This collection of photographs were taken during the first collaborative workshop of Recycling: washi tales, at New York Theatre Workshop, Dec. 1-7, 2009.

Recycling gives international and Japanese audiences the opportunity to experience the richness of "Washi" (Japanese handmade paper) in performance, and reveals the underlying beauty of paper making within aesthetic traditions of Japan.

Recycling brings to life the human stories contained in sheet of "Washi" paper as it is recycled through time. It explores the aesthetic and spiritual values of recycling, beyond practical environmental concerns in the realms of history and the imagination. In a "washi" world created by distinguished paper artist, Kyoko Ibe, the audience goes on a journey with a paper maker to create something new from what she learns of the old.

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© photograph by Isaac Bloom
© 2009 Isaac Bloom Photography