The Mark of the Maker

The Mark of the Maker looks at the art of manual paper-making. Kathryn and Howard Clark tell of how they got into the habit of doing this, and why they set up shop in rural Indiana. David McGowan's Academy Award-nominated documentary is one of those productions that shows a little known but useful practice.

Sadly, there’s quite a big difference between producing an interesting short documentary about paper making and making a dull one. This is most definitely in the latter camp as we meet Kathryn and Howard Clark. They have set up their business in Indiana and there, with a small team of staff, they produce paper in a traditional fashion with each sheet distinctly different from the other. It’s not hard to see how industrialisation took over this process, it is anything but scaleable - but with each individual piece emerging from the vat of pulp and then being drained and pressed, we appreciate that there is a grain that absorbs and distributes ink or paint in quite differing ways. That’s demonstrated by some artwork and calligraphy and as far as that goes, it’s fine. Unfortunately the manufacturers themselves come across as two of the least charismatic people to ever appear on film, and even though they are very clearly knowledgeable about their skill and it’s processes, they fail to impart that enthusiasm to anyone watching and the result is something significantly more dry than any of their pages. It’s a film about a craft that is dying across the globe and it’s worth a glance, but it isn’t very engaging.