Hand Papermaking Newsletter Issue 87

HAND PAPERMAK ING

N E W S L E T T E R

Number 87, July 2009

Newsletter Editor: Shireen Holman Advertising & Listings: Mary Tasillo Desktop Production: Amy Richard

Columnists: Sidney Berger, Susan Gosin, Maureen and Simon Green, Helen Hiebert, Elaine Koretsky, Winifred Radolan, Mary Tasillo.

Dear Papermakers,

I am the chair of Hand Papermaking’s Portfolio Development Committee, and

I am enthused about the next portfolio we have planned. The ninth portfolio in

Hand Papermaking’s ongoing limited-edition series will feature paper engineering.

Pop-ups! We want to make Handmade Paper in Motion our best portfolio yet, so

your participation is encouraged, and our deadline for entries—August 15—is fast

approaching.

Proposals should demonstrate how the message conveyed by the pop-up or moveable

device is furthered by or relates to the handmade paper utilized. The paper

should be an equal partner in the visual statement. Any well-made sheet of handmade

paper is allowed, however the final folded piece should be 10 x 8 inches or

less, and no more than 1/8-inch thick. Paper may include imagery via printing and

imaging processes as well as watermarks, stenciled pulp, and other wet-stage techniques.

Whatever the process, remember that the jury will look for proposals that

demonstrate the equal importance of well-made paper and meaningful engineering.

We welcome entries from individual artists as well as collaborations between

papermakers and paper engineers. Let us know if you are looking for someone to

team up with, and we will do our best to introduce you to potential collaborators.

Each selected participant will be asked to produce 150 finished pieces, plus two

proofs. Artists whose work is selected by the jury will be notified by October 15, and

the edition of 150 will be due next February 20.

Joining me on the jury are Carol Barton, Robert Sabuda, and Bonnie Stahlecker.

Ann Montanaro has been commissioned to write our essay.

This project will be the ninth in Hand Papermaking’s series of portfolios. Each

focuses on a different aspect of the use of handmade paper. The series documents

and preserves contemporary examples of distinctive handmade papers and also

raises funds for the organization. Previous portfolios featured decorated papers, let terpress

printing, papers from Nepal, photography, watermarks, printmaking, pulp

painting, and calligraphy.

Questions may be sent to info@handpapermaking.org. Also visit our website at

www.handpapermaking.org to view the complete call for entries.

Good luck!

Margaret Prentice

Eugene, Oregon

Hand Papermaking congratulates our magazine designer Russell Maret,

who is a 2009 recipient of the prestigious Rome Prize. For his project, The

Subterranean Antique Letter, Maret will spend a year abroad to document and

catalog epigraphic and painted lettering styles in the Roman catacombs

> ALONG THE PAPER ROAD...

This regular feature offers paper musings from

Elaine Koretsky—renowned paper historian,

researcher, and traveler. In this issue, a continuation

of her last column, Elaine describes her

search for bark fiber on her recent trip to China.

When I made my plans for Kunming, I

specifically informed my friends there

that I wanted to investigate the beating of

bark fiber in the area of Xishuangbanna,

and I mentioned that I had seen an outfit

made from the inner bark of the Antiaris

toxicaria at the Kunming Museum. Dr.

Cheng, Professor of Botany at the Kunming

Botanical Institute, who has been our

translator and guide on many expeditions,

was well aware of my research in hand

papermaking. Therefore, he had made plans

for us to see traditional papermaking by

the Dai people, a minority group of more

than a million, who inhabit Xishuangbanna

and the adjacent area of Lincang. On the

way, Cheng gave me a printed itinerary that

indicated we would explore five villages of

Dai papermaking, but there was no mention

of beaten bark clothing.

We always travel by car through Yunnan

Province, because the vehicle is needed to

get to the villages on bad roads. After two

days of rough driving through glorious

mountains and forests, and along rivers, we

reached the first village, Mangtuan, where

100 families live, all engaged in growing

rice, bananas, and rubber trees, in addition

to making paper. Generally, only the

Dai women make paper. They use paper

mulberry, which is usually purchased in the

market. They cook the fiber with wood ash

for two hours, then wash it in the river. The

papermakers use two wooden mallets for

beating. They use the pouring method of

sheet formation, standing in front of a table

on which is placed a shallow vat of water. A

simple wooden frame with cloth stretched

on it is placed in the vat. I watched the

papermaker put a handful of beaten pulp on

the mould and disperse the pulp evenly with

her hands. She finished by rolling a cylindrical

pole over the pulp sheet, up and down

and sideways. Finally, she raised the mould

slowly, allowing water to drain, and placed it

at the side of the table. After making several

sheets, she brought all the moulds out in

the sun to dry. While the sheets were still

damp, she burnished them with the rim of a

metal bowl. When the papers were dry, she

peeled them off the moulds, ready for sale.

