Becoming Jennifer Tran

Meet Jennifer Tran

Jennifer Tran is an artist and the founder of Papetal. She is best known for her
work with paper flowers, which is encapsulated in her book Flowersmith, A guide to
handcrafting and arranging enchanting paper flowers. After years of collaborating
with fashion clients, (e.g. Hermes, Gucci, Daniel Wellington, Anthropologie etc.), she
took a break from the flower world to explore new mediums. In 2021 and completely
by chance, she stumbled across pasta making and discovered the limitless
possibilities of flour, water and salt. Jennifer Tran’s pasta is the expression of her
love for colours, textures and forms; and is the culmination of her experiences in
flower making, botanical illustration and painting. Her pasta designs are like her
flowers; enchanting, whimsical, playful and most of all, imaginative.

What do you consider yourself? Example: Artist, designer, illustrator,
maker, business person, educator, etc.?

I’m a maker of all things practical and accessible. I enjoy designing and making
pretty things that everyone can appreciate, make and enjoy. With pasta, the
materials that I use can be found anywhere. And I pass on the techniques on
Instagram, so that everyone can have a go as well.

Where did you grow up? Were there aspects of your childhood that have
influenced what you do now?

I grew up in Hanoi, in an artistic family. My father was an actor, who loved taking me
to all his events. If he was shooting a movie, I would be sitting behind the cameras
pretending to direct. If he was performing on stage, I would be sitting backstage
chatting up with his crew. I grew up in a world filled with colours, lights, cameras and
actions. I performed quite a bit as a kid and had always wanted to be performer with
an audience as big as my father’s.

When I came to Australia at age 19, the dream of being a performer did not
eventuate as English was a struggle. So I turned to visual arts as another form of
expression. I was trained as a sculptor & installation artist at The University of New
South Wales, with an Honours first class. I used light as a sculptural medium and
produced mainly light installations, which worked out very well for me, academically.
But I had very limited audience because what I used to make could only be
appreciated in a gallery context. After graduating, I had a change in artistic direction;
I wanted to create for everyone and not just the selected few. With this goal in mind,
I turned to other mediums that were more accessible such as paper, and now flour,
water & salt. And I sought a bigger audience through social media.

What is one piece of work that you are especially proud of and why?

My book, Flowersmith, which I had put a lot of work and a lot of love in. I wrote the
manuscript, made the flowers and took all the photos myself, within 3 months. During
that time, I slept for about 3-5 hours a day, struggled to eat due to stress but did not
miss a single deadline. I went at it with the strength and the spirit that I had never
seen in myself before. I am proud of the commitment and the determination that I
had displayed during the production of my book.

Your recent work with pasta is blowing us away! Can you tell us more about
it, and how you transitioned from working with paper to pasta?

It was unplanned. During Sydney’s 16 week lockdown in 2021, I wanted to make a
care package to send to my family as I couldn’t see them. While I was looking for
ideas, I saw my friend’s beetroot ravioli on Instagram. I was so surprised as I had
never seen red pasta before. I wondered what other colours of pasta there were, so I
started searching. One thing led to another, I began to experiment with my own
recipes, and was so surprised by the similarities between paper and pasta. In my
book Flowersmith, I showed readers how to use turmeric and paprika to make
pollen. In pasta making, I am able to use these spices, along with a number of
superfoods to colour my dough. Besides materials, I have been using the same
design principles in both my flower making and pasta making. When you scroll
through my Instagram, you’ll see the common threads in colours and compositions.

Where do you find inspiration for new creations?

I find inspiration in textiles and fashion design. I actually got the idea of making plaid
pasta from a friend who teaches fashion design. He commented on the similarities
between one of my earlier experiments with patterns from the 70s. So I started
looking into textiles and have been able to apply some of what I’ve learnt into pasta
making.

What artists and creatives do you look up to, both historical and present?

I look up to Benja Harney of Paperform, for his inventiveness, skills and style. I also
admire the designs of Beci Orpin and Alice Oehr.

What books, movies, shows, or music are making you excited these days?

Definitely live music, or what to expect of it in 2022. I love heavy metal but missed
out on both Iron Maiden and Metallica’s concerts during the pandemic, so I look
forward to their return to touring, hopefully in the near future. I will also be going to as
many live concerts as I possibly can.

What is a piece of advice that you have carried with you and who is it
from? Do you have a personal motto?

“Making art makes art” is a piece of advice from my mentor at University, which I
have carried with me throughout my professional career. It’s a reminder that while it’s
important to dream up new ideas in my head, I need to physically interact with my
materials, cutting, moulding, mixing, joining and shaping them. For instance, with
pasta, it’s through various experimentations with superfoods that I discovered new
colour mixtures; colours that I wouldn’t be able to see just by thinking about them.

How do your surroundings influence your work?

My partner is a valuator and my closest friends are scientists. They’ve taught me
how to approach both art making and problem solving methodically. For instance,
when I was writing my book, I had a bit of struggles with Dahlia. So I dissected a real
flower to examine the layers and how each petals were joint. It was this scientific
approach that allowed me to create my perfect dahlia at the time.

What is a typical day like for you?

I have a day job in research infrastructure, so I have my 9-5 like most people. Before
I start work each day, I would spend about an hour sketching up new pasta making
ideas in my diary. I only get to make stuff on Sundays. On those days, I wake up at
5:30am, jump into my water rower, shower then breakfast with a piece of cake and
Vietnamese coffee. After loading myself up with sugar, I would go right into preparing
pasta dough, which usually takes me through to lunch. Then the rest of the day is
just playing with colours and patterns. I try to finish cleaning up by 6pm, so I can
spend the rest of Sunday with my partner.

Do you have a secret talent? What is one skill that you are working on?

I haven’t discovered my secret talent yet. The one skill that I’m working on is speed.
As my pasta designs are consisted of multiple layers, which dry out very quickly
when exposed to the air. If I don’t work fast enough, the whole design would dry out

and all the time and materials would be wasted. I’m okay with wasting time but feel
quite guilty when I have to dispose of pasta dough. So my goal is to practice and
practice until I work faster than the speed of my pasta drying.

Nobody likes to talk about it, but can you share any advice regarding financing
your business?

Be on top of your expenses. When I was running my flower making business, I kept
an Excel spreadsheet for everything, so I knew how much I had spent, how much I
needed to put aside for tax, how much to reinvest in the business and how much I
could put away for that dream holiday etc. Knowing my expenses kept me out of
debt, and allowed me to price my work correctly.

Is there anything more you would like to “become?”

I just want to learn to take it easy and stop being stressed out about the little things.

What is your long-term goal? or What do you hope to accomplish within the
next 10 years?

I don’t have a 10 year plan for my creative life, I only take things as they come.