Peter and Donna Thomas
Encyclopedia
Peter and Donna Thomas are American papermakers, book artist, and authors.
Peter R. Thomas (b. January 5, 1954 in Los Angeles, California
, United States) graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz
with a BA degree in Aesthetic Studies in 1978. Donna (Millar) Thomas (b. March 31, 1957 in San Francisco, California
graduated from the School of Expressive Arts at Sonoma State University
in 1979. They are the co-authors of two commercially published books: More Making Books by Hand (2004) and The Muir Ramble Route (2010), and over 20 limited edition titles.
and abroad and purchased for collections around the world. In 1977 Peter and Donna Thomas founded the Good Book Press
and in 1978 they printed their first book.
In the late 1980s Peter and Donna began exploring new formats in non-traditional book structures and shaped book objects, as both limited editions and one-of-a-kind books. In 1988 they reorganized under the imprint Peter and Donna Thomas: Santa Cruz. In 1992 they printed Good Books, a bibliography of their work, listing over fifty titles representing many authors and a wide range of subjects. They have lectured and taught workshops internationally and have published articles on papermaking and other aspects of the book arts. In the early 1990s, they began a project to document the history of papermaking, both at home and abroad. They have published a number of books that document the renaissance of the craft and also made video documentation of traditional hand papermakers in Europe.
In 2005 Peter and Donna published The History of Papermaking in the Philippines, which was the culmination of almost twenty years of work. It began with Peter attending a one-day papermaking workshop in Santa Cruz, California
taught by Nida Dumsang from the Philippines. Upon learning that there was no written history of papermaking in the Philippines, the idea of writing the first history of Filipino papermaking was born. He first visited the Philippines in February of 1990 and gathered various information over the following ten years. The book includes discussions of the pre-historic precursors to paper, including Philippine bark cloth. It contains a survey of the first printed books made in the Philippines and the paper they were printed on. It ends with a chronological history of both commercial and hand paper making in the Philippines up to 2000.
Their work has been exhibited at universities, libraries, galleries, and museums throughout the world, including National Museum of Women in the Arts
, New York Public Library
, Scripps College
, University of Virginia
, Smith College
, Yale University
, Rutgers University
, University of California, San Diego
, University of California, Santa Cruz
, University of Arizona
, University of Wisconsin, San Francisco Center for the Book
, Victoria and Albert Museum
, University of Pennsylvania
, Brown University
, Columbia University
, Harvard University
, Art Institute of Chicago
, The Huntington Library
, J. Paul Getty Museum
, and Koninklijke Bibliotheek
.
to Yosemite National Park
following the route of John Muir
's first trip to Yosemite taken in 1868.
innovative design in the Helen DeGolyer Triennial Exhibition. A Collection of Paper Samples Handmade in the USA was featured by the
Guild of Bookworkers as the set book for a national traveling show titled Paper Bound during 1997-1998. In 1997 the Miniature Book Society presented them with the Norman Forgue Award for their work promoting in the miniature book. In 1998 and 1999, one of their books was chosen for the Distinguished Book Award. In 2001 their binding of James Joyce's Ulysses
was awarded the Judges Distinction for Innovation in the Helen DeGolyer Triennial for American Bookbinding, and the Art Museum of Santa Cruz featured their work in a comprehensive show titled Art Undercover.
Peter R. Thomas (b. January 5, 1954 in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, United States) graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
with a BA degree in Aesthetic Studies in 1978. Donna (Millar) Thomas (b. March 31, 1957 in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
graduated from the School of Expressive Arts at Sonoma State University
Sonoma State University
Sonoma State University is a public, coeducational business and liberal arts college affiliated with the California State University system. The main campus is located in Rohnert Park, California, United States and lies approximately south of Santa Rosa and north of San Francisco...
in 1979. They are the co-authors of two commercially published books: More Making Books by Hand (2004) and The Muir Ramble Route (2010), and over 20 limited edition titles.
