Hand Papermaking Newsletter Issue 78

HAN D P A P E R M A K I NG

N E W S L E T T E R

Number 78, April 2007

Newsletter Editor: Tom Bannister. Columnists: Cathleen A. Baker, Sidney Berger, Susan Gosin, Helen Hiebert, Elaine Koretsky, Winifred Radolan, Mary Tasillo, Pamela Wood.

Hand Papermaking Newsletter is published

four times per year. In summer and winter it is

distributed with the journal Hand Papermaking,

and in spring and autumn it is mailed separately.

Annual subscriptions include both publications:

$45 in the U.S., $50 in Canada and Mexico, and

$55 overseas. Two year rates are discounted: $80

in the U.S., $90 in Canada and Mexico, and

$100 overseas. To subscribe, send a check to the

address below, call or fax us to use Visa or Mastercard,

or visit our website. Foreign subscribers may

use a credit card, or pay in U.S. dollars via money

order or check marked payable through a U.S.

bank. For more subscription information, or a list

of back issue contents and availability, contact:

Hand Papermaking, Inc.

PO Box 1070, Beltsville, MD 20704-1070

Phone: (800) 821-6604 or (301) 220-2393

Fax: (301) 220-2394

E-mail: <info@handpapermaking.org>

Web: <www.handpapermaking.org>

The deadline for the next newsletter (July 2007)

is May 15. Please direct all correspondence to the

address above. We encourage letters from our

subscribers on any relevant topic. We also solicit

comments on articles in Hand Papermaking

magazine, questions or remarks for newsletter

columnists, and news of special events or activities.

Classified ads are 75 cents per word with no minimum;

display ad rates available upon request.

Hand Papermaking is a 501(c)(3) non-profit

organization. Staff: Tom Bannister, Executive

Director; Mina Takahashi, Magazine Editor.

Directors: Cathleen A. Baker, Sid Berger, Inge

Bruggeman, Georgia Deal, Gail Deery, Helen

Hiebert, Peter Hopkins, Barbara Lippman,

David Marshall, Cynthia Reuter Mowery, Andrea

Peterson, Margaret Prentice, John Risseeuw, Beck

Whitehead. Advisors: Timothy Barrett, Simon

Blattner, Gregor R. Campbell, Mindell Dubansky,

Jane Farmer, Helen C. Frederick, Elaine Koretsky,

James Sitter, Claire Van Vliet, James Yarnell.

Founders: Amanda Degener and Michael Durgin.

Dear Hand Papermakers,

I am thrilled to announce the birth of the Morgan Art of Papermaking Educational

Foundation. Our mission is to be a resource for the hand papermaking community by

preserving the practice of traditional Japanese and European papermaking techniques.

I have just completed an apprenticeship with Timothy Barrett at the University of Iowa

Paper Facility and I am honored to serve as Papermaking Director of the Morgan Conservatory

paper mill. We have secured funding from a private donor, Mr. Ted Morgan, to

offer assistantships in hand papermaking. The Amlie Assistantship is a two-year certificate

program which will encompass all aspects of archival production papermaking. The

Morgan Conservatory will also eventually offer workshops in the book and paper arts as

part of our mission. Thomas Balbo and I are currently in the process of setting up the

paper mill and a small papermaking museum in our Cleveland warehouse. Any leads

on equipment and studio supplies or donations for the museum are greatly appreciated.

If you have questions or would like to contact me with information, please email me at

<morganconservatory@yahoo.com> or call (260) 982-8281.

Marianne Kelsey

Papermaking Director, Morgan Conservatory

Thanks to contributions by over 35 generous individuals, the new Hand Papermaking

Endowment Fund is now in excess of $25,000. Please help us reach our immediate goal

of $40,000 by becoming a Founding Contributor. Let’s keep Hand Papermaking thriving

for the next 20 years! See page 12 and <www.handpapermaking.org/endowment>.

Hand Papermaking’s Ninth Annual Online Auction takes place April 21-28. Check out

the tantalizing selection of donated items at <www.handpapermaking.org/auction>.

There’s fiber and felts plus watermark wire and a working miniature mill (so cute!);

there are gorgeous marbled papers, limited-edition fine press books, and plenty of papermaking

reference books; there’s even a paper corset and paper swim trunks! So be sure

to log in and place your bids before the gavel falls at 4:00 pm eastern on Saturday the

28th of April. 100% of proceeds benefit Hand Papermaking’s non-profit programs.

Upcoming in the Next Issue of Hand Papermaking Magazine: Focus on Washi...

Kume Yasuo on the varied and unique uses of washi ¤ Ibe Kyoko outlines the twentiethcentury

history of Japanese hand papermaking ¤ Moriki Kayoko: A Return to Pre-Industrial

Revolution Washi ¤ Kobayashi Yasuo and Yagihashi Shin: A Conversation ¤ Paul Denhoed

points out subtle differences within the tradition of Japanese papermaking (with paper

samples) ¤ Tatiana Ginsberg describes somegami, naturally dyed Japanese handmade

paper (with dyed paper sample) ¤ Timothy Barrett on making Japanese-style paper

outside of Japan ¤ Park Chi-Sun discusses the transmission of hanji culture to Japan ¤

Lauren Pearlman describes the function of washi in Japanese daily life ¤ Victòria Rabal

reviews Elena del Rivero exhibition at IVAM, Valencia, Spain ¤ Winnie Radolan reviews

Jacob Christian Schäffer exhibition at Robert C. Williams Paper Museum

Dear Hand Papermaking,

An interesting thing happened to me

last week in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, a traditional

fishing village some 150 miles north

of Acapulco. A woman sitting next to me on

the beach was reading Hand Papermaking

magazine. I nearly flipped! She is a subscriber

from Washington, DC, and had just

received her copy in the mail while packing

so she included it in her luggage. We

were both staying at the same complex so it

was passed around for everyone to read. It

certainly is a small world. Many enjoyed the

articles...not just mine!

Marjorie Alexander

Arden Hills, Minnesota

Dear Pulp Painters,

I regret that it has taken me so long to

write this letter of astonishment and appreciation.

I am one of the artists whose work

is included in the latest Hand Papermaking

portfolio, The Art of Pulp Painting. When I

received my copy, I sat down and carefully

opened the exquisitely packaged, mauve

cloth-covered box. Talk about eye candy!

The beautifully written introduction by Jane

Glaubinger set me up for the pure visual

and tactile pleasure of touching and appreciating

each of the eighteen miniature works

of pulp painting art.

When people ask me how long it

takes to make a pulp painting, I often

reply...“twenty-five years.” Each pulp painting

that an artist creates brings to bear all

the experience and memory of years of

failures and successes with this unique

and challenging medium. Like the old

Zen saying: “Before enlightenment, chop

wood, carry water; after enlightenment,

chop wood, carry water.” You can create a

couched cloud and schmush or stencil or

squirt some pulp on top of it while making

your first sheet of handmade paper. Years

of pulp painting later, you can do the same

thing and possibly get the same result, but

oh!, what a difference.

My own experience of creating my

piece was quite

intense. I can only

imagine what it

was like for the

other artists. I

am not a production

papermaker.

I generally cast

22x30 and 30x40

sheets, and pulp

paint for several

days on each sheet

before the wet pulp starts to get moldy and

needs to be dried. I had anticipated that

making 200, 8x10 sheets of pulp painted

Birches against a blue sky with suggestions

of yellow falling leaves, would take me a

just a few days work. We were required to

submit only 152 sheets, but I always like to

have some as backup in case some sheets

don’t make it through the process. I would

assume the same for the other artists.

In fact, I had to hire an assistant and

together we worked for over 40 hours

to make the requisite number of pieces.

