4 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Visual arts, literature,
theater, music & more
Paper maker
Astoria artist Christine Trexel creates exquisite
books and boxes from plants in her garden
By DWIGHT CASWELL
hristine Trex-
el opens her
door, and I
walk into
her home.
Instantly I’m
surrounded
by three dogs. They were
rescued from the streets of
Panama, Trexel tells me. It
seems they enjoy getting
regular meals but crave the
outdoor activity that Asto-
ria’s weather often makes
impossible.
Trexel is a paper and fiber
artist. In her case that means
she makes paper and uses it to
create remarkable books and
boxes. Her work will appear
in a show of fiber arts at
Astoria’s Imogen Gallery that
opens from 5 to 8 p.m. during
Astoria’s Second Saturday Art
Walk Dec. 10.
As we walk to her studio
she tells me that she retired
from a career as an occupa-
tional therapist and that she
and her husband Clark once
lived in Australia before
retiring to Panama. Hence the
dogs. “We lived there for six
and a half years,” she tells me.
“We liked living out of the
country and wanted another
adventure.”
We arrive at her tidy studio
(I say this as one who has seen
a lot of artist’s studios), and
there I meet one of the cats.
He has a regal look about him,
as though in another life he
was an Egyptian court cat. He
clearly runs things here, and
he begins to take liberties with
my hand as I attempt to take
notes.
It was almost 20 years ago
that Trexel became interested
in bookbinding. “I took a
class at Portland Community
College, and I loved it,” she
says. She continued taking
classes at the Oregon College
of Arts and Crafts, where she
first tried her hand at making
paper. “It really opened up my
creativity, There’s something
very satisfying about making
paper.”
Trexel’s papermaking took
off while she was in Panama,
where she found the perfect
plant fibers: papyrus (her fa-
vorite), torch ginger, heleconia
and the trunk of the banana
tree. Today she finds her raw
materials in her garden: “New
Zealand flax, iris, crocosmia,
anything that has a long paral-
lel fiber,” she says.
She shows me her green-
house where she soaks the
plant fiber and then uses a ma-
chine to reduce it to pulp, the
basis for her paper. It’s a light,
airy space with a few leaks,
but one that can be cold during
the winter, so she restricts her
papermaking to sunny days.
SHE FINDS HER
RAW MATERIALS
IN HER GARDEN:
NEW ZEALAND
FLAX, IRIS,
CROCOSMIA,
ANYTHING THAT
HAS A LONG
PARALLEL FIBER.
PHOTO BY DWIGHT CASWELL
Christine Trexel uses a machine in her greenhouse to reduce
plant fiber from her garden to pulp for paper.
The rest of the time she is cre-
ating books and objects from
the paper — and what marvels
they are.
Trexel begins to show
me books with various kinds
of binding. Crown binding,
Coptic binding, section sewn,
Japanese stab binding, and
even a book in the form of
sails for a driftwood boat. The
contents of the books might
tell a history through pictures
and writing, or there might
be drawings or geometric
designs. Her attention to detail
is remarkable.
Trexel’s paper boxes show
the same exquisite workman-
ship. She makes elaborate
jewelry boxes, but the ones
that caught my attention were
those stuffed full of things.
“House of My Travels”
contained mementos of her
personal history. Another was
a “Repository of Lost Things”
for storing the things we lose:
a single earring, scrolls rep-
PHOTO BY DWIGHT CASWELL
In her studio, Astoria artist Christine Trexel holds a “Repository
of Lost Things” for storing the things we lose: a single earring,
scrolls representing lost memories and more.
PHOTO BY DWIGHT CASWELL
An imaginary apothecary for
a 19th century ship by Chris-
tine Trexel.
resenting lost memories and
signs for our lost courage, our
lost religion. My favorite was a
diminutive trunk, an imaginary
apothecary for a 19th century
ship. It contained fake medi-
cine and books on the diseases
and medicine of time, as well
as directions for using the box.
As I took my leave I won-
dered what would be in the
show at Imogen — she was
still working on new creations
— but I was certain that they
would be small, exquisite
treasures. And just in time for
Christmas.
PHOTO BY DWIGHT CASWELL
A driftwood boat book with handmade paper sails by Chris-
tine Trexel.