The paper is mainly used for accordion style

Buddhist religious books, which the people

write themselves, using a type of calligraphy

that is unique to the Dai nationality. The

second important use is for wrapping Puer

tea, which is a specialty of Yunnan Province.

After Mangtuan we drove to Shangyun

village, then Nayun Menar village, followed

by Mengzhe village, and finally, Manzhao

village. The papermaking processes were

very similar in all five villages. I observed

only minor variations that reflected personal

techniques among the papermakers. Finally,

on the evening of October 18, we arrived

at Jinghong, capital of Xishuangbanna,

where I hoped to investigate the beating of

the inner bark of Antiaris toxicaria. We had

only the next morning in Jinghong before

starting the return trip to

Kunming. Fortunately, we had

time to visit Xishuangbanna’s

fascinating Ethnic Culture

Museum, where I was excited

to see wonderful examples of

prayer books written on palm

leaves, and even a man’s outfit

made from the beaten bark of

the Antiaris. Then we explored

the spectacular Tropical

Garden and Nature Reserve

that featured a rain forest. I

photographed an enormous

Antiaris tree, and also saw

many Pattra Palms, Corypha

umbraculifera, used to supply

the palm leaves for writing

Buddhist scriptures.

I asked Cheng how we

would find people who were

familiar with beaten bark, and

perhaps obtain some examples

of clothing that had been made

from it. He said that he knew

someone who might have

information, and tried to call

the person. It turned out that

his friend only knew another

person who had such information,

but that man was away

for a couple of weeks. Cheng

apologized, saying he was

sorry he could not do anything

else about the situation. I was

extremely annoyed, since I had

specified two months in advance that this

was the subject I wanted to pursue on the

trip.

However, I do not give up easily, and

informed Cheng that we should go to the

huge marketplace in Jinghong and question

people working there. Cheng followed my

directions, and did speak to a number of

people in the market. One woman replied

that she had heard from her grandparents

about beating bark for garments, but the

practice had disappeared, and she had no

further knowledge of it. Cheng told us

that farmers had done the bark beating in

ancient times, and it was unlikely that we

would find anyone doing it now. In the

afternoon we began the journey back to

Kunming, taking a shorter route than on the

way down. Meanwhile, I was feeling more

and more frustrated about my research project.

In desperation I firmly told Cheng that

since we were now traveling through farmlands,

and he had said that farmers were the

people who had been involved in beating

bark for clothing, we absolutely must stop at

a farm and question the farmers.

Soon we stopped at Mena village and

spoke to people at the first farmhouse on

the road. The villagers definitely knew about

the bark material. One woman walked back

to her own house and returned

with a piece of beaten bark.

It was a cushion made by her

uncle thirty-five years ago. She

used it at the Buddhist Temple

when she kneeled to pray. I

inquired if she would sell it to

me for my museum collection.

At first she was a bit reluctant,

but then agreed, and I was delighted.

I really wanted to see

the process of preparing and

beating the bark, but at least

I had acquired an important

artifact. At that point, a farmer

came along and declared that

he knew all about making

clothing from the Antiaris

tree, and was willing to make

a jacket and trousers for me. I

was truly ecstatic at this offer,

and we agreed on a price. The

man explained that it would

take him at least ten days to

complete the clothing. First he

had to cut down the tree, then

prepare the inner bark, and

finally, make the outfit. Cheng

offered to pick up the clothing

in a few months, when

he would return to Jinghong

because of his own botanical

research. I paid half the money

that the farmer requested, and

gave the other half to Cheng

to pay the farmer when he

received the garments.

Subsequently, I learned that Cheng had

carried out the job, and my suit of bark

clothing is awaiting me in Kunming.

I could arrange shipping, but I plan to return

to Yunnan Province in 2009. However,

I deeply regretted that I was unable to see

the actual process of bark beating. Originally,

I had allotted sufficient time in Xishuangbanna

and I might have been able to

observe at least part of the process, if we had

omitted some redundant Dai papermaking

villages. However, I have recorded the beating

of bark in other countries, and perhaps I

shall document it in China, also, at another

time. Research requires persistence in the

highest degree as well as optimism and

patience.

> UNIQUE TECHNIQUE

Well-known author and teacher Helen Hiebert

offers helpful guidance and tips gleaned from

artists she has worked with over the years. Here

she describes Sue Gosin’s method for highlighting

watermarks.

I remember meeting Sue Gosin for the first

time in 1991, shortly after I began my stint

as an intern at Dieu DonnО Papermill. Gosin

founded Dieu Donné in New York City in

1976. At the time of our meeting she was

about eight months pregnant with her third

child; I observed that she knew how to navigate

New York City traffic, as she drove Mina

Takahashi (then the director of Dieu DonnО)

and me to an exhibition opening.

Gosin also knows how to navigate paper.

She founded Dieu DonnО when few others

were making paper by hand, at a time when

there were no mentors, recipes, or roadmaps.

