Saturday, October 20, 2012

The Dollivers set up the papermaking studio for K.B.

Tomorrow a young artist is coming to visit, bringing his parents, to see handmade paper and to learn to do it for himself.  So today we're busy setting up what he needs, collected from the studio two floors up.  Blondie Firstborn brought her doll, and Bette Davis said she was always in the newspapers years ago, and would like to be there again.  I had to explain we're going to make original true paper, not newspaper, but that did not deter her from barging taking part.

Here is all you need for great papermaking. 
It's what I use for all my stuff, somewhat simplified since the visiting artist is six, but basically all there.  To wit: second run cotton linters, pulp sheets, bag of my own cotton paper to be repulped and reused, molds and deckles -- as you see, made from embroidery hoops and picture frames, with screening, the kind you use on screen doors, stapled or pinched on -- blender (this kind of paper is clean enough you can in fact return the blender to the kitchen,though it is hard on the blender to make pulp), vat (dishpan in this case) and felts, those sheets of dressmaker's interfacing Blondie's reclining on, and a bucket.

The other Ds bustled about curating the living room so that the visiting artists can see some examples of art made from artist made paper, just for understanding how the paper itself is the art, rather than something to write or draw on.  All this work was done with the same basic tools you saw above, plus I did some molding after the original sheets were dried, and stitching, and other processes.





Tomorrow morning I'll make up a bucket of pulp and we'll be all set to go in the afternoon.

5 comments:

  1. I can just picture this paper making, have a great time, glad I will not have to clean up after you!!

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  2. Well, you are gonna' have a fun day! Thanks for sharing, Clare.

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  3. You're going to have a lot of clearing up I think, but I'm sure it will be worth it!

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  4. Wish I could come and have a lesson too - would be fun to be a wee mouse in the corner and watch the proceedings.

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