That amounts to 80 hours of work which

breaks down to about two and a half hours

per sheet. Each sheet was handled seven

times, not including couching, drying, and

curating. It was physically exhausting as

well. When I shipped off the package of

beautifully stacked, deckled sheets, I was

proud of what I had done. I had given each

sheet my best. Then I saw what the other

artists had contributed to the portfolio, and I

was astonished.

My work was so simple! Easy! The

complexity of concept and design in addition

to perfection of execution demonstrated

by the other artists is completely humbling.

Many of the other pieces required many

more hours of attention and handling, not

to mention extraordinary skill and vision.

I am honored to be in such artistic

company. I salute all the hardworking, timebe-

damned, dedicated pulp painters. Thank

you for sharing your gifts with us.

Beverly Sky

Somerville, Massachusetts

ALONG THE PAPER ROAD...

This regular feature offers paper musings from

Elaine Koretsky – renowned paper historian,

researcher, and traveler. In this installment,

Elaine concludes the story of her final Silk Road

paper research.

So where were all the papermakers that

the guide had promised we would meet?

We had come to Xinjiang specifically to see

papermaking, but we did not see a single

person making paper. We did not even go

back to see Mr. Baki at work, as arranged.

I learned the answer a few days later

when we returned to Urumqi. The travel

back was absurd. Our unfortunate driver

had to drive for 16 hours straight across

the Taklamakan Desert on a new road

that bisected the desert from Minfeng to

Korla. There were no hotels or restaurants

on the way.

On the return to Urumqi, Tilak had arranged

a big reception for me on September

24. He drove us to The Castle, his favorite

restaurant. We were ushered into a private

room. Sixteen people were already there,

and we were seated as honored guests at the

head of the table. First, Tilak made a speech

honoring me for my contributions to Uygur

cultural history. Then he announced that

this was an auspicious day. Not only was it

the beginning of Ramadan, but also it was

my birthday, which he had learned from my

resume when I had sent him the seminar

thesis. He presented me with an enormous

bouquet of white roses. An adorable girl,

perhaps Tilak’s daughter, gave me a small

box containing a jade bracelet. Next, a huge

cake with lighted candles was wheeled

in and everyone joined in a rendition of

“Happy Birthday.” Finally, Tilak introduced

all the important people he had invited.

Both my husband Sidney and I gave short

speeches, acknowledging our gratitude for

the extraordinary reception we had been

given. The dinner was a lengthy one, with a

succession of splendid Uygur specialties.

After dinner, one of the guests who

owned a commercial paper mill had an important

conversation with me. Fortunately

there was a young man at hand who spoke

fluent English and volunteered to translate.

I discovered that my party that night had

been entirely subsidized by the paper mill,

and the owner wanted my opinion about

Hotan paper. The mill had started to make

and print cards and invitations, using handmade

Hotan paper as a decorative insert. He

wanted to know if the fiber used in the paper

could be prepared in a Hollander beater

and the pulp run on a paper machine. I was

quite positive in my reply, knowing that

paper mulberry was used very successfully

in China and Japan by specialty paper mills.

Then I asked him the loaded question:

How many hand papermakers are there in

Xinjiang Province? His reply was “four.” He

currently had a contract with one of them to

supply him with sheets. But since the papermakers

ranged in age from 85 to over 100

years, it seemed obvious why he hoped to

eventually replicate their handmade paper

by machine.

I regretted that my guide was totally

unable or unwilling to have me document

those Uygur papermakers. Fortunately, I

have my excellent documentation of the last

papermakers on the “Silk Road,” and I recognize

what the future holds for traditional

hand papermaking in Xinjiang Province.

Thus ended my final Silk Road paper

research.

UNIQUE TECHNIQUE

Well-known author and teacher Helen Hiebert

offers helpful guidance and tips gleaned from

artists she has worked with over the years. In

this issue she talks about using forced water to

cut holes in sheets of wet paper.

While I was at the 2000 Paper &

Book Intensive in Oxbow, Michigan, I

also worked with Rick Hungerford. One

of the nice things about these gatherings

is that people hang out in the studios and

share tips and tricks after hours. One

night Hungerford and I were talking in the

papermaking studio, and he showed me an

interesting way of cutting holes/creating

tears in the middle of sheets of paper. I’d

tried various approaches before, like placing

something in the middle of the mould and

struggling to hold it in place while I pulled

my sheet of paper. His technique removed

that awkwardness and was very direct. Hungerford

had developed this technique out of

his methods for pulp painting, in which he

uses dental syringes filled with colored pulp.

He used these same dental syringes filled

with water to cut the fibers of a freshly made

sheet on the mould.

To use his technique, you form a sheet

of paper on your mould and then set it

down on a flat surface, leaving the deckle in

place if desired. After the sheet has drained,

take a dental syringe filled with water and

steadily move your hand over the sheet of

paper, squirting a steady stream of water

as you go, creating a shape or line. This

causes the fibers that

are interlocked to start

to separate. You can

play with the squirting

– a light squirt will

leave the fibers still

bonded (especially

after they spread a bit

when couched) and a watermark-like image

will appear in your dry sheet. If you wish

to completely separate the fibers, creating a

tear or hole, you may need to squirt several

times over the same area. You can use a

straight edge or ruler to guide your hand

while squirting. For example, if you want

to cut your sheet of paper in half, with the

deckle still on top of the mould, measure

halfway on two facing sides of the deckle

and mark these points with small pieces of

tape. Make sure your ruler is long enough

to span the length of your deckle and line

the ruler up between the two lines. Now,

holding the ruler in place, set the edge of

the water-filled syringe against the edge of

the ruler to guide your hand along it while

squirting water. You can even set the ruler

so that you can use the measurements on it

to guide your start and end points. Try using

cookie cutters or stencils to guide your

syringe in creating shaped holes. Instead

of removing the pulp inside your tear lines,

you could remove the pulp outside the lines

to make shaped sheets of paper.

Another technique that Hungerford

showed me was using a clump of pulp as

a sort of rubber cement pick up. This can

be used in conjunction with the squirt/tear

technique. If, for example, you squirt a

circle in the center of your sheet, you’ll need

to remove the circle-shaped pulp in the

center. You can use the curved edge of the

dental syringe along the edge of the cut line

to start moving the pulp towards the center

and away from the cut edge. Gather a bit

of the pulp you are removing and squeeze

the water out of it so that it is just damp.

Now take that clump of pulp, touch it to

some pulp on your mould that needs to be

removed, and pick it up. This is extremely

helpful near the edge of your tear line, as it

really helps clean the edge and remove little

bits of pulp that would otherwise remain on

the mould.

ON-LINE

Pamela S. Wood of Arizona makes one-of-akind

books from her handmade papers. She

explores the internet seeking out notable paperrelated

sites. At the risk of stooping to subject

matter that may be beneath us, the topic today

is dung.

It seems that no matter how sophisticated

we humans become, an element of

our current culture finds grunge intoxicating

– thus the vogue in reality TV shows

such as “Survivor” and its many spin-offs.

I can’t begin to mention how many times

folks have suggested I check out making

paper from poop. So I checked it out online

and found a remarkable number of sites devoted

to it. Most relate to the use of elephant

dung. I chose to review Elephant Dung Paper

at <www.elephantdungpaper.com> which

has both content and

cause. Sit back and relax

for this reality show.

Here is the “scoop

on the poop.” The world

goes to great lengths to

ease the process we papermakers call retting.

Retting is the process of wetting the

fiber to start the enzyme action of breaking

down the fiber for eventual pulping.

This can be a smelly and time-consuming

process. On this website and others like it,

they cut some corners and start the retting

uniquely.

I am reminded of a joke I once heard.

A man wanted to be buried with his favorite

whiskey. Well, his funeral day came and his

buddies got to thinking about the whiskey

being put directly into the coffin and figured

that the deceased wouldn’t care if they

passed the whiskey through their kidneys

first. (Use your imagination about how the

whiskey eventually gets into the coffin.)