She spent months developing techniques for

sourcing rags (there were no pre-processed

pulps like abaca and linters in those days)

and pigmenting pulp. In choosing pigments,

Gosin looked to history—and ended

up using dried pigments like those used in

fresco painting, because they are alkaline and

therefore colorfast.

Gosin has a unique technique for

highlighting watermarks, which are often

overlooked in sheets of handmade paper.

Without holding a sheet up to the light, you

might not even notice that an image is there.

Gosin’s technique, which involves applying a

diluted solution of colored pulp over a freshly

watermarked sheet, highlights the low areas

in the sheet, making them visible without

illumination.

Here’s how she does it:

The pulp: Gosin beats second cut cotton

linters for forty minutes to an hour in a

Reina beater set at zero, grinding it down to

a very fine pulp, which Gosin calls pixie dust.

She grinds powdered pigment (she finds that

earth pigments work best) in a mortar and

pestle with a little water to make a paste, and

then mixes the paste into a small amount

of watered-down pulp, so that the pulp and

pigment are suspended in the water. No

retention aid is added. Gosin has also done

a couple of tests with dispersed pigments,

which produce a softer effect.

The sheet: Making a watermarked sheet

is another topic altogether, but Gosin pulls

her sheets using the same finely beaten

pulp, and notes that using a light and shade

watermark will yield more definition in the

final “watercolor.” With a light and shade

watermark, you create an image with many

three-dimensional levels. This is quite different

from a line watermark, in which there is

just a high area and a low area. As a result,

the pigment settles to the edges of the levels,

and the particles of pigment draw a line

along those edges.

Applying the watercolor: The pigmented

pulp should be very watery, with very little

pulp. Gosin suggests trying the technique

with just water and pigment before adding

pulp. She draws this colored pulp into an

eyedropper and drops the color into the image

areas on the sheet of paper, almost hand

coloring the image. What happens is like

dirty snow falling on top of a landscape—on

the higher parts of the watermark, the pigment

is lighter, and in the low areas, the

riverbeds, the pigment gathers.

For example, if you have a line of tape on

the mould and you apply a watercolor wash,

you’ll get three areas of color: two lines along

the edges which are darker, and the area in

between the edges which will appear lighter

in color. This technique is somewhat tedious,

and Gosin notes that it is best to apply layers

of the pigmented solution to get a darker

color, rather than using one layer of darker or

thicker pulp.

Gosin loves a good challenge and feels

that with watermarking you can reach a level

of accuracy that printmaking has achieved.

She is intrigued with the practice of taking

a commercial process and making it an art

form. As we ended our conversation, Gosin

mentioned the book Outliers, by Malcolm

Gladwell. Gladwell studied what it is that

makes people outstanding in their field, and

ended up determining that it is practice.

Gosin has put in her time practicing and

perfecting this technique, as well as many

others. In my opinion, this puts her in the

category that Gladwell is writing about.

> UNIQUE TECHNIQUE

> TEACHING HAND PAPERMAKING

Based in Philadelphia, Winifred Radolan operates

an itinerant teaching papermill, and has

taught papermaking to thousands of adults and

children. In the last issue, Winnie described her

residency at an elementary school in New Jersey.

Here she talks about her project with the fifth

grade students at the school.

My last column ended midway through

a residency at an elementary school,

where I had just completed introducing

papermaking to all 400 students—and I

was still smiling! To complete my project at

this school I had a “core group” of 100 fifth

graders with whom to work, as we created a

sculptural wall hanging of high shrinkage abaca

wrapped around reed. Working meaningfully

with such a large number of students in

the remaining ten days of our time together

was an organizational exercise.

The students were divided into five

classes of twenty students each. The classes

would have liked to work on their own units

from start to finish; however, I only had

enough time to meet with each class twice,

since we had ten 1½-hour sessions in which

to complete the wall hanging. This meant

that I really had to “sell” the idea of collaboration

and teamwork to the students.

During our first meeting we discussed

abstract representation and “drawing a line

in space” with the reed. The reed was to

travel through space, overlapping to create

interesting and varied abstract shapes—no

Mickey Mouse ears or pretzels. I had chosen

waxed linen thread to tie the reed where it

overlapped to create a space, because it would

hold the knots more readily. Since tying a

square knot proved a challenge to many, we

took some time to demonstrate that skill,

even using large visual aids with a dowel

and fat yarn. Teams of students paired up

with a length of soaked reed and pieces of

waxed linen to secure it. I gave each table of

students a “measuring box” into which their

structure needed to fit. This was so as to

maintain a somewhat uniform scale amongst

the units each team created for later assemblage

into a sculptural whole.

As you might imagine, the art teacher

and I were quite busy during each of these

first five classes, traveling from team to team

with “knotting tutorials.” In fact, we each

developed alternate knotting techniques that

proved easier for various students. And later,

of course, there was a degree of re-knotting

and repair—but not too much. (The advent

of Velcro-fastened sneakers was a setback to

the art of knotting, for certain!) After these

first five days, the assembled reed creations

were piled high on our working table.

