Explore Foundations in Depth

Built upon more than three decades of artistic practice, material research, teaching, and self-experimentation, Foundations extends far beyond a traditional workshop. Discover the ideas, methodologies, and areas of study that shape the Paper Lab Berlin approach, from the relationship between fiber, support layer, and form to the broader fields of contemporary paper form-making.

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Workshop Information in Depth

  1. introduction

  2. The Paper Lab Approach

  3. Fiber • Support Layer • Form

  4. Areas of Study

  5. Workshop Structure

  6. Workshop Format & Participant Support

  7. Who Is It For?

  8. A Continuing Research

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Introduction

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Foundations is an introduction to the principles that stand behind paper form-making, paper casting, and the creation of three-dimensional paper structures. At the heart of the workshop lies a simple yet fundamental understanding: every paper form begins with a support layer.

Unlike many materials, cellulose fibers bond naturally and strongly to one another. When paper pulp is placed onto a surface, texture, object, or constructed support, the fibers gradually interlock as they dry. Once dry, the paper can often be separated from that support while retaining its shape, texture, relief, and structural qualities. What remains is a lightweight paper skin capable of carrying an extraordinary amount of information.

This unique characteristic allows paper to preserve memory. A surface can be recorded. A texture can be preserved. A form can be repeated. Every cast becomes a physical trace of the structure that once supported it, carrying information from one material into another.

At Paper Lab Berlin, we use the term support layer to describe the temporary structures that hold paper during its formation. A support layer may be a found object, a natural surface, a textile, a mesh, a foam, a clay model, a silicone mold, or a more complex multi-part construction. Learning how to identify, create, modify, and work with support layers is the groundwork of all paper forms.

The workshop explores the relationship between fiber, support layer, and form. Participants learn how to create paper pulps from a wide range of natural, recycled, and contemporary materials, how to transform almost any material into a support system for paper, and how to cast paper into forms ranging from delicate reliefs to complex sculptural structures.

A support layer can serve a single experiment, or it can become a tool for endless replication. Once a form has been developed, it can generate multiple casts, variations, and entire bodies of work. This ability to reproduce and expand upon a single structure has made paper casting an important tool for contemporary sculpture, installation, design, and research-based practices.

Built upon three decades of artistic practice, material research, teaching, and continuous experimentation, Foundations offers a comprehensive introduction to paper as a material of form, memory, and structure. Through a combination of demonstrations, discussions, and practical methodologies, participants develop the knowledge needed to continue their own investigations into paper form-making long after the workshop concludes.

The Paper Lab Approach

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Research and Self-Experiment on Paper

Paper Lab Berlin was founded upon a simple belief: the material itself can become a teacher.

For more than three decades, our research has focused on understanding paper beyond its conventional role as a flat surface. Through continuous experimentation with fibers, support layers, casting methods, molds, additives, and alternative materials, we have developed an approach that treats paper as a field of investigation rather than a predefined technique.

At the center of this approach is what we call a lab state of mind. Rather than following fixed formulas or attempting to replicate predetermined outcomes, participants are encouraged to observe, test, question, document, and learn directly from the behavior of the material itself. Every experiment becomes an opportunity to generate new knowledge.

The methodology presented in Foundations emerged through decades of artistic practice, material research, and the development of Paper Lab Berlin’s ongoing philosophy of Self-Topography on Paper. While the workshop itself focuses on paper form-making, casting, and support-layer construction, it shares the same commitment to observation, documentation, experimentation, and learning through direct engagement with materials.

Paper occupies a unique position among materials. It can be made from an extraordinary range of sources, record highly detailed textures, preserve traces of surfaces, and carry information across multiple generations of casts and impressions. Because of this versatility, we approach paper not as a finished product but as an evolving system of relationships between fiber, water, support layer, form, memory, gravity and time.

Throughout the workshop, participants are invited to develop their own research process. The goal is not simply to learn techniques, but to understand principles that can be adapted, expanded, and applied to future projects. Whether working with natural fibers, recycled materials, fabrics, found objects, clay models, or advanced molds, the emphasis remains the same: learning through experimentation.

Foundations serves as an entry point into this methodology, providing participants with the tools, understanding, and confidence needed to continue their own investigations into paper form-making long after the workshop has ended.

Fiber • Support Layer • Form

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At the core of Foundations is the relationship between three essential elements: fiber, support layer, and form.

Every paper object begins with fibers. Whether derived from plants, recycled papers, fabrics, or contemporary materials, the fibers become the building blocks of the paper pulp. Through water, movement, and time, these fibers bond together to create a new material capable of carrying structure and detail.

For paper to move beyond a flat sheet and become a relief, vessel, sculpture, or installation element, it requires a support layer. During the drying process, this temporary structure holds the fibers in place until they can support themselves. Once dry, the paper retains the memory of the surface and can often be separated from the support layer as an independent object.