Now that the stage is set, I can tell

you about a group of industrious people in

Thailand who are helping elephants by turning

their poop into paper. Passing the fibers

first through an elephant’s intestinal tract is

not easy but their high-fiber diet makes for

a very handsome paper. (Tinting helps, too.)

Let’s take a look. The opening splash page

shows elephants disappearing and reappearing

in a forest. Page contents are listed

below to the right. Click on the first topic,

“Dung Facts,” to answer the biggest question

about this paper: how does it smell?

I’m not passing up an opportunity to say:

read this and it will clear the air.

Moving on to the “History” page, we

learn the sad story of the plight of elephants

in Thailand and how the papermaking is

helping them. Mr. Wanchai, the founder of

the project says, “...in life, many people may

think you are mad or crazy, but if you have

the courage to try, you will succeed.” (Hmm,

I think that may apply to

more than just poop.)

The best of the site is

the “Process” page. A series

of pictures tells the story.

Here we can use arrow buttons

under the picture to

follow the papermaking

process step by step. As papermakers,

we can fill in the

gaps in the narrative. Unfortunately, many

steps are missing and the descriptions could

be better. Most steps shown are ones we

use – washing, boiling, pulling sheets

(which they call sifting, a nice word choice),

still sheet formation, and drying. One is

a step we don’t often use – sanding. The

sheets look good. This is where the virtual

part kills me – I want to touch them!

The “Product” section has simple but

well-made items that are not as commercial

as I expected. Finally, check out the gallery

of paintings on dung paper, made by

elephants. It brings a smile, knowing that

such nice paintings come from the trunk of

the largest earth mammal.

It is nice to know that the paper is

serving several masters well – making

good paper for humans and helping the

elephants support themselves.

Lastly, there is one more site that I

could not resist recommending. No job is

complete until the paperwork is done. Go to

<www.nobodys-perfect.com/vtpm> to visit a

museum of toilet paper. (So, how do think I

would end a story about poop?) It is very

basic and easy to get through. It will draw a

smile – and remind us of realities.

So, now you know the scoop on poop!

We have been there, done that, and will

happily move on.

TEACHING HAND PAPERMAKING

Based in Philadelphia, Winifred Radolan operates

an itinerant teaching papermill, and has

taught papermaking to thousands of adults and

children. In this installment Winnie uses 1000

of her handmade sheets to produce a last-of-itskind

memento for 25 special students.

Previously I described a Horseshoe

Crab Conservation and the Arts classroom

visit designed to inspire young people to

celebrate this unusual marine invertebrate

through their arts expressions. During the

winter months when teaching adventures

are more infrequent, I can generally be

found deeply involved with the production

of the Poems, Tales and Images anthology

that celebrates the artistic achievements of

these young environmental stewards. This,

however, is the last edition of the anthology

that will be fabricated on my handmade

paper as well as hand printed and hand

bound. So I thought I’d describe this labor

of love that is in its sixth and final year

of hand production. First, I should mention

that the Poems, Tales and Images, 2007

anthology is moving to a hard-bound commercially

printed format in order to accommodate

a larger number of selected student

artists, including young people from Japan.

Each spring, mid-April to be exact,

student work in the form of visual and

language arts (this past year we even

received a song) arrives at the offices of

Ecological Research and Development

Group to be juried for the annual

Horseshoe Crab in the Arts competition.

Some packets of work come from school

students who have discovered the arts

competition on ERDG’s web site, but

the majority of submissions come from

students who have received a classroom

visit from “Miss Winnie.” In 2006 ERDG’s

office was filled with stacks of work from

600 students representing five states in the

U.S., and our first young artist from Japan.

Jurors reviewed the work, submitted on

8.5” by 11” paper for scanning purposes, for

scientific accuracy, originality, and heartfelt

communication. Every effort was made to

select representative artwork from the entire

range of age groups, from kindergarten

through high school. After an intense

day-long jurying process the field was

narrowed down to twenty-five young artists

whose poems, paintings, short stories,

and song can be viewed on-line at <www.

horseshoecrab.org>.

While I wrote notes of “congratulations”

and “regrets” to all the teachers

whose students participated, the selected

artworks were sent to the studio of Sue

Symes, ERDG’s talented graphic artist, to

be scanned and formatted. Each year she

creates a CD with the entire student work

“book-formatted” and ready, so that all

“low-tech” Winnie need do is pop the disc in

her computer and patiently print. Sue also

produces the beautiful 18”

x 24” glossy art reproductions

of our students’ work

which are exhibited in traveling

art shows. This year’s

art is still traveling through

Japanese cities! The single

horseshoe crab above is by

12th grader Amanda Algeo,

and the piece with multiple

crabs is by 10th grader

Naomi Davidoff.

Because each of the

25 selected artists, their

teachers, and our sponsors

receive a copy of the Poems,

Tales and Images anthology, it requires about

1,000 sheets of paper to complete the limited

edition of 50 books. Unlike papermakers

of yore, I am unable to produce this quantity

in a day! Usually about three weeks elapse

by the time I have beaten, pulled, pressed,

and dried enough 6” x 9” sheets of paper

for the edition. I have been using a blend

of hemp half-stuff and cotton linter fibers

which are very lightly laced with bamboo

inclusions, so as not to interfere with the

surface imagery.

My Hewlett-Packard 750 ink-jet printer

gets a major workout throughout the production

of each year’s anthologies. Using

the settings for matte greeting cards and

user-defined 6” x 9” paper, I hand feed each

sheet through the printer one at a time,

printing both sides of the page. I print four

copies of each page at once, and make far

fewer mistakes when I do not try to multitask

during this meditative process. It takes

an hour to print each book. While I sit and

patiently watch the images appear on the

handmade paper I feel a special connection

to each of the students who created them.

Once the pages are printed it is time

for binding them into the anthology. I have

slightly adapted a Japanese stab pattern just

for these books. Because sixteen pages stack

up to measure about 1/4” of thickness, I

securely clamp the edges and use a Dremel

tool, mounted in the drill press accessory,

to drill the holes in the sewing stations. I

wrap the binding edge with a strip of my

handmade washi, and then execute the sewing

pattern, using heavyweight DMC Perle

Cotton. In an hour’s time I can complete

three books.

As each book is completed, I tenderly

wrap it in tissue and priority-mail it off

with a special note of appreciation to the

young artist or teacher who took part in

our arts competition. Although moving to a

hard-bound commercially produced edition

is a real measure of the growth of ERDG’s

environmental arts program, I will truly

miss making the anthologies by hand. Over

the years I have felt that these artist-made

editions have completed the circle of artistic

expression set in motion by these talented

young environmental stewards.

PAPER HISTORY

Cathleen A. Baker, PhD, is Senior Paper

Conservator at the University of Michigan

Library. She is author of By His Own

Labor: The Biography of Dard Hunter and

proprietor of The Legacy Press (www.legacypress.

com), specializing in books about the

printing, paper, and bookbinding arts. This is

the first installment about the early career of a

man who developed a lifelong interest in hand

papermaking.

Dard Hunter’s name has been

inexorably linked with handmade paper

ever since the publication of his book,

Papermaking: The History and Technique of

an Ancient Craft, first issued over sixty years

ago. His comfortable, intimate knowledge

about this subject belies the fact that, just

like everyone who strives to make paper by

hand, he had to figure out how to master

this craft. Unlike us, however, Hunter had

access to fewer, less informative books.

This series of articles takes us through the

initial learning steps that ultimately resulted

in the production of two groundbreaking

books, made entirely by Hunter’s hand,

published by the Chicago Society of Etchers

in 1915–1916.