I had decided to use four-hour beaten abaca

with which to pull sheets of paper to wrap

around selected areas of the 3-D constructions.

With proper drainage, it would have adequate

wet strength for the children to manipulate

the un-pressed sheets as they wrapped the

armatures. And it wouldn’t require endless

student patience (as would six-hour raw flax)

as they drained sheets on the moulds before

couching. However, due to time constraints, I

elected to pull and drain

all the paper sheets myself

before each class arrived.

I chose the natural

unbleached abaca color,

as well as pigmented

green and red-purple for

the paper.

My second meeting

with each of the

five classes required a

balancing act to give every team a chance to

wrap armatures, and to ensure that this was

accomplished with a minimum of structural

error. Thankfully, the classroom teacher

engaged portions of the group in an alternate

activity, allowing me to cycle through all the

teams of students individually and, therefore,

watchfully. We also ended up wrapping

all exposed reed sections, due to partial reed

discoloration that was unexpected and unattractive.

This turn of events actually provided

an additional activity to engage more students

without the need for close supervision.

When all the armatures had been wrapped

and dried, we assembled them on three

stretched cotton canvas backgrounds that each

measured 26” x 38.” I balanced the top and

bottom of each panel edge on stools, which

allowed me to reach above and below the

panels as I stitched the units to the canvas

using monofilament. A rotating group of

students helped to trim excess threads after

the knotting. While I was stitching panel #2,

that wonderful principal arrived to admire the

students’ work. Out of the corner of my eye I

saw him reach to lift the remaining unstitched

panel. Before the words of caution could leave

my mouth, un-secured armatures flew in

every direction! He was so shocked and felt so

bad that I quickly voiced words of assurance…

perhaps the new arrangement would surpass

the previous one, and artists are always re-arranging

things! No harm, no worries!

I would have liked the time and a smaller

group of core students to embroider some

of the units with surface stitching. (In fact,

at a successive residency with high school

students, we used tiny coils of rolled flax to

embellish our flax-wrapped sculptural units.)

The three completed panels will be hung

above “traffic levels” in a prominent stair well,

with a dedication plaque to credit the 100

graduating fifth grade students for their parting

gift to the school. Despite the somewhat

assembly line feel of engaging so many students

in this project, it turned out to be a very

rewarding situation in which to make art.

> PAPER HISTORY

Maureen and Simon Green, from the United

Kingdom, write a joint column on Paper History.

Maureen is a paper historian, and author of

Papermaking at Hayle Mill 1808-1987. Simon

was the last of the Green family to run Hayle

Mill, in the U.K. He provides consulting services

to papermakers worldwide. In this column they

discuss a nineteenth century report on paper mills

by the Children’s Employment Commission.

Throughout the nineteenth century a

number of acts were passed by Parliament

to reform and regulate British industry.

Prior to 1860 the paper industry was, for the

most part, exempted from much of this early

legislation. However, the 1867 Factory Acts

Extension Act, and Workshops Regulation Act,

did impact on mills employing over fifty persons.

It is often the case that when researching

paper history, little remains which would

shed light on the working conditions and

experiences of a vast number of employees

engaged in the manufacture of paper. It is

for this reason that the reports undertaken by

various inspectors like W. H. Lord from 1865

to 1867 for the Children’s Employment Commission

are considered a valuable resource.

Not only do these reports describe both handmade

and machine-made papermaking processes,

they also contain numerous interviews

with individuals working in the mills.

From 1863 onwards, Lord travelled

throughout the country in order to compile

information relating to the working conditions

under which women and children laboured.

The rag house had long been the preserve of

women of all ages paid “by the piece.” Older

women could make anywhere between eight

to sixteen shillings1 per week. Some mills required

workers to purchase their own knives,

and there was a deduction of three pence paid

until the account was settled. The weekly earnings

of a child aged eleven to thirteen were

calculated to be about four shillings. It was

noted that in one factory a family consisting of

the mother, father, and three children earned

a joint income of seventy-five shillings per

week, which was equivalent to the salary of a

mill manager at this time.

The hours worked by women and children

in the rag house rarely appear to have exceeded

thirteen per day, including overtime.

Lord noted that a “day or two at Christmas

and at Easter or Whitsuntide” were permitted

holidays. Women and children seldom

worked through the night, nor did they work

on a Sunday. An hour for breakfast and tea,

as well as one or a half hour for dinner, was

common practice throughout the mills.