Support layers can be discovered or constructed. They may be found in existing objects, natural textures, fabrics, meshes, foams, architectural surfaces, and everyday materials. They may also be intentionally built through modeling, carving, mold making, digital fabrication, or multi-part systems designed specifically for paper casting.

The final form emerges through the relationship between these elements. By changing the fibers, the support layer, or the casting method, entirely different results can be achieved. A single support layer can generate multiple casts, variations, and series of works, making replication an important creative tool for sculpture, installation, design, and material research.

Throughout the workshop, participants learn to understand these relationships rather than simply memorize techniques. By learning how fiber, support layer, and form interact, they gain the ability to develop their own methods, structures, and approaches to paper form-making long after the workshop has ended.

Support Layers

Support layers are the temporary structures that allow paper to take form. This field explores how almost any material can become a support system for paper casting. Participants learn how to identify, adapt, and construct support layers from found objects, natural textures, textiles, meshes, foams, modeling materials, molds, and contemporary fabrication methods. Particular attention is given to the relationship between material, surface, detail, and the transfer of information from one material to another.

Paper Casting, Replication, and Form-Making

Paper casting transforms fibers into structure. Participants learn how paper behaves on different support layers, how forms are built and released, and how casting methods influence the final result. We explore reliefs, sculptural forms, repetition, replication, and the development of systems capable of generating individual works, series, and larger installations.

The Alchemy of Paper Additives

Paper is rarely limited to fiber and water alone. This field introduces the role of additives, pigments, minerals, binders, retention agents, formation aids, waxes, and other materials that influence the behavior of paper. Participants gain an understanding of how additives can alter strength, flexibility, transparency, surface qualities, preservation, and casting performance, expanding the creative and technical possibilities of paper form-making.

Together, these four fields create a foundation for ongoing research and experimentation. Rather than focusing on fixed outcomes, the workshop encourages participants to develop an understanding of principles that can continue to evolve alongside their own practice, interests, and investigations.

Areas of Study

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Foundations brings together a broad range of research fields, materials, and methodologies that support contemporary paper form-making. While the workshop cannot exhaust every subject, it provides participants with a strong foundation for further experimentation and independent research.

The Wisdom of Plants

Paper begins with plants. Participants are introduced to the relationship between cellulose, plant structures, fibers, bark, roots, and other natural sources used throughout the history of paper making. We explore how plant intelligence, material properties, and traditional knowledge continue to influence contemporary paper practices.

From Bark Cloth to Contemporary Paper

Paper carries a long and diverse history. Throughout the workshop, we examine the evolution of paper and fiber-based materials, from early bark cloth traditions and handmade papers to contemporary approaches in sculpture, installation, design, and material research.

Fibers and Pulp Preparation

Participants learn how to work with a variety of fiber sources, including natural fibers, recycled papers, fabrics, and contemporary materials. Particular attention is given to the preparation, behavior, and characteristics of different pulps, and how these choices influence the final form.

Paper Making from Fabrics

Textiles and paper share a common origin in cellulose. This field explores how fabrics and textile waste can be transformed into new paper pulps, opening possibilities for unique textures, structures, and material qualities.

Support Layers and Mold Construction

A significant portion of the workshop is dedicated to understanding support layers and mold-making systems for paper. Participants learn how to work with found objects, natural surfaces, fabrics, meshes, foams, modeling materials, and purpose-built molds. Particular attention is given to the relationship between surface, texture, detail, and replication.

Modeling Materials and Form Development

The workshop introduces a variety of materials used to create original forms for paper casting, including modeling clays and other sculptural materials. Participants learn how forms can be designed, modified, and prepared for repeated casting.

Advanced Materials for Paper Casting

Participants are introduced to contemporary materials commonly used in mold making and casting, including silicone systems, plastics, and other advanced materials. The focus remains on understanding how these materials interact with paper and how they can expand possibilities for form-making and replication.

Paper Casting Methods

Multiple casting approaches are discussed throughout the workshop, including immersion methods, layering techniques, relief casting, sculptural casting, and strategies for achieving different structural and surface qualities.

Replication and Installation Thinking

Once a support layer has been created, it can generate multiple casts and variations. Participants are introduced to the principles of replication, serial production, and the development of larger bodies of work, installations, and research-based projects through repeated casting.

Pigmentation and Surface Development

Color, pigments, and surface interventions are explored as tools for expanding the expressive possibilities of paper. Participants gain an understanding of how pigmentation can be integrated into both pulp preparation and casting processes.

The Alchemy of Paper Additives

Participants are introduced to a wide range of additives used in contemporary paper practices, including binders, formation aids, retention aids, minerals, waxes, and other modifiers. These materials can influence flexibility, strength, transparency, absorbency, preservation, surface qualities, and casting performance.

Digital and Contemporary Fabrication Methods

The workshop also introduces contemporary technologies that can support paper form-making, including laser cutting, CNC processes, and other fabrication methods that can be used to create support layers and casting systems.

Building an Experimental Practice

Beyond techniques and materials, Foundations encourages participants to develop a sustainable research practice. Topics include setting up an experimentation space, sourcing materials and fibers, documenting results, and building a personal archive of processes, discoveries, and future directions.

