May Babcock is an interdisciplinary artist based in Providence, Rhode Island. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in Storrs with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and printmaking in 2008. Directly after, she joined the graduate printmaking program at the Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, earning her Masters of Fine Arts degree in 2011.

Her studio processes combine printmaking, hand papermaking, sculpture, and book-arts techniques, creating artwork that address contemporary landscapes. She gathers sketches and materials from each site to create innovative installations and works of paper.

Babcock exhibits nationally and internationally, and has taught courses in all forms of printmaking, papermaking, drawing and two-dimensional design. Additionally, she is the founder of Paperslurry.com, an active blog dedicated to promoting the art and craft of hand papermaking. She is an active member of International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists (IAPMA) and the Friends of Dard Hunter Hand Papermaking.

Artist Statement

Landscapes are not just something to observe or depict. They are complex motifs that can offer clues to a culture.

I begin with a specific site, where I collect fibers, materials, and drawings to gain a psychological impression of a place, and poignant evidence of human activity. As a hand papermaker and printmaker, I see my work as an adventurous hybrid between the two processes. Experimentation in the studio invigorates my artistic process. Collected fibers turn into paper pulp, pulp used to cast carved woodcuts, create sculpture, form irregular sheets for book-forms and large pulp painting prints.