Hand Papermaking Newsletter Issue 114

HAND PAPERMAKING

NEWSLETTER

Number 114, April 2016

Newsletter Editor: Shireen Holman

Advertising & Listings: Mary Tasillo

Columnists: Sidney Berger, Maureen and Simon Green, Donna Koretsky, Winifred Radolan, Mary Tasillo.

Hand Papermaking Newsletter is published quarterly. Annual subscriptions are $55 in North America or $80 overseas, including two issues of the journal Hand Papermaking. 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 2016) 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 $2.00 per word with a 10-word minimum. Rates for display ads are available upon request.

Hand Papermaking is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Staff: Tom Bannister, Executive Director; Mina Takahashi, Magazine Editor; Shireen Holman, Newsletter Editor and Office Manager; Mary Tasillo, Outreach; Suzanne Oberholtzer, Design Director. Board of Directors: Tom Balbo, Lisa Cirando, Kerri Cushman, Susan Mackin Dolan, Mary Hark, Steve Kostell, Aimee Lee, Kate Martinson, Anne Q. McKeown, Julie McLaughlin, Alta Price, Amy Richard, Michelle Samour, Bernie Vinzani, Teri Williams. International Board of Advisors: Yousef Ahmad (Qatar), Timothy Barrett (US), Simon J. Blattner (US), Kathryn & Howard Clark (US), Mandy Coppes-Martin (South Africa), Jane Farmer (US), Peter Ford (UK), Helen Frederick (US), Peter & Pat Gentenaar (Netherlands), Simon Barcham Green (UK), Helen Hiebert (US), Therese Hofmann (Brazil), Dard Hunter III (US), Kyoko Ibe (Japan), Winsome Jobling (Australia), Elaine Koretsky (US), Carolina Larrea (Chile), Roberto Mannino (Italy), Beatrix Mapalagama (Austria), Bob Matthysen (Belgium), Radha Pandey (India), Giorgio Pellegrini (Italy), Brian Queen (Canada), Victoria Rabal (Spain), Vicky Sigwald (Argentina), Lynn Sures (US), Aytekin Vural (Turkey). Co-founders: Amanda Degener and Michael Durgin.

Dear Hand Papermaking Readers,

Earlier this year I traveled to Guatemala with Mary Ellen Matthews and several other artists from San Antonio, Texas. Before leaving, I put out a request to our Hand Paper-making community for any information about papermakers there. We would be traveling around the country and I wanted to plan a visit to any studios or mills. No one seemed to know about any, however.

We visited museums and markets in cities and the countryside and were always on the lookout for anything paper related. At the Museo Ixchel (named after the patron saint of weaving) in Guatemala City, we saw a copy of the Dresden codex, a beautifully painted amate paper accordion book, made by the ancient Maya. We did not find any evidence of amate paper currently being made, but there were numerous potential papermaking fibers, especially among the crops grown for export: bananas, cotton, and hemp.

One day in Antigua, someone in our group found a small shop selling handmade paper in a neighborhood mercado. Upon investigating, Mary Ellen and I found various items (stationery, lampshades, boxes) made from cotton paper with flower inclusions and larger sheets made from banana, yellow and white corn (tuza), beans (frijoles), cocoa, and grass (gramma). Hugo Puc, the son of the papermaker Reynaldo Puc, spoke with us about his family business and how they started making paper with the help of some Americans 15 years ago. I wonder who? We were unable to visit their studio, however, as Hugo said his father’s papermaking techniques were “proprietary.” You can find more information on their Facebook page: Papeles Artesanales Eclipse.

John Korte, one of our guides, told us about another paper tradition in Guatemala as we were visiting the cemetery in Chichicastenango. Families and barrileteros make kites entirely out of bamboo and tissue paper (papel de china) for flying on Dia de Todos Santos (All Saint’s Day). It was believed that the rustling of the fringes around the edges of the kites kept the bad spirits away from the graves when families visited their departed loved ones. In Sumpango, hundreds of barrileteros work together for months to make the eight-sided kites for the November 1st Feria de Barrilete Gigante (Festival of Giant Kites). Today thousands of people come to the festival to see these colossal paper puzzles, which can be up to 60 feet wide. Maybe we will have to make a special pilgrimage!