When questioned, Betsy Cortes aged 12 ½,

working for Messrs. W. Joynson and Son,

St Mary Cray, in Kent, replied: “Our hours

are from half-past 7 a.m. to a quarter to 6

p.m., with half an hour for dinner; eat that

here; never worked longer than what I told

you.” By today’s standards, Betsy’s testimony

makes for depressing reading. However,

Lord observes of his visits that he had never

“in any manufactories, seen a happier looking

lot of children.” Though he tempers

this statement, warning “that the precocity,

developed by means of the children leaving

school and getting employment in the mills”

was regrettable on the grounds that “the

moral evils of young persons of both sexes

working through the night together being

well known to have bad results.”

Jobs in paper mills were highly coveted.

For many children alternative prospects

were far worse and dependent upon whatever

work was available in the community.

Children could find themselves working

longer hours for less pay in the fields, while

many young girls from the poorer families

resigned themselves to a life of domestic servitude.

Clara Hyland, aged fifteen, employed

by Messrs. W. and R. Balston, Springfield

Mill, Kent, recounted how she “worked many

times from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., part upstairs

in the sol [salle], and part down here [rag

house]; did so for three nights together a fortnight

ago; was tired, but not so very much,

nothing near so bad as dress-making; used to

work longer at that.” Eliza Hall, aged twentyone,

a rag cutter in the Standish Paper Mills,

Lancashire, confirmed that she would “rather

be working here this summer’s day than in

the hay-field; used to work in the fields, but

like this the best, the hours are not so long.”

Working conditions varied from mill to

mill depending on the age and size of the

mill in question. Newer mills tended to

have light airy rag houses with a number of

large windows and high ceilings. These not

only provided good visibility but also, when

open, necessary ventilation. Lord observed

that he had “seen, in rooms properly ventilated

and not overcrowded, girls and young

women engaged in cutting rags, whose

appearance was as healthy as it well could

be.” He further observed that the practice of

processing rags through a willow thrasher or

duster was of “great relief to rag-cutters, who

thereby receive the rags open and free from

dust.” The willow thrasher or rag duster was

likened to “a large squirrel cage fitted with

spikes inside.”

Either operated

manually, or

driven by steam

power, these dusting

machines circulated

the rags,

rending them on

spikes in order to

begin to separate

the threads.

While this action

removed much

of the dust prior to the rags entering the

rag house, the task was often assigned to

children as young as twelve. Only a handkerchief

tied over the lower part of the face

helped keep airways free from the residual

dust, which in this part of a mill was inescapable.

Mary Wallworth, aged twelve, in

the employ of Messrs. James Wrigley and

Sons, Bridge Hall Mills, Bury, Lancashire,

disclosed: “I feed the willow; that is very

dusty. I have been ill two or three times with

it; bad on my chest. Have once stayed away

from work for a week.”

When interviewed, it was the older

women who spoke eloquently of the often

adverse, long-term effects of working with

rags in even the best of conditions. Mrs

Hoare, employed by Messrs. H. Allnutt &

Son, Tovil, Kent, told Lord that she had been

“a rag cutter for two or three and twenty

years. I think my health has suffered: it

is the dust that is bad; it hurts the chest;

you have to take medicine for it. There is

my daughter too; it affects her in the same

way.” Aside from respiratory complaints,

Lord noted that the “resident surgeon at the

West Kent Hospital, Maidstone, informed

me that the accidents at paper mills which

came before him were seldom more than

cut fingers.” In order to aid concentration,

the rag house windows were often frosted

to minimize distraction. There was no mention

of the work in relation to lingering, or

fatal maladies, during an age where deaths

from infectious diseases like ‘consumption’

(tuberculosis) were commonplace.

Not only were employees interviewed by

Lord, the masters of the mills were interviewed

as well. John Barcham Green, Hayle

Mill, Kent, informed Lord that: “I fear that it is

the case that in paper mills children are often

employed younger than they should be. Their

education is, as a consequence, too often very

defective, and sometimes wholly neglected.

I myself, wish that the law would step in and

make education up to a certain point compulsory

on the employers or the parents.”

Lord noted in his report that “very few

seem to have remained any length of time

at a day school. I found it difficult to apply

any fair test of the extent of their schooling

beyond their reading powers, for scarcely

any appeared to know, or to have learned

anything about English geography, or any

but Bible history, derived from Sunday

School; and the answers given me upon the

last-mentioned subject were not usually very

encouraging.”

It was not until the Education Act of

1870, also known as the “Forster’s Act,”

followed by the Factory Act (1878), that a

national system of state education was made

compulsory in Britain. The testimony of the

women and children working in the mills

played an important role in securing this

legislation.

1 In the old British currency system, there were twenty shillings (s) to

the pound (£) and twelve (old) pence (d for denarius) to the shilling (i.e.

240d per £). The buying power of one pound in 1860 is roughly equal

to £43.16 today. www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/default2.asp

DECORATED PAPER

Sidney Berger, a professor at Simmons College

in Boston and Director of the Phillips Library at

Peabody Essex Museum, has been collecting and

researching decorated paper for over thirty years.

Here Sid gives us an overview of some of the

papers in his basement.