Artistic career
Peter and Donna Thomas established a private press in 1976 and have worked individually and collaboratively on creating books, making paper, letterpress printing and book binding. Their books have been shown in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and abroad and purchased for collections around the world. In 1977 Peter and Donna Thomas founded the Good Book Press
The Good Book Press
The Good Book Press was a fine press book publisher, founded in 1977 by Peter and Donna Thomas of Santa Cruz, California. The proprietors produced the books by hand. Peter Thomas made the paper and Donna Thomas illustrated the books predominately with linoleum cuts. The Thomases handset the type,...
and in 1978 they printed their first book.
In the late 1980s Peter and Donna began exploring new formats in non-traditional book structures and shaped book objects, as both limited editions and one-of-a-kind books. In 1988 they reorganized under the imprint Peter and Donna Thomas: Santa Cruz. In 1992 they printed Good Books, a bibliography of their work, listing over fifty titles representing many authors and a wide range of subjects. They have lectured and taught workshops internationally and have published articles on papermaking and other aspects of the book arts. In the early 1990s, they began a project to document the history of papermaking, both at home and abroad. They have published a number of books that document the renaissance of the craft and also made video documentation of traditional hand papermakers in Europe.
In 2005 Peter and Donna published The History of Papermaking in the Philippines, which was the culmination of almost twenty years of work. It began with Peter attending a one-day papermaking workshop in Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
taught by Nida Dumsang from the Philippines. Upon learning that there was no written history of papermaking in the Philippines, the idea of writing the first history of Filipino papermaking was born. He first visited the Philippines in February of 1990 and gathered various information over the following ten years. The book includes discussions of the pre-historic precursors to paper, including Philippine bark cloth. It contains a survey of the first printed books made in the Philippines and the paper they were printed on. It ends with a chronological history of both commercial and hand paper making in the Philippines up to 2000.
Their work has been exhibited at universities, libraries, galleries, and museums throughout the world, including National Museum of Women in the Arts
National Museum of Women in the Arts
The National Museum of Women in the Arts , located in Washington, D.C. is the only museum solely dedicated to celebrating women’s achievements in the visual, performing, and literary arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay...
, New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
, Scripps College
Scripps College
Scripps College is a progressive liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California, United States. It is a member of the Claremont Colleges. Scripps ranks 3rd for the nation's best women's college, ahead of Barnard College, Mount Holyoke College, and Bryn Mawr College at 23rd on the list for...
, University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
, University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, University of Wisconsin, San Francisco Center for the Book
San Francisco Center for the Book
The San Francisco Center for the Book is a non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Mary Austin and Kathleen Burch in San Francisco, California in the United States...
, Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, The Huntington Library
The Huntington Library
The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens is an educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington in San Marino, in the San Rafael Hills near Pasadena, California in the United States...
, J. Paul Getty Museum
J. Paul Getty Museum
The J. Paul Getty Museum, a program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, is an art museum. It has two locations, one at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, and one at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California...
, and Koninklijke Bibliotheek
Koninklijke Bibliotheek
Koninklijke Bibliotheek can stand for:* Royal Library of Belgium, the national library in Brussels, in Belgium.* National Library of the Netherlands in The Hague, in the Netherlands....
.
Other publications
In recent years, Peter and Donna have become active book art instructors, environmental activists, and outdoor enthusiast. In 2004 Quarry Books published their More Making Books by Hand, providing instructions for constructing 12 different binding structures pioneered or developed by the Thomases developed. In 2010 Poetic Matrix Press published their Muir Ramble Route, a guide book for walking from San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
to Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
following the route of John Muir
John Muir
John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...
's first trip to Yosemite taken in 1868.
Awards and recognition
Peter and Donna Thomas have received many awards and recognition over the years: In 1997 their binding was given special mention forinnovative design in the Helen DeGolyer Triennial Exhibition. A Collection of Paper Samples Handmade in the USA was featured by the
Guild of Bookworkers as the set book for a national traveling show titled Paper Bound during 1997-1998. In 1997 the Miniature Book Society presented them with the Norman Forgue Award for their work promoting in the miniature book. In 1998 and 1999, one of their books was chosen for the Distinguished Book Award. In 2001 their binding of James Joyce's Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
was awarded the Judges Distinction for Innovation in the Helen DeGolyer Triennial for American Bookbinding, and the Art Museum of Santa Cruz featured their work in a comprehensive show titled Art Undercover.