Susan Mackin Dolan

Edwards, Colorado

Dear Hand Papermaking,

I would like to introduce my newly opened papermaking studio, Stovepipe Paper, located in downtown Whitehorse, Yukon, in northwest Canada. I designed and worked on the renovation of an old shed/garage that was most likely built in the 1940s. In addition to working as an artist in some

very nice papermaking facilities such as the Banff Centre, I have for many years worked out of the kitchen, in the basement (with the laundry), and outside in nature.

I wanted to design a creative space to work in that would have integrity and beauty but could be built within my meager means. I wanted the studio to be a place that retained history and contained meaning as well as practicality. The practical approach would have included the demolition of the slightly off-square, stinky old backyard shed. Somehow the city bylaws with endless red tape and multiple permit/development fees put an end to that idea. As it turns out I am glad I didn’t demolish the 12’ x 22’ shed, but renovated it instead. I like the slight crookedness of the structure. It has character and history.

The studio, now ready, is fully equipped for papermaking with amazing natural light (thanks to newly installed skylights and full glass double doors), floor drain, storage space for fibres in the rafters, Hollander beater, hydraulic press, antique flax break, flax hackle, and oriental fibre stamper. I have been collecting processing equipment for years with the generous help of papermakers Pat Cook of Victoria, British Columbia and Helmut Becker of Komoka, Ontario. It is a dream to work in a space that looks out at a poplar and spruce covered ridge of clay cliffs. I look forward to creating my own handmade paper art projects as well as sharing the space with others in many multidisciplinary ways.

Sincerely,

Helen O’Connor

Upcoming events at Stovepipe Paper:

•Papermaking workshops and IAPMA 30th Anniversary exhibition “WORDS” for Haiku Canada 2016 conference in Whitehorse, May 20-24

•Local participants making rounds for “Treewhispers” Installation Project

•Journaling collective (twice monthly meeting and making)

•see more at www.helenoconnor.com

Dear Hand Papermakers,

Haiti Partners is a non-profit with the goal of “helping Haitians change Haiti through education.” We develop schools that help children realize their potential while driving community development and lifelong learning. We currently run one school of our own and we partner with six more. We’ve been building our curriculum at the school and adding adult programs in entrepreneurship at the same time. We’ve been investigating possible social businesses that can put our families to work in this poor area, and can support the school financially. And lately we’ve been generating a lot of excitement around the potential of making handmade paper and associated products. Many among our supporters and networks in the US have expressed interest in helping us sell products.

A few months ago we tested some very low-tech papermaking methods, and discussed the venture with several Haitian retailers and wholesalers of craft goods engaged in business development. Although currently no one is creating paper/cards/ bags to sell locally, these products were available in the past and individuals have received our ideas positively.

We created a job description for someone to help us develop an artisan papermaking social business at Children’s Academy in Haiti. We are willing to help with room and board and a stipend. We already have a man and woman team of trusted Haitian colleagues, both in their 20’s, ready to receive training and help get things set up. Read more details at https://haitipartners. org/childrens-academy/artisan-paper-social-business-in-haiti-seeks-entrepreneurial-paper-making-partner/ We have a great facility in the mountains 20 minutes south of Port au Prince, complete with diesel powered electricity. We also collect rain water into a 50,000 gallon reservoir.

We’re really excited about paper-making, and putting the service hours of our parents to productive use in creating a product that has a simple elegance and a potent message. Please spread the word about this opportunity.

Appreciatively,

Jodie Kitchens

(804) 572 3974

jodie@haiti partners.org

> ALONG THE PAPER ROAD...