Sometimes to get an inspiration for this

column I go to my basement where our

paper collection is housed. Last night I surveyed

the room and saw an amazing array

of things covered with decorated papers.

When people are true maniacal collectors,

they can never have enough of what

they collect. And delineating between

what one acquires and what one rejects is

difficult. If I were to collect only marbled

papers, that would be sensible. Except

that the number of marbled papers in the

world—and the ones being produced as I

write—is far greater than I could ever hope

to own. And that fact alone could lead one

to distraction, even lunacy if the urgency to

collect is strong enough.

For me, the problem is magnified since I

have decided to collect decorated papers in

general, and I have a codicil that urges me

to get such papers in as many unusual uses

as I can find. This decision has proven to be

a serious mistake, but it’s too late to go back,

so more and more genres of things enter

the collection yearly, and there seems to be

no end to it.

So I looked around the basement and

saw some pretty amazing things.

Many of them wouldn’t surprise you.

Decorated papers in books, for instance, go

back hundreds of years, and paper is still

being used as a decorative element in book

production, for covers, endsheets, and slipcases,

and even for bookmarks. Obviously

it does not stop there. We have pencils that

are covered in marbled paper. Advertising

pieces and letterhead stationery from paper

manufacturers. (These often have much

research value.) And a book with tip-ins of

The Ceremonial Papers of America (that is, a > FOR BEGINNERS

treatise on U.S. toilet papers)

Also unsurprising is wallpaper. Millions of

homes have had papered walls for centuries,

from the Renaissance forward. The range

of decoration on wallpapers is

mind-boggling, for these papers

are used in many varied settings,

each calling for a different

kind of decoration. One would

not use a paper designed for a

children’s room in a formal dining

room, for instance. My wife

and I have many pieces of wall

papers, along with dozens of

wallpaper sample books showing

thousands of patterns.

We also have a few ream

wrappers—that is, papers that

were originally designed to wrap

a package of paper. The wrapping

sheets were usually torn

off and discarded, but many

survived, stamped with the

paper mills’ logos or printed

with highly decorative designs

advertising the papers within.

In our frequent visits to

antique stores, flea markets,

thrift shops, and garage sales,

we are always on the lookout

for oddball things covered in

decorated papers. The collection

holds several nineteenth-century

straight-razor holders with lovely

paper covers; small boxes of

various sizes and shapes that are

adorned with printed, lithographed,

or handmade papers;

matchbook covers from paper

mills; a nineteenth-century brass

letter opener in a metal sheath

that is covered with decorated

paper; and so forth. We even

have hundreds of chopstick

wrappers, all made of paper,

and all decorated with colors or

printing or fancy folding. They

are paper, and they are decorative,

so they belong in the collection.

Paper’s versatility is astounding. It is

not only decorative, it is useful. We have

several beautiful paper umbrellas from

Japan, waxed or varnished to make them

waterproof. We have security papers, with

either printing or watermarks (or both) that

presumably make the paper uncopyable.

The printing or watermarks may have been

introduced to the papers for their security

purposes, but these features are decorative,

so the papers are in our collection.

Of course, we have kites, paper lanterns,

and those fold-out paper things that pivot

out into the shapes of bells and stars, as

party or holiday decorations. The Japanese

are famous for the unbelievable range and

quality and beauty of their papers, and our

collection has innumerable sheets and other

products made from washi (Japanese handmade

papers). We have in abundance fans

(fold-out or on sticks), pieces of origami paper

cuts, and beautiful napkins.

Also, recently, we have

acquired a few collections of

paper decorated in unusual

ways. There is quilling, making

decorative pictures, cards,

or other things by taking thin

strips of papers, curling them

up, and composing them into

“pictures” of all kinds of things.

Lately I have encountered another

paper decoration method:

sewing sheets. That is, using a

needle and thread, one simply

sews onto a sheet of sturdy

paper a representational or

geometrical pattern, in various

colored threads. Teachers in the

primary grades, especially in the

nineteenth and early-twentieth

century, taught such manual

skills to their charges, along

with pricking—that is, decorating

the sheet by pricking holes

in it in fancy patterns.

I occasionally wear my tie

made from shifu, a “fabric”

made from thin strips of paper

that have been rolled and woven.

And if I get to the grocery

store at the right moment, I can

add to our collection of fruitwrapping

papers. The original

collection that we got was from

the middle of the twentieth century,

from Spain and Portugal.

And there is plenty more.

The astonishing deduction to

be drawn from this is that paper

is one of the most versatile

materials in the world. One of

my friends at U.C. Berkeley

once said, “Any fool could have

invented the wheel. It took great

geniuses to come up with what are the two

most important inventions in history: the

alphabet and paper.” Can you think of any

commodity with more uses, more widely

spread, and with more decoration than

paper? I doubt it.

Mary Tasillo is a papermaker, book artist, and

mixed media maven based in Philadelphia.

She teaches workshops nationally. In this

issue Mary updates our bibliography of hand

papermaking resources.

