Friday, June 5 - Saturday, June 6, 2026 | 9a - 4p daily

Tuition: $250 [MMAM member rate: $240]

Deep-mapping is the process of exploring a place in a physical, emotional, and creative way. This two-day workshop will lead participants on a deep-mapping experience of the Upper Mississippi River, facilitated by instructor Hannah Demma, that includes canoeing, papermaking, sketching and storytelling.

Workshop participants will take a guided canoe tour from Prairie Island through the Mississippi River backwaters to collect natural materials and learn about the unique ecology of this space, while documenting their river experience through sketches and writings. Then return to the Minnesota Marine Art Museum to learn about papermaking techniques, and to create their own unique handmade artworks incorporating their paper samples, river sketches, and personal deep-mapping elements, forming a tangible memory of their connection to this vital waterway.

The workshop combines practical skills such as pulp painting, papermaking and drawing with ecological awareness and place-based storytelling inspired by works like William Least Heat-Moon’s PrairyErth and Robert Macfarlane’s Is a River Alive?. No previous papermaking or paddling experience required.

“A deep map is a detailed, multimedia depiction of a place and all that exists within it. It is not strictly tangible; it also includes emotion and meaning. A deep map is both a process and a product – a creative space that is visual, open, multi-layered, and ever-changing. Where traditional maps serve as statements, deep maps serve as conversations." - David Bodenhamer.

Workshop Schedule

Day 1: Grounding, Gathering, and Foundations

Morning

Welcome + introductions
Overview of deep mapping + workshop flow
Sound mapping exercise: participants attune to the environment through listening and mark-making
Group walk to gather water from the Mississippi River for papermaking vats

Late Morning

Introduction to papermaking materials (abaca, flax, and kozo)
Demonstration of sheet forming techniques
Participants begin forming their first sheets of paper

Afternoon

Continued sheet forming and experimentation
Introduction to decorative techniques:

Layering and pulp manipulation
Deckle box techniques
Embedding found natural materials (plants, fibers, small objects)

Open studio time for exploration and building a body of sheets

Day 2: Exploration, Collection, and Integration

Morning

Guided canoe/kayak tour through the Mississippi backwaters
Observational drawing, note-taking, and material gathering (plants, textures, impressions)
Emphasis on slow looking, listening, and embodied experience of place

Afternoon

Return to studio and incorporate gathered materials into papermaking
Continued sheet forming with expanded techniques and personal direction
Individual exploration with support and guidance

Closing

Informal show and share
Group reflection on process, place, and material exploration

MMAM REFUND POLICY

About the artist:

Hannah Demma is a multimedia artist specializing in papermaking. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2017, with an emphasis on printmaking and her Masters in Fine Art at her alma mater in 2022.

In 2018 Hannah received a Mayor’s Art Award and during her MFA she was the recipient of the Dan and Barbara Howard Creative Achievement Award (2021) and the Francis William Vreeland Award in Art (2022). Hannah received Best in Show awards at the Lincoln Arts Festival in 2022 and again in 2023, as well as Best in Show at the Sioux City Art Festival in 2023. She served as coordinator for the Cedar Point Biological Station artist residency and Art Adventure camp from 2017-2023 and Executive Director at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, an artist residency program in Nebraska City, NE From 2023-2024.

Hannah currently works as a papermaker and papermaking instructor at Constellation Studios, as an Artist Liaison for the Lux Center for the Arts and is the 2025 Artist-in-Residence at the Cornhusker Marriott Hotel, all in Lincoln, NE.

In addition to her roles in the local arts community, Hannah has maintained a busy studio practice as well as lecture and exhibition schedules and looks forward to expanding her studio practice to include new mediums and collaborations.