Following a successful career as a

graphic designer for Elbert Hubbard’s Roycroft

enterprises, Hunter decided to change

course and pursue book-making in 1912.

Specifically, he was interested in making

type and paper, and printing letterpress,

all by hand. In May 1913, Hunter reported

to his uncle that he also intended to make

handmade paper for stationery, complete

with watermarks. At this point in America,

there were no companies making handmade

paper, the last mill having discontinued

manufacturing in 1907. If anyone

required Western handmade paper, orders

had to be filled by European papermills.

In 1912, Hunter purchased property

that included a site for a papermill on

a small creek, located on the outskirts

of Marlborough-on-Hudson, New York

(now Gomez Mill House). The papermill,

which Hunter built, was a very modest

building, only 14 x 16 feet. It was nestled

unobtrusively on the chosen site (see

photograph taken in 1913), and indeed,

rather than cutting down all the trees,

Hunter incorporated one into the thatched

roof. Wishing to forego all modern

conveniences in the making of paper,

including electricity, Hunter had a waterpowered

wheel built, which ran the beater

for macerating rags into pulp. The mill

building was probably completed before

winter set in at the end of 1912.

Even before he purchased the Marlborough

property, however, Hunter had sent

letters to manufacturers of papermaking

equipment and materials in both America

and England. One of the first of those

enquiries was to the L. L. Brown Paper

Company in Adams, Massachusetts, asking

about any hand papermaking equipment

they might have since discontinuing

making paper by hand in 1907. While they

replied that they still had the old equipment,

there is no evidence that Hunter purchased

any of it. By the summer of 1913, Hunter

had either purchased or had made the following

pieces of equipment: a screw press;

a copper-lined cypress vat with a maple

agitator (hog); a rag cutter and duster; and a

boiler for processing linen and cotton rags.

Next he acquired papermaking moulds

and fiber. As early as November 1911, Hunter

had written to the English paper mould

manufacturer, the T. J. Marshall & Co. Ltd.,

inquiring about prices, sizes, etc. (It was

in this shop that Hunter had first made

paper on a hand mould.) Hunter placed an

order for two matching moulds, 6.75 x 8.75

inches, one wove and one laid with no watermark;

these were received in mid-August

1912. That October, Hunter again wrote to

this company regarding the preparation of

rags for papermaking even though he had

yet to purchase a beater. Perhaps because

the Marshall company hoped to sell Hunter

a beater, they were happy to offer advice in a

letter dated 29 October:

Dear Sir…after boiling the rags with the

usual amount of alkali you can put them

straight into the Engine [beater] and this

can be used as a breaker and washer by

lowering the Drum Washer into the stuff.

The rags will be broken quite readily after

boiling and then after thoroughly washing

them you can use the machine as a

Beater by lifting the Drum Washer out.

We believe you saw this process at work

here and therefore you will have a better

idea of it than we are able to tell you.…it

will be a matter of experience for you to

fix the best length of time for the beating.

[A] great deal depends on the quality of the

rags you are using…We are endeavoring to

obtain some linen pulp and will send you

this as soon as possible. Your water wheel

developing 2 1/2 H.P. will do admirably

for the Beater.

On 6 November 1912, the London firm

shipped two boxes of rag pulp, each containing

eight pounds, with this note.

We have endeavored to get this pulp as dry

as possible, consistent with your being able

to mix it again after you have received it.

Of course we cannot guarantee that this

pulp will arrive in perfect condition, but as

you will see we have done our best and we

hope you will make a success with it. The

total cost including postage is 14/6

[14 shillings, 6 pence]….

If made from linen rag, this pulp was

probably quite smelly by the time it arrived

at the mill. Even though he would not have

a beater for several months, Hunter made

sheets of paper with the pulp on his new

6.75 x 8.75 inch mould. In the Dard Hunter

Archives at Mountain House, there is a

partial sheet of paper – no watermark –

with Hunter’s pencil notation: “First sheet

of paper made by Dard Hunter at his mill

in America…1912.” In April 1913, Hunter

ordered a beater for $175 from the Mills

Machine Company in Lawrence, Massachusetts,

and papermaking began in earnest.

PAPER SCIENCE

John Bordley is F. B. Williams Professor and

Chair of the Chemistry department at Sewanee:

The University of the South. John’s column will

continue in the next issue.

PROFILES IN PAPER

Susan Gosin co-founded Dieu Donné Press

& Paper in 1976. She regularly lectures and

teaches papermaking, and has compiled a

significant collection of interviews with noted

personalities in the hand papermaking community.

In this issue Sue writes of Timothy

Barrett’s lifetime devotion to paper.

Paper enthusiasts who’ve had the

chance to read my previous “paper profiles”

have been introduced to key pioneers in

the revival of hand papermaking. Many of

those profiled were attendees of the official

gathering of hand papermakers held in

1975 at the Paper Chemistry Institute in

Appleton, Wisconsin. Most of the attendees

had an indirect connection to the teaching

of Laurence Barker. Some of the attendees

were neophytes, some had been “at it” in

one form or another for years, and a committed

few were redefining what it meant

to be an American hand papermaker in the

20th century.

Tim Barrett was not at this initial

meeting because he was on a Fulbright

Fellowship, studying hand papermaking in

Japan, but it was already clear that Tim’s

contribution to the field would soon match

his insatiable curiosity and dedication to

hand papermaking. Because Tim is such a

recognized and documented contributor to

the field in many different capacities, this

brief column will only highlight a few of

his accomplishments and focus instead on

the common thread that runs through all of

his endeavors, with particular attention to

his ongoing interest in paper aesthetics and

longevity.

Tim Barrett’s devotion to paper began

when as a young teenager he asked his

father, a professor of English Literature

with an interest in the history of books,

how paper was made before the paper

machine was invented. Tim had seen the

manufacture of big rolls in commercial

mills in his hometown of Kalamazoo,

Michigan. However, it came as a surprise to

him to learn that for centuries, before the

machine age, each piece of paper had been

made by hand, one sheet at a time. As Tim

recalls, it was a revelation to discover that

something we take for granted, something

very commonplace, almost innocuous,

had an ancient history and played a

critical role in the preservation of human

history. And for years he carried a small

piece of Japanese paper with him, folded

in his wallet as a token of his curiosity

and wonder.

When he went to Cranbrook School

for Boys for high school in the late 1960s,

he had the great fortune to meet Laurence

Barker and observe him at the immediately

adjacent Cranbrook Academy of Art, teaching

his graduate printmaking students how

to make handmade paper. Cranbrook was

the only school with a hand papermill in

1966, and Barker, who had learned directly

from the only practicing American hand

papermaker, Douglass Howell, was the only

teacher offering regular instruction.

It was under Barker’s guidance that

Tim was introduced to Cranbrook’s collection

of Dard Hunter books. Hunter’s

scholarly books documenting hand papermaking

as it was practiced around the

world in the 1920s and 1930s opened Tim’s

imagination to traditions of hand papermaking

in far away countries as well as in the

United States. With the voice of Hunter

guiding him through his books, and the

voice of Barker encouraging him to pursue

his interest in the craft, Tim was initiated

into an almost lost tradition of American

hand papermaking. Following Cranbrook,

undergraduate studies at Antioch College

did not include papermaking. However,

Tim tracked down an old lab beater in

an attempt to put

together a rudimentary

mill of his own.

In this 1972 photo

Tim is using cotton

linters dyed with

RIT fabric dye! But

it was not until after

graduation, when

he followed up on a

brief conversation

he’d had while visiting

Howie and Kathy

Clark at their first

mill in San Francisco

that Tim found the

opportunity to devote himself fulltime to

learning papermaking as he helped the

Clarks establish Twinrocker in Indiana.