In the July 1999 issue of Hand Papermaking

Newsletter, we published a bibliography of

books on hand papermaking. This may belie

my age, or at least my tenure as a papermaker,

but in 1999 I had yet to make paper

or to bind a book. There has been a lot of

activity in the intervening ten years—both

in pulp and in publishing. The DIY (do-ityourself)

ethos and craft mentality are on

the rise, which translates into a wealth of

books and other resources you can access

from home. As in 1999, there is no substitute

for hands-on learning—for someone

walking you through those first papermakers’

shakes—but in a world in which multimedia

resources are increasingly accessible, we can

get a little closer to expert guidance from

afar. The following bibliography compiles

resources released in the past ten years, with

a how-to emphasis on making paper by hand.

BOOKS:

Asuncion, Josep. The Complete Book of

Papermaking. New York: Lark Books, 2003.

Bakker, Jeanette, Jill Elias, Helen Roberts

Hill, and Jean Riley. Paper. San Diego, CA:

Thunder Bay Press, 2006.

Couzins-Scott, Elizabeth. Craft Workshop:

Papermaking. London: Southwater, 2002.

Dawson, Sophie. The Art and Craft of

Papermaking: Step-by-Step Instructions for

Creating Distinctive Handmade Paper. New

York: Sterling, 1999.

Hiebert, Helen. Paper Illuminated. North

Adams, MA: Storey Publishing LLC, 2001.

Hiebert, Helen. Papermaking with Garden

Plants & Common Weeds. North Adams, MA:

Storey Publishing LLC, 2006.

Hiebert, Helen. The Papermaker’s Companion:

The Ultimate Guide to Making and

Using Handmade Paper. Pownal, VT: Storey

Publishing, LLC, 2000.

Kaar, Joanne. Papermaking and Bookbinding:

Coastal Inspirations. Lewes, East Sussex:

Guild of Master Craftsman, 2003.

Lamb, Elspeth. Papermaking for Printmakers.

London: A. & C. Black, 2006.

Lee, Claudia. The Weekend Crafter Papermaking:

Beautiful Papers and Projects to Make in a Weekend.

New York: Lark Books, 2001.

Lockie, Ellaraine. The Gourmet Paper Maker.

Minnetonka, MN: Creative Publishing

International, 2001.

Lorente, Marie-Jeanne. The Art of

Papermaking with Plants. New York: W.W.

Norton & Co., 2004.

Plowman, John. Papermaking Techniques

Book: Over 50 Techniques for Making and

Embellishing Handmade Paper. London:

Quantu, Books, 2007.

Rainey, Rhonda. Papermaking for the First

Time. New York: Sterling, 2004.

Reimer, Mary, and Heidi Reimer-Epp. 300

Papermaking Recipes. Woodinville, WA:

Martingale & Co., 2004.

Reimer, Mary, and Heidi Reimer-Epp.

Beginner’s Guide to Papermaking. New York:

Sterling, 2003.

Reimer-Epp, Heidi, and Mary Reimer. Encyclopedia

of Papermaking and Bookbinding:

The Definitive Guide to Making, Embellishing,

and Repairing Paper, Books, and Scrapbooks.

Philadelphia: Running Press, 2002.

DVD / VIDEO:

Amlie, Lynn. Ergonomics of Hand

Papermaking. Iowa City, IA: University of

Iowa Center for the Book.

Barrett, Tim. Papermaking Instructional

Videos. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa

Center for the Book. (Includes Japanese and

Western Papermaking series.)

Nash, Catherine. Papermaking in the

Classroom, Volumes 1 & 2, Tucson, AZ:

Papermaking Resources /Nash/Renfrow

Productions, 2003.

Nash, Catherine. The Papermaking

Workshop, Volumes 1 & 2, Tucson, AZ:

Papermaking Resources / Nash/Renfrow

Productions, 2004 & 2007.

Thomas, Peter. The Ergonomics of Hand

Papermaking or How to Make Paper Without

Getting a Sore Back. Santa Cruz, CA: Peter

and Donna Thomas, 2000.

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES:

Email Lists/Blogs: Yahoo Papermaking

Group, Yahoo Hollander Beaters Group, Yahoo

Friends of Dard Hunter Group, Friends

of Dard Hunter Blog (http://dardhunter

.blogspot.com)

Nash, Catherine. Beater Finesse: 32 Beater

Notes from 25 International Artists—A Comparative

Study. Tucson, AZ: Papermaking

Resources / Nash/Renfrow Productions, 2008

(http://www.papermakingresources .com).

YouTube: Search “papermaking” to turn up a

list of hundreds of short Internet videos demonstrating

papermaking techniques around

the world. Content constantly changing. You

can rely on user ratings to guide your viewing.