Since 1998 this column has featured paper musings from Elaine Koretsky—renowned paper historian, researcher, and traveler. Her daughter, Donna Koretsky, now continues the legacy. In this column, Donna reminisces about her trips to Burma/Myanmar over the years, and about the distinctive methods of papermaking she discovered in remote, isolated villages.

Whenever my husband and I decide to eat out, we ritually have a discussion as to where to go. I want to try out a restaurant that we have never been to, while he consistently prefers to frequent one of our regulars. I like the element of surprise of a new dining experience, the anticipation of delicious dishes, and the interesting décor and atmosphere. I know it’s a gamble— we are either delighted or disappointed, but it is still worth experiencing. David, however, argues that we know what to order at our favorite restaurants; we know the staff and often owner. We have the opportunity to experience the nuances of dishes and notice when the menu changes. I agree with his rationale and I do enjoy our favorite restaurants; I just like to expand my horizons at times.

I have fond memories of a little Burmese restaurant in Manhattan we used to enjoy years ago. We became friendly with Irene, the Burmese owner whom we would sometimes drive home since we dined there near closing time. I was reminded of this because lately I have been feeling nostalgic about Burma, as our latest exhibition, “Traditional Papermaking in Burma,” at the International Paper Museum in Brooklyn, is drawing to a close.

I have traveled to this isolated Asian country, now known as Myanmar, nine times over a twenty-six-year span, seeking out villages where traditional paper has been made by hand for many generations. My two earliest trips to Burma resulted in the 1991 publication of “The Goldbeaters of Mandalay: an Account of Hand Papermaking in Burma Today,” written jointly with Elaine Koretsky. The book focuses on three villages, each making a distinct type of paper. It was an amazing experience in the 1980s, documenting these unique papermaking processes in villages so remote that most of its inhabitants had never before met a Westerner. Their papermaking techniques were unlike anything we had seen before, and the papermakers were the most genuine and hospitable people we had ever met.

For those of you readers unfamiliar with these special papermaking techniques, I shall attempt to describe the most magical of the three processes we documented. It would take the bamboo papermakers in Daung Ma village, outside of Mandalay, an extraordinarily long time to make their paper. First the young bamboo strips would be placed in ceramic urns and soaked in lime and water for three to five years! The bamboo would be rinsed and then boiled for twenty-four hours. Then it would be beaten by hand for fifteen days in an even more remote village! This is true, because we witnessed it in 1987 on day fourteen of their bamboo beating. The ‘overbeaten’ (as we would call it) pulp would next be poured into a large floating mould. It would take the papermaker nearly ten minutes to lift the mould out of the vat because drainage was so slow! After the dry paper was peeled off the mould, it would be cut into small squares, dampened, and each sheet would be burnished; young women would undertake this task, using two wooden sticks to pound the bamboo paper onto a convex brass plate. The finished paper looked like golden handmade wax paper. This exquisite paper is used as the substrate for the beating of gold to make gold leaf.

The goldbeating process takes place in a different workshop in the city of Mandalay. A small piece of gold is placed in the middle of the handmade paper square, and covered with another paper square onto which another small piece of gold is placed, and so on until a sandwich of about 400 squares of paper with gold in between is completed. The goldbeaters then beat this packet with a nine-pound hammer causing the gold to spread out and eventually become gold leaf. I would like to point out here that the only people that would ever see or use this incredible paper were the gold beaters. All other people simply had no idea, as they were never exposed to this paper. However, everyone knew about the goldbeaters; they continue to be as much of a tourist attraction to this day as they were in the earliest days of tourism in Burma.

Eager to share our papermaking experiences with others, Elaine began taking intrepid papermakers on expeditions to Burma, and I took over the role of tour guide in 2001, fifteen years after we first photographed the four slender Burmese men, wearing their traditional longyi skirts, on their fourteenth day of beating bamboo pulp in a small hut in a remote part of Burma, with no electricity. I remember my first papermaking tour clearly, as it took place two months after September 11, 2001. Fully expecting everyone to cancel the trip, I was relieved that the horrible act of terrorism deterred no one.