Though working with the Clarks in the

early days was challenging as they sought

to reestablish hand papermaking as a viable

business in the 20th century, Tim found

their devotion to the craft as well as their

generous companionship inspiring. As he

honed his skills learning the Western tradition

of sheet forming, he began formulating

a plan to further his knowledge and

mastery of the process. In a method that has

come to represent Tim’s uniquely successful

approach to all that he undertakes, he

formulated an achievable goal; conducted

thorough research; created a plan; identified

and contacted the people who could

help him; and then implemented the plan

with the ultimate goal of sharing the fruits

of his labor. In this instance, Tim obtained

support from a Fulbright Fellowship to

study with master papermakers in Japan for

two years, from 1975 until 1977. Upon his

return home, Tim recorded much of what

he learned in his seminal book, Japanese Papermaking,

Traditions, Tools, and Techniques.

Here is a photo of Tim’s first Japanese-style

papermaking after his return from Japan in

the fall of 1977.

Following the publication of his book,

he assembled a papermill at his home in

Michigan, called Kalamazoo Handmade

Papers. With this as a base, Tim spent much

of the next decade traveling the country

giving lectures and workshops on Japanese

papermaking and in between making

limited quantities of production paper. It

was also during this time that Tim began

applying all of his studies and experience

toward an investigation of the archival and

aesthetic qualities of fine Western papers.

Funds from NEA and the Kress Foundation

supported this research, which Tim pursued

while taking classes at Western Michigan

University’s School of Paper Science and

Engineering.

Through his research, Tim identified

exquisite examples of 15th-century Italian

papers that exemplified both the longlasting

beauty and distinctive character

that he had found so compelling in fine

Japanese paper. In conjunction with his own

findings and earlier research by William

Barrow, Tim formulated a proposal, which

has continued to command his attention

for thirty years. Tim believes that perhaps

one of the reasons that Western paper

made during the 15th century has lasted so

long and so well is that the gelatin sizing

which coats the paper contributes to the

stability of the cellulose beneath. Though

Tim’s gelatin research was not complete in

1986, new opportunities in teaching and

conservation research at The University of

Iowa prompted a move to Iowa City and the

start of a whole new chapter in his life.

For more than two decades, Tim has

continued to wear many hats in Iowa City

as a researcher, writer, lecturer, teacher,

international consultant and papermaker

while overseeing the Oakdale paper facility

and, for six years, serving as the Director

of The University of Iowa Center for the

Book. As a teacher, he has been responsible

for developing standardized curriculum

for instruction in all aspects of traditional

Asian and Western hand papermaking,

from growing and preparing fiber to sheet

forming, drying, and sizing, as well as basic

paper chemistry and paper aesthetics. And

he has found time to work on important

conservation related projects such as the

Endpaper Project and the National Archives

commission to develop encasement papers

to house our government’s most valuable

documents. Tim’s mature work has

included other important activities such as

educational videos and overseas tours but

the list of his endeavors and accomplishments

is too long for this short column.

What ties all these interrelated activities

together is Tim’s undying dedication

to find, analyze, create, and preserve the

best practices in hand papermaking and the

best examples of fine sheets of paper. To

that end, Tim has secured grant money to

pick up the trail of research he began thirty

years ago on gelatin sizing. As he recently

explained, researchers coming from the

commercial end of papermaking are not

inclined to sift though history to find clues

for improving the process or the paper produced.

Sounding more like a detective than

a craftsman, Tim postulated that the sublime

papers of the 15th century hold the key

to understanding what is necessary to make

both archival as well as aesthetically satisfying

paper. The findings of his research hold

great promise for both hand papermakers

and commercial papermakers. Just imagine

how revolutionary it would be if it turns out

that a modern version of historical gelatin

sizing is essential for maximum long-term

stability. Tim insists, as William Barrow

did before him, that the early papers have a

great deal to teach us.

DECORATED PAPER

Sidney Berger, a professor at Simmons College

in Boston, has been collecting and researching

decorated paper for over thirty years. In this

article, continued from the previous newsletter,

Sid concludes his argument that proper credit

be given to the makers of decorated paper.

Another place to do some leg-work is

in the literature parallel to that of papermaking.

In the world of bookbinding, for

instance, one is likely to encounter the

names of those doing work that wound up

in or on books. Sure enough, in The Guild of

Book Workers Newsletter I found the names

of several accomplished paper decorators,

including, of course, Loring herself, but

also Nancy Storm, Heinke Pensky, Deborah

Evetts, Peggy Skycraft, and others. By

serendipity I found an obituary of an Eliza

Ingle who “died in her 83rd year” in 1968.

The obit said, “She was an accomplished

marbler.” So I contacted Paul Gehl at The

Newberry Library and he located a sheet

of hers in the Rubovits Collection. (Special

thanks to Hope Mayo and Paul Gehl for

their superb help in my work.)

Interestingly, the Guild newsletter had

the expected references to the work in paste

papers of Veronica Ruzicka, famous for

her artistry, but it also mentioned other Ruzickas:

Ivan J. Ruzicka and Jirina M. Ruzicka,

whose papers were shown in an exhibition

of bookbinding in the early 1970s.

A third thing that came out of my research

for the Guild talk was that there has

been an evolution in the decorated paper

world in the West over the last, say, 30 or 40

years. For centuries, decorated paper was

a subsidiary craft. That is, the paper artist

would make the sheets and they would get

used by artists or bookbinders, box makers,

fan makers, or whoever else needed the

paper for his or her own art. The paper was

never an end in itself, so the paper artist

was almost never given credit since the final

product was something bigger, with the

paper only incidental to the larger piece.

Even in centuries-old Persian manuscripts

that were done on (or that incorporated)

marbled paper, the calligraphy was

the central art, the marbling only incidental

and peripherally enhancing. But in the 20th

century, marbled sheets were created as final

products, as works of art in themselves,

to be framed and hung on walls. Artists like

Christopher Weimann, Graham Day, Norma

Rubovits, Milena Hughes, Mustafa Duzgunman,

Dick Wolfe, Feridun Özgören, Tom

Leech, Nedim Sonmez, Ann Muir, Hikmet

Barutcugil, and others have made their way

into the art market.

Our task now is to commemorate those

who are producing not only the art pieces,

but also the so-called “run of the mill” decorated

papers, the lovely sheets that will wind

up on books or in jewelry or wherever.

There is always an innate human

desire to know “who did this?,” especially in

the arts and crafts. Scholars want to seek out

information about silver- and goldsmiths,

jewelry makers, tapestry weavers, and

quilters; we want to get our attributions

right on paintings, not only for the

Rembrandts, but also for the lesser-known

artists whose works adorn the walls of

museums. In the world of books, this is true

for bookbinders and printers, papermakers,

and authors. It should also be true for paper

decorators, whose work has brought beauty

to untold numbers of volumes over the

centuries. But they are usually hidden away

in anonymity, even more securely than their

papers are “hidden away” as endsheets in

closed books. These artists deserve their

due, and I hope my talk to The Guild of

Book Workers and this column make us

aware of the importance of keeping these

people’s identities alive.

Additionally, the need for decorated

paper does not seem to be diminishing.

Look at the stocks of art supply and artpaper

supply stores and you will see an

increasing number of options available,

from all over the world, especially from the

Orient. A physical record of all these papers

must be maintained. My wife and I are

trying to do this with our collection. And

several large institutional collections are

trying to do it too.

Because of a disaster that struck our

home several months ago, our paper collection

became almost completely inaccessible.

I needed to illustrate my talk to The Guild,

so I started calling people around the country,

asking for their help in supplying decorated

papers for my slide presentation. I was

overwhelmed by the kindness and courtesy

of those who made their papers available to

me. And I was equally overwhelmed by the

beauty of the sheets I acquired. There is a

host of skilled, imaginative artists at work,

and I hope that my talk, my writing, and my

passion (along with my wife’s and my collection)

will help to memorialize them all.