Workshop Structure

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Support layers are the temporary structures that allow paper to take form. This field explores how almost any material can become a support system for paper casting. Participants learn how to identify, adapt, and construct support layers from found objects, natural textures, textiles, meshes, foams, modeling materials, molds, and contemporary fabrication methods. Particular attention is given to the relationship between material, surface, detail, and the transfer of information from one material to another.

Workshop Format & Participant Support

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Foundations is available both as a live online workshop and as an At Your Own Pace program, allowing participants to choose the format that best suits their schedule, location, and learning style.

The live workshop takes place across four online sessions, each lasting 120 minutes, and is offered in two time-zone formats. The Pacific group is scheduled in the morning Berlin time zone and is particularly suitable for participants joining from Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific region, and the western Americas. The Atlantic group is scheduled later in the day and is designed for participants joining from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the eastern Americas.

For those unable to attend live, or for participants who prefer to learn independently, the At Your Own Pace format provides access to the complete workshop through recordings, demonstrations, eBooks, and supporting materials. Participants can progress through the content at their own rhythm while retaining access to the same educational resources.

Learning Resources

Each session is accompanied by a dedicated eBook that expands upon the topics discussed during the workshop. Together, these publications form a growing reference library that participants can continue to use as a resource for future projects and research.

All live sessions are recorded, and participants receive access to the recordings along with the workshop materials. Files, demonstrations, presentations, articles, and supporting resources are provided for personal use and ongoing study.

Ongoing Support

Learning does not end when the workshop concludes. Participants are invited to continue their research through Paper Talk Pro and Paper Lab Berlin's ongoing support sessions, where questions, experiments, projects, and technical challenges can be discussed within a supportive research environment.

These sessions create opportunities for participants to receive guidance, share discoveries, and continue developing their work beyond the workshop itself.

Flexible Participation

We understand that experimentation often continues long after a workshop ends. For this reason, every participant may join the Foundations workshop a second time, either live or through the At Your Own Pace program, at no additional cost within six months of their initial participation.

This allows participants to revisit the material, deepen their understanding, and engage with the workshop from a new perspective as their research and experience evolve.

Who Is It For?

A Continuing Research

Foundations is designed for artists, designers, educators, makers, researchers, and curious individuals interested in exploring the possibilities of paper beyond the traditional sheet.

No prior experience in paper making is required. The workshop begins with fundamental principles and gradually introduces more advanced concepts, making it accessible to both beginners and experienced practitioners.

The workshop is particularly valuable for participants interested in sculpture, installation, relief work, mold making, material research, surface exploration, replication systems, and experimental approaches to form-making. It is equally relevant for those working in education, design, craft, architecture, scenography, and interdisciplinary practices.

Participants join Foundations with a wide range of motivations. Some are seeking practical methods for creating sculptural forms and casting systems. Others are interested in sustainable materials, alternative approaches to mold making, or the relationship between fibers, surfaces, and structure. Many arrive with a specific project in mind, while others are simply curious about the possibilities that emerge when paper is approached as a material for research and experimentation.

At its core, Foundations is intended for those who wish to develop a deeper understanding of paper as a material of form, memory, structure, and transformation, while building the confidence to continue their own investigations long after the workshop has ended.

Foundations is more than an introduction to techniques. It is an invitation to enter a field of research that connects fibers, support layers, form, memory, and experimentation.

Over three decades of artistic practice, teaching, and material investigation have shaped the methodology presented in this workshop. The goal is not simply to learn how paper is made, but to understand how paper can record, preserve, replicate, and generate form.

Whether you continue toward personal projects, sculptural work, installations, education, or deeper material research, Foundations provides a framework that can continue to evolve alongside your own questions, discoveries, and practice.

We look forward to welcoming you into the ongoing research and self-experimentation that defines Paper Lab Berlin.

About us

Three Decades of Research and Self-Experimentation

Foundations emerges from more than three decades of artistic practice, teaching, and material research led by Guy Lougashi, artist, educator, and founder of Paper Lab Berlin.

What began as a personal investigation into paper as a material for recording form, texture, memory, and topography gradually evolved into a broader field of research. Over the years, this work expanded beyond traditional paper making into the study of support layers, mold making, casting systems, replication, and the relationship between cellulose and form.

Founded in Berlin in 2012, Paper Lab Berlin has developed into an international platform dedicated to research and self-experimentation on paper. Through workshops, masterclasses, artist residencies, lectures, exhibitions, and collaborative projects, the platform has supported thousands of participants from around the world in developing their own material investigations and creative practices.

The methodology presented in Foundations is the result of this ongoing research. It combines traditional knowledge, contemporary experimentation, artistic practice, and practical experience gathered through decades of working with paper in both studio and educational contexts.

Today, Paper Lab Berlin continues to function as an active laboratory for exploring the possibilities of paper as a material of form, memory, structure, and self-documentation.