience provided both technical grounding — including training in varied fiber papermaking and the creation of vegetable papyrus — and a global artistic perspective gained through travel, exchange, and collaboration with makers across cultures.

These formative experiences established the foundation of a sustained, evolving practice now based in Philadelphia. My work investigates the paradoxes inherent in paper: its fragility and resilience, its ancient origins and contemporary relevance. Making art with paper is itself an act of creation — one that connects the human hand to the natural world in direct and intimate ways, and that I believe holds meaningful potential for broader artistic and community engagement.


© Lesley Haas 2026