Their papers should not be hidden

away, but should be in a cataloged collection

that is open to researchers (as ours is). The

artists should be given credit for their work,

and we must never treat them as producing

work that is subsidiary to any other craft.

Maybe some day Peggy Skycraft will be

able to say: “We asked the bookbinders to

mention us, and they did. It’s nice to get

some respect.”

FOR BEGINNERS

Mary Tasillo is a papermaker, book artist, and

mixed-media maven based in Philadelphia.

She works at the Center for the Conservation

of Art and Historic Documents, and teaches

workshops nationally. In her first column for

Hand Papermaking Newsletter, Mary offers

guidelines for storing your handmade papers.

So you’ve managed to beat your pulp,

master the pulling of a sheet, press out the

water, and get the things dried. Now that

you’ve got a big glorious stack of sheets

sitting there what are you going to do with

them? Shuffle them into some semblance of

order and stick them on the edge of a shelf

somewhere? Stack them amongst old bills

and syllabi? Do as I say, not as I do. Following

are some tips for keeping your paper

safe, protected, and long-lived.

Store your papers flat. As we all

inevitably discover at some point in the

papermaking and drying processes, paper

has an incredible memory. Rolled paper is

going to retain those curves. Storing paper

on an uneven surface such as the top of

a row of books on your shelves will cause

unusual and generally undesirable cockling.

Flat files are amazingly simple solutions to

these problems if you can afford them, as

are shallow boxes or shelves. Ideally, paper

should be stacked only on other paper of the

same size, but be especially cautious about

stacking larger papers on top of smaller

ones, as gravity will work against you here

and cause bowing.

Alternately, papers can be stored vertically

in boxes if they are stored with care.

You neither want to overstuff the boxes nor

under-fill them, allowing your paper to slump.

Use spacers of a material such as corrugated

board (preferably acid-free) or matboard

to fill extra space. If you are tight on space

and find you must store your papers rolled

for a while, roll them around a tube that

is at least the width of your rolled paper to

prevent the edges from crushing. Use a tube

of the widest circumference possible.

Keep your papers clean and acid-free.

Storing papers inside drawers, boxes, and

folders keeps them free of dust. In addition

to making you sneeze and making your papers

dirty, dust can cause paper to become

brittle, and might contain moisture and

environmental pollutants that can discolor

and stain the paper. Your paper should

be in contact only with acid-free surfaces.

Look specifically for the label “acid-free” on

materials such as boxes, folders, or interleaving,

which you buy for housing your

papers. The label “archival” does not necessarily

guarantee that the material is stable.

Webster’s dictionary does not specifically

define “archival” as “pH neutral,” leaving

manufacturers some leeway in how they

define the term.

Temperature and humidity extremes

should be avoided. High temperatures make

your papers brittle; drops in temperature

increase the relative humidity, which can

promote mold growth and foxing (the introduction

of mysterious brown spots), and

can also make your paper curl. If you are

super-fastidious and go out and purchase

a hygrothermograph, you might like to

know that the ideal storage conditions are

between 60 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit at

60% relative humidity. As for the rest of us:

don’t store your paper in the attic, basement,

or garage.

Avoid exposing your papers to light,

which can bleach them. If you are storing

papers in the open (on shelves, for example)

wrap them or enclose them in folders for

protection.

Keeping your papers in folders will also

minimize the need to be constantly flipping

through them to find things at the bottom

of the drawer. It is important to protect

paper from the oils in your skin. While we

all enjoy touching a beautiful sheet of paper,

each handling contributes to its eventual

demise. You should especially separate

papers containing acidic materials, such as

plant fibers that have not been cooked with

a caustic, to keep these non-archival (ahem)

sheets out of contact with your other papers.

Whatever you do, do not organize your

papers with paper clips! This may seem

obvious, but I have pulled rusty paperclips

from archived documents. Paperclips leave

an indelible impression and, sometimes,

rust-prints. The aforementioned folder is

the best way to keep your papers organized.

Some people store their papers in plastic

bags. A note on using plastic for storage:

make sure that your papers can breathe!

Closed ziplock bags for smaller pieces

could create a mold factory if there is any

moisture in the environment. It has been

suggested that wooden files are best for storing

paper as they stabilize relative humidity

and do not rust as metal can.

As artists, we do not always treat

our creations as well as we ought, but

making an effort to house our work with

care ensures that the fruits of our labors

will last a bit longer. Part of the beauty of

hand papermaking is the ability to make

papers that can far outlast contemporary

commercial papers – or the lifespan of a

CD. While I do not believe we need to try to

make paperworks – be they art or artifact –

last forever, there is something to be said

for taking responsible stewardship of the

handmade in a time of the lightning-speed

ephemeral. In short: don’t treat your paper

like dirt. It will never stand up to as much

erosion as dirt does.

Listings for specific workshops and other

events in the following categories are offered

free of charge on a space-available basis. The

deadline for the July Newsletter is May 15.

Contact each facility directly for additional

information or a full schedule.

Teachers: Tell your students about Hand

Papermaking! Brochures and handouts can

be mailed to you or your institution. Email

<info@handpapermaking.org>.

CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts,

Gatlinburg, TN, (865) 436-5860,

<www.arrowmont.org>. Classes and

workshops in a variety of disciplines,

including papermaking.

From Pulp to Paper: Image & Design in Handmade

Paper, June 10-16, with Beck Whitehead.

Learn the basics of papermaking and

discover image and design techniques used

to create paper for printmaking and bookbinding

or as an end in itself.

Plant Fiber Papermaking from Flat to Form,

July 8-14, with Catherine Nash. Transform

plants into strong handmade papers, from

thick and sturdy to translucent and delicate,

using both two- and three-dimensional approaches.

Atelier Cirkel, Brasschaat, Belgium, 0032-3

633 05 89, <www.aterliercirkel.be>.

Sculptural Objects with Handmade Paper,

August 25-26, with Bob Matthysen. Learn

sculptural applications of handmade paper.

Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT,

(203) 775-4526, <www.brookfieldcraftcenter.

org>. Workshops at a colonial vintage campus

75 miles north of New York City.

Pulp Painting, April 28-29, with Shannon

Brock. Using multiple moulds and vats of

pigmented pulp, along with contact paper,

dental syringes, paintbrushes and squeeze

bottles, develop images by layering and

overlapping thin veils of pulp.

Papermaking With Plants, June 16-17, with

Jane Ingram Allen. Make paper from local

plant materials with minimal equipment

and facilities.

John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown,

NC, (704) 837-2775, <www.folkschool.org>.

Classes in papermaking and other crafts in

the mountains of western North Carolina.

Marble and Paste: Pretty Paper Duet, April 15-

21, with Nancy Lawrence. Try both marbling

and paste paper decoration.

Papermaking – An Introductory Class, May

13-19, with Claudia Lee. Explore the basics

of hand papermaking, creating a portfolio of

multi-colored and textured papers.

Silk Papermaking & Embellishments, July

8-14, with Kathy Hays. Learn a unique, yet

simple, process of silk “papermaking,” then

stitch the silk “canvas” for added dimension.

Papermaking with Plants, August 3-5, with

Rajeania Snider. Learn to create unusual

and beautiful papers from natural plant

materials gathered in the wild and from

flowerbeds.

Carriage House Paper, Brookline, MA,

(617) 232-1636, <chpaper@aol.com> or

<paperroad@aol.com>.

3-D Papermaking in Depth, July 3-7. Design

and build armatures from a variety of materials,

then cover in high- and low-shrinkage

pulps; or build dimensional paper pieces

without an armature.

Carriage House Paper, Brooklyn, NY, (800)

669-8781, <www.carriagehousepaper.com>.

