Alice Ball is an explorer in the art of papermaking — gathering raw materials, sometimes embedding things in the wet paper before it dries and creating small collages.

“One of the commandments of papermaking is ‘thou shalt not love any piece of paper better than another.’ You learn from the beautiful pieces and from the not-so-beautiful ones. That’s not unlike worship for me. Some days worship is really hard. Some days it is a joyous and easy — a totally carefree thing. But it’s always there. It’s not something that has to be one way or another.” ~Alice Ball

Listen to Alice’s Art as Worship interview on Empower Radio.

Paper items are called ephemera — a word related to things like ghosts, mists and spirits that can’t be held onto for long. They remind you that beauty can be fleeting and you must be alert to be moved by it, or simply to enjoy its existence, however short.

Alice says, “My spiritual evolution and my art of papermaking are interactive. When you’re very occupied with doing things with your hands, somehow your Spirit is allowed to fully flower. Making paper has given me an experience of myself as creative. I sometime laugh and enjoy the ridiculousness of what I’m trying to do. It has challenged me to try things that seem rather silly and sometimes turn out surprisingly great. The doing of it has affected my way of being acquainted with myself.”

Alice often gives her art to friends.

You can connect with Alice via email at aliceball (at) gmail.com.

Listen each Wednesday at 9am Eastern on Empower Radio to hear another artist’s story. Share your art and your comments on the Art as Worship Facebook page. Namaste!