SOME OTHER FINDS:

While this bibliography is intended as a

jumping-off guide, and I have aimed for

a comprehensive list, don’t let this deter

you from doing your own research! While

compiling this list, I found a reference to an

issue of The Compleat Anachronist devoted

to papermaking (The Society for Creative

Anachronism, 1999). I was also amused

by the full title line for an article geared

towards the commercial paper industry:

“Papermaking in 2035: what will the paper

machine look like? If you expect paper

machines to resemble something out of Star

Wars anytime soon, you may want to try

another theater. Yet 30 years from now individual

components of the paper machine

may look and operate quite differently than

they do today” [Atkins, Jim, in Solutions—for

People, Processes and Paper (Paper Industry

Management Association, 2003)]. That is

food for thought.

Finally, I encourage you to submit any book,

video, electronic, or other documentation

from the past ten years that I may have

missed for inclusion in the web version of

this column. Email newsletter@handpapermaking.

org, or write via postal mail to the

Hand Papermaking address.

> more for beginners at:

handpapermaking.org/beginner

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 October Newsletter is

August 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 newsletter@handpapermaking.org

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg,

TN, (865) 436-5860, www.arrowmont

.org. Classes and workshops in a variety of

disciplines, including papermaking.

The Paper Artist’s Dream: From High to Low

Shrinkage Pulps, July 12-18, with Catherine

Nash. Explore flax, abaca, cotton, iris, and

narcissus pulps with varying shrinkage for

an exciting range of techniques for creating

2- and 3-dimensional art works.

Innovative Papers, September 27-October 3,

with Claudia Lee.

Marbling Papers: From Basics to Beyond,

October 16-18, with Pat Thomas.

Asheville BookWorks, Asheville, NC, (828)

255-8444, www.bookworksasheville.com.

Hands-on workshops including bookbinding,

printmaking, decorative paper, and

basic papermaking.

Paper Surfaces, July 16-18, with Amy Jacobs.

Experiment with a variety of techniques to

create uniquely surfaced paper from cotton,

abaca, and flax.

Introduction to Handmade Paper, August 6-8,

with Frank Brannon. Learn the basics of

papermaking with a focus on sheet forming.

Marbling Open Studio, September 16, with

Steve Pittelkow. Build a portfolio of beautiful

papers.

Introduction to Papermaking, October 6-8, with

Amy Jacobs. Learn the basics of papermaking

with a focus on sheet forming.

Bear Creek Paperworks, Columbia, MO, (573)

442-3360, www.bearcreekpaperworks.com.

Workshops in paper and book arts; some

workshops can be taken for academic credit

through Central Methodist University. Contact

Leandra Spangler at leandra@bearcreek

paperworks.com for more information.

Hand Papermaking: Experimentation & Exploration,

July 20-24, with Leandra Spangler. Experiment

with a broad range of papermaking

techniques, using cotton linter pulp to make

many samples of decorative handmade paper.

Flat to Form: Using Paper as a Sculptural

Medium, July 27-31, with Leandra Spangler.

Learn to turn flat sheets of beautiful papers

into three-dimensional forms by casting

from found objects and constructed molds,

and creating reed, stick, or wire sculptural

forms as armatures.

Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT, (203)

775-4526, www.brookfieldcraftcenter.org.

Workshops at a colonial vintage campus 75

miles north of New York City.

Sustainable Papermaking, July 9-12, with Jane

Ingram Allen. Use local plant waste materials

to create unique handmade papers.

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.

Recycling—Paper Surprises, July 19-25, with

Rajeania Snider. Explore basic techniques

for making paper from everything from junk

mail to plant material.

Papermaking, August 30-September 5, with

Rajeania Snider. Use natural plant materials

to create papers using both Eastern and

Western sheet formation techniques.

Marbling and Paste Paper, October 18-24, with

Annie Cicale. Produce stacks of beautiful

paper using these two paper decorating techniques

that are popular with book artists.

Make the Paper and Print It, November 8-14,

with Frank Brannon. Form beautiful sheets

of paper from cotton, flax, and abaca fibers,

exploring linoleum and wood block printing

on the newly-made sheets.

Carriage House Paper, Brooklyn, NY, (800)

669-8781, www.carriagehousepaper.com.

Papermaking workshops offered in a new

studio space. Visit website for workshop

schedule.

Center for Contemporary Printmaking,

Norwalk, CT, (203) 899-7999, www.contem

prints.org.

Papermaking Exploration, July 15-18, with Lisa

Switalski. Learn the basics of papermaking,

as well as decorative techniques.

Circle of Life Studio and Summer Gallery,

Eagle River, WI, (715) 479-9737, www

.circleoflifestudio.com. Offering weekly

papermaking workshops June through September,

and by special arrangement all year.

Columbia College Chicago Center for Book

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

www.bookandpaper.org. Papermaking classes

in spacious downtown studios.

Five Days, Five Fibers, July 25-29, with Shawn

Sheehy. Learn to prepare pulp and make

paper for multiple applications using the five

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