Harper (she/her) is a paper-based artist living and working in Iowa City, IA. She primarily works with handmade paper, book forms, printmaking techniques, and collage. Her practice is grounded in a desire to treat physical objects and their embedded histories with tenderness. Themes of collecting, remembering, and preserving are integral to her work, manifesting in both holdable, intimate objects and large, site-specific installations.
Harper graduated from Coe College in 2022 with a BA in Studio Art, emphasis in Printmaking, and was awarded the Marvin Cone prize for most outstanding body of work. She worked with the Cedar Rapids Public Library to develop an ongoing artist residency program, and served as the inaugural artist-in-residence. Currently, she is an MFA candidate and Iowa Arts Fellow at the University of Iowa Center for the Book. She lives with her wife, who is a constant source of inspiration, feedback, and kindness.
I describe myself as a “paper-based artist” because I find that regardless of the medium I am working with, paper is always incorporated into the process. For me, book-making, printing, collage, installation, and sculpture are all grounded in paper. Why is paper so enticing, exactly? It’s hard to say. As my story goes, I saw Helen Hiebert on Sesame Street when I was quite small, and she sang a song about making paper, and I’ve loved it ever since. I love paper the way I love my baby blanket and the memory of my grandparents’ front yard. Fiber, water, pressure, time. Paper is a process of change, and it’s always been the same.