A full program of beginning and advanced

papermaking classes.

Introduction to Papermaking, May 6, with

Shannon Brock. Explore the possibilities of

sheet forming, laminating, embedding and

collage.

Contemporary Watermarks, May 7, with

Shannon Brock. Learn to use a variety of

materials to create custom watermarks.

Sculptural Papermaking, May 20-21, with

Shannon Brock. Use high-shrinkage fibers

and armature-building techniques to create

dimensional paper pieces.

april 2007 9

Exotic Fibers, June 3-4, with Donna Koretsky.

Delve into unusual fibers such as pineapple

and kenaf for sheet formation.

Vacuum Table Mania, June 10, with Donna

Koretsky. Create low and high relief pieces

utilizing the vacuum table.

2-D Papermaking in Depth, June 19-23. Get a

comprehensive education in 2-D papermaking,

including Japanese and Western sheet

forming, pulp pouring and painting, and

vacuum table and pulp spraying techniques.

Pulp Spraying, July 22, with Shannon Brock.

Layer colored pulps to make really big paper

with this technique.

Pulp Pouring, July 23, with Shannon Brock.

Form 30 x 40 inch plain or decorative sheets

without use of vats or a press.

Introduction to Papermaking, July 24, with

Shannon Brock.

Pulp Painting, July 25, with Shannon Brock.

Develop imagery in your sheets by layering

and overlapping thin veils of pulp utilizing a

variety of materials and techniques.

Center for Book Arts, New York, NY, (212)

481-0295, <www.centerforbookarts.org>.

Dozens of book and paper workshops offered

in midtown Manhattan.

Paper Treatments, April 16-20, with Laurel

Parker. Learn about paper’s properties while

treating papers with an array of techniques

including itajime, image transfers, embossing

and more.

Pop Up Engineering for Beginners, April 21-

22, with Carol Barton. Master the basics of

the folded pop-up structure and progress

through a series of more complicated

constructions.

Columbia College Chicago Center for Book

and Paper Arts, Chicago, IL, (312) 344-6630,

<www.bookandpaper.org>. Papermaking

classes in spacious downtown studios.

17th-Century Paper & Bookbinding, April 21,

28 & 29, with Drew Matott. Use traditional

17th century fibers and processes to make

paper that will be bound into two book

structures.

Bags, Bundles, Baubles, & Bowls: Paper in 3-D,

May 5-6, with Nancy Vachon. Cast, weave,

form, and construct your own “containers”

in handmade and recycled papers.

Dieu Donné Papermill, New York, NY, (212)

226-0573, <www.dieudonne.org>. Beginning

and advanced papermaking classes for

adults and children.

Frogman’s Press & Gallery, Beresford, SD,

(605) 763-5082, <www.frogmans.net>.

Paper is Just the Beginning, July 9-14 (register

by April 15), with Lynn Sures. Create artistmade

paper which varies in shape, pattern,

color, thickness, surface texture, scale, and

edge, from abaca and kozo pulps.

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer

Isle, ME, (207) 348-2306, <www.haystackmtn.

org>. Workshops in various disciplines,

including papermaking and book arts.

Paper Collaboration, July 22-August 3, with

Sue Gosin and Mina Takahashi. Explore

the creative range of papermaking fibers

through collaborative work that incorporates

interpretation and development of each

participant’s artwork.

Illuminated Paper Structures, September 2-8,

with Helen Hiebert. Cover a variety of forms

with sheets of paper, working with paper

and light through both natural and electric

methods.

Historic RittenhouseTown, Philadelphia,

PA, (215) 843-2228, <www.rittenhousetown.

org>. Summer paper arts workshop series at

the site of America’s first paper mill.

La Font du Ciel, La Chambary, Charrus,

F-07230 Saint André Lachamp, France,

<pfpfrerick@aol.com>, <www.frerick.de>.

Papermaking workshops at the east foothills

of the Cevennes taught by Helmut Frerick.

Magnolia Editions, Oakland, CA, (510)

839-5268, <www.magnoliapaper.com>.

Workshops in papermaking, printmaking,

and book arts.

Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis,

MN, (612) 215-2520, <www.mnbookarts.

org>. Classes at the Open Book center for

book and literary arts.

Marbling Open Studio, April 14. Bring your

own paint and paper; everything else is supplied

during this self-directed evening.

Old Ways Book Arts Workshops, near Santa,

ID, (208) 245-3043, <www.geocities.com/

oldways_id/>, <oldway@imbris.com>.

Old Ways of Making Books from Raw

Materials, June 30-July 15, with Jim Croft.

Learn how to create book arts tools by hand,

process hemp and flax for paper and thread,

make paper by hand and make books with

wooden boards and brass clasps in this 14-

day workshop.

Paper Circle, Nelsonville, OH, (740) 753-

3374, <papercircle@frognet.net>. Call or

e-mail for upcoming classes.

The Papertrail, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada,

(800) 421-6826, <www.papertrail.ca>.

Classes in papermaking, marbling, and

related arts.

PapierWespe (PaperWasp), Aegidigasse

3/Hof, 1060 Wien, Austria, (0676)

77-33-153, <office@papierwespe.at>,

<www.papierwespe.at>. Workshops in

English and German taught by paper

specialists in downtown Vienna.

Reliefs with Paper Pulp, April 20-21, with

Beatrix Mapalagama. Work on individual

2-D pieces using the technique of casting

structures and flat objects with paper pulp.

Hot Air Balloons, June 29, with Gerhild

Resch. Construct your own paper balloon

and then launch one balloon as a class.

Creating Handmade Papers for Illuminated

Structures, July 21-22, with Helen Hiebert.

Make papers to be used for lamps, lanterns,

or sculptures which incorporate light.

Paper Lamps, Lanterns & Sculpture, July 27-

29, with Helen Hiebert. Cover traditional

wire lampshade frames, then advance to

complex structures involving armatures.

Paper Jewelry, December 1-2, with Babsi

Daum, Du Fei, Christina Leitner, and

Andrea Schreiber. Work together with four

artists to create one piece of paper jewelry.

Penland School, Penland, NC, (828) 765-

2359, <www.penland.org>. A full program

of craft workshops, including papermaking

and book arts.

Sculpting with Handmade Paper, August

12-14, with Lynn Sures. Create strong,

lightweight paperworks using armatures

and components cast from objects and

plaster molds.

Plant Fibers for Papermaking, August

26-September 1, with Winnie Radolan.

Discover how to gather, prepare, cook, and

beat plant fibers and create sheets using

Western and Eastern methods.

Peters Valley Craft Center, Layton, NJ, (973)

948-5200, <www.pvcrafts.org>. Workshops

in a variety of craft, including papermaking.

Color Joomchi Making, July 13-15, with

Jiyoung Chung. Form layered, textural and

surface imagery in your two- or threedimensional

pieces utilizing this Korean

papermaking method.

Pyramid Atlantic, Silver Spring, MD, (301)

608-9101, <www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.

org>. Workshops in papermaking, printmaking,

and book arts.

Personal Business Cards on Handmade Paper,

April 5, 12 & 19, with Gretchen Schermerhorn.

Combine your own colored sheets of

handmade paper with letterpress to create

unique business cards.

Exotic Papermaking, April 28-29, with

Gretchen Schermerhorn. Stretch the norms

of papermaking utilizing plant fibers

straight from your garden, creating a variety

of colored translucent and textured sheets.

Open Papermaking Studio, May 5, with studio

assistants.

Pulp Painting, May 12 & 13, with Ellen Hill.

Learn basic sheet forming and create a

colorful range of painterly, linear, print-like

and textural effects.

Robert C. Williams Paper Museum, Atlanta,

GA, (404) 894-5726, <http://ipst.gatech.

edu/amp/>.

