Dear fellow members of North American Hand Papermakers,
Along with everyone on your current Board of Directors, I took office at the close of the 2018 annual conference in Iowa City, Matrices. It was an exciting meeting, and I have been privileged to lead the board during the 2019 meeting in Philadelphia, Manifest(o), and our upcoming 2020 conference.

We are very saddened to report that papermaking artist and long-time member Ray Tomasso died on June 26 in Englewood, CO. Ray was co-founder and early officer of the International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists.

With sadness, we report the death of our friend and colleague, Richard Flavin on May 11th of this year.  Richard passed away peacefully at home in Japan, in the company of his wife Ryoko, a few close friends, and his cat Toby.

This is a time of grief, fear and outrage. The call of Black Lives Matter has at last compelled many Americans of diverse identities to listen in earnest; and to join local, national and international protests against the egregious failure of the United States government to protect a large and integral component of the nation’s citizenry.

We, individually, are finding ways to exercise our passion for papermaking in the face of the COVID-19 virus. At this point, most national organizations have canceled their 2020 conferences. In discussing our Conference/Annual Meeting, the board weighed currently available advice from public health experts and the needs of our membership.