Paper Jewelry Family Workshop, April 14,

with Marcia Watt. Make paper beads and

assemble your own paper bracelet.

Lampshades from Paper Family Workshop,

June 9. Create decorative paper shades with

flower petals and leaves.

Japanese Papermaking – A Hands-on Learning

Experience, June 25-29, with Berwyn Hung.

Study all stages of Japanese papermaking

from fiber collection and preparation to

sheet forming.

San Francisco Center for the Book, San

Francisco, CA, (415) 565-0545, <www.sfcb.

org>. Classes and events year-round.

Pastepapers, April 20, with Leigh McLellan.

Produce colorful, vibrantly patterned papers

using multiple techniques of this centuriesold

process.

Seastone Papers, West Tisbury, MA, (508)

693-5786, <www.seastonepapers.com>.

Summer paper workshops in Martha’s

Vineyard taught by Sandy Bernat.

Sierra Nevada College, Incline Village,

NV, <www.sierranevada.edu/snc/academic/

vpa/summerart/workshops.html>

or <info@janeingramallen.com>. Summer

workshops on beautiful Lake Tahoe.

Papermaking with Plants – Anytime, Anywhere,

Anyhow!, July 9-13, with Jane Ingram

Allen. Learn the whole process from what

plants to pick, to cooking, beating, sheet

forming in Western and Asian methods,

and creating art with the handmade paper.

Sievers School of Fiber Arts, Washington

Island, WI 54246, (920) 847-2264, <www.

sieversschool.com>. Summer workshops on

an island in Lake Michigan.

Beginning Papermaking, July 27-29, with

Thomas Grade. Design and create your own

projects from a variety of fibers using basic

two- and three-dimensional techniques.

Paper: Varying Degrees, July 29-August 3,

with Thomas Grade. Explore a diverse range

of international papermaking techniques,

including dimensional methods. Focus on

problem solving and translating your ideas

into paper form.

Snow Farm, The New England Craft Program,

Williamsburg, MA (413) 268-3101,

<www.snowfarm.org>. Study in a pastoral

setting near the five-college communities of

Amherst and Northampton.

Papermaking, June 1-3, with Sally Duback.

Focus on sheet forming techniques using

cotton, linen, and hemp rags. Then move on

to two- and three-dimensional ways to create

works of art.

Southwest School of Art & Craft, San Antonio,

TX, (210) 224-1848, <www.swschool.

org>. Classes at the Picante Paper Studio.

Advanced Studio Rental, most Wednesdays,

with Beck Whitehead. Use the Picante studio

and equipment with limited instruction

upon request.

Papermaking Saturday, one Saturday each

month, with Linda Draper. Create paper in

an environment that is somewhere between

a class and an open studio.

Intermediate Papermaking, May 23-June 27,

with Beck Whitehead. Learn new techniques

to add to your papermaking repertoire.

Introduction to Papermaking, June 2-3, with

Jo Etta Jupe. Explore the basic papermaking

process.

Spannocchia Foundation, Tuscany, Italy,

<www.spannocchia.org>. Contact Susanne

Martin at <alavee15@hotmail.com> for

summer workshop details.

Organic Bookmaking: From Clay to Crops,

July 16-30, with John and Susanne Martin.

Use materials from a sustainable farm

to create books using paper made from

recently harvested plants and herbs.

Stone and Paper Art Center, L.L.C.,

Mandeville, LA, (504) 674-9232.

Nagashasuki with Mary-Elaine C. Bernard,

selected Saturdays. Learn this Eastern

method of making paper and incorporate

local plant fibers.

Valley Ridge Art Studio, Muscoda, WI,

(608) 250-5028, <www.valleyridgeartstudio.

com>. Workshops in papermaking, bookmaking,

photography, writing, etc.

Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY

12472, (845) 658-9133, <info@wsworkshop.

org>. Summer Arts Institute includes workshops

in papermaking, printmaking, book

arts, photography, and other media.

Cross Pollination: Papermaking and Encaustic,

July 10-13, with Tatana Kellner and Laura

Moriarty. Create contemporary waxed handmade

paper works using layering, collage,

and encaustic techniques.

Interrupting the Papermaking Process to Find

a New One, July 17-21, with Jocelyn Chateauvert.

Investigate the manipulation of abaca

and flax sheets that have been pressed but

not dried.

Sculptural Papermaking, August 7-11, with

Ellen Kucera and Chris Petrone. Learn various

armature making techniques and cover

these forms with handmade paper.

Paper, Pulp and Photography, August 14-

18, with Tatana Kellner. Combine hand

papermaking techniques with photographic

emulsion to develop the creative potential of

combining these media.

EVENTS

The Friends of Dard Hunter will meet in

Washington, DC, October 18-20 at the

historic Carnegie Institution. Jane Milosch,

curator of the Smithsonian American Art

Museum’s Renwick Gallery, will deliver

the keynote. Pyramid Atlantic demos,

numerous paper exhibits, tours of wellknown

paper and book arts facilities,

a trade show, auction, and banquet are

also planned. Scholarships are available

to those with financial need. For more

information write to the Friends of Dard

Hunter, PO Box 773, Lake Oswego, OR

97034, or call (503) 699-8653 or visit <www.

friendsofdardhunter.org>.

The twelfth annual Newport Paper Arts

Festival takes place April 20-22 at a breathtaking

site overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Workshops, lectures, and exhibits on surface

design, papermaking, printmaking, and

book arts are planned. Send SASE to NPAF,

PO Box 1315, Newport OR 97365, or email

<vac@coastarts.org>. Go to <www.coastarts.

org> (click “NPAF”) for registration and

workshop information.

april 2007 11

The 2007 Southeast Association for Book

Arts Biennial Conference will be held May

16-17 on the campus of the University of

South Carolina in Columbia. The theme

of “Artists’ Books: Chance, Serendipity

and Randomness” will be explored in two

workshops, including a papermaking and

letterpress workshop with Robin Price and

Mary Robinson. For more information and

an application form, visit <www.cas.sc.edu/

art/SABA>.

The eighth biennial Focus On Book Arts

Conference will take place June 28-July 1,

offering four days of classes in all facets of

the book arts, including papermaking, on

the campus of Pacific University in Forest

Grove, Oregon. The event also features

an exhibition, trade show, and keynote

address by special collections librarian Jim

Carmin. Details can be found at <www.

focusonbookarts.org> or email

<conferenceinfo@focusonbookarts.org>.

The Minnesota Center for Book Arts Symposium

2007 will be held from July 23-28

in Minneapolis. Highlights include classes

taught by artists from around the country,

lectures, workshops, panel discussions,

special Minneapolis art outings, a trade

fair, the opening of a new MCBA exhibition,

and an old-fashioned BBQ. Email

<mcba@mnbookarts.org> or visit <www.

mnbookarts.org> for a copy of the Symposium

schedule.

IAPMA, the International Association of

Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists, will

hold its 19th Congress at Wadham College

in Oxford, England, from July 30 until

August 3. For more information contact

<hilarysussum@googlemail.com>. To find

out more about the organization and the

Congress, visit: <www.iapma.info>. Plan

ahead for the 2008 conference in Italy;

2009 in Tasmania, Australia; and 2010 in

Korea.

The Geelong Forum 2007 offers intensive

workshops in the creative arts from September

23-29 in Corio, Victoria, Australia.

Offerings include Inventive Itajime with

Susan Kristoferson and Sculptural Paper

with Rosalind Lawson at this annual event

Publications

News & Resources

Get Involved

About

Issue Number

78

April 2007

Publications

News & Resources

Get Involved

About Us

Publications

News & Resources

Get Involved

About

Issue Number

78

April 2007

Publications

News & Resources

Get Involved

About Us

Stay in the Loop!