We revisited the three papermaking villages we saw in 1986, and I was amazed that, besides the fact that we were all fifteen years older, everything was the same. The uneven dirt path to Daung Ma village was still in rough shape, necessitating riding on ox carts to get there, as we did years ago. The papermaker and his family lived in the same traditional bamboo hut on stilts, where we once again sat and drank tea after watching the amazing bamboo papermaking process. Of course everyone in the group bought paper from them, just as Elaine and I did years ago.

The papermaking family from the second village we wrote about, Nyaung Gone, did not disappoint us with their hospitality, again preparing a never-ending feast of snacks for us, after eagerly demonstrating every step of making paper from rice straw. Of course everyone in the group bought paper from them as well. On this trip I noticed that they had available for sale an excess of rosewood hand carved tools, used for peeling the dry paper from the woven pouring moulds once the paper is dry. Naturally each tour participant happily bought one.

Ma Htoo, our lovely papermaking friend from Pindaya, the third village we wrote about, located in Burma’s Shan State, was still working full time using her unique method of pouring paper mulberry sheets, five at a time. Her paper was used to make umbrellas as well as to make the amazing balloons used in the fire balloon festival every full moon in November. Everyone in our group purchased examples of this traditional paper.

Burma is a vast country and I knew there were other interesting papermaking villages, yet unexplored. I took the group on the famous Goktiek railway which goes across a viaduct over a dramatic gorge. We hopped off the train in Kyaukme and located a fascinating workshop actively making bamboo spirit paper. We were so absorbed in the process that we nearly missed our ride back to the hotel.

I think it was during my trip in 2006 to the village of Pindaya that I suddenly became aware of flowers showing up in Ma Htoo’s paper. She explained that a foreigner had commissioned her to make this paper, and she then realized, since her house was next door to Hotel Pindaya, she could sell these sheets to the tourists. By the next year, she was successfully selling bound books and notecards, all embedded with flowers.

A few years later I returned to Burma with an eager group of papermakers and much to my surprise, I noticed the bamboo papermakers in Daung Ma had streamlined their operation. We never saw the men who hand beat the bamboo with mallets for fifteen days. They seemed to have been replaced by a mechanical pulp grinding device into which the bamboo was hand fed by two young women. This pulper consisted of two stone discs. The top disc was stationary and had a hole in the center. The bottom disc spun on a horizontal plane. The pulp would be pushed into the top hole and thirty seconds later would shoot out of the gap between the stones. It would then be scooped up and placed back in the top hole of the grinding device, repeatedly. I am told this is an adaptation of a mill used for grinding grain. I’m not mechanically inclined but I was aware that this bamboo beating wonder operated in an interesting way. I showed my video footage to my husband who explained matter-of-factly that a motor was driving a jack shaft to which a big vee belt was attached that then drove a pulley that was attached to the wheel end of a car axle. The center of this car axle had a shaft attached to it that spun the stone disc.

On this same trip it was comforting to know that the incredibly hospitable family of rice straw papermakers in Nyaung Gone remained the same. They enthusiastically demonstrated the entire papermaking process and fed us; and we purchased lots of paper and rosewood tools. Before we departed, we continued the ritual tradition of taking a staged group portrait of our group together with the entire extended papermaking family.

Meanwhile, Ma Htoo in Pindaya continued making her innovative ‘five-at-a-time’ poured mulberry sheets, with and without flower petals.

I knew we would not find any papermakers in the sleepy beach town of Ngapali, on the Bay of Bengal, but that was where I took this particular group for my new Burmese experience.

My last trip to Myanmar was in 2012 and though still ruled by a repressive government, the country had noticeably opened up to the idea of free enterprise. This was undoubtedly a positive development but it also meant the country began to lose its identity as it was increasingly influenced by western culture. Nevertheless, the papermaking villages we visited were remote enough that they seemed little affected by the dramatic changes we witnessed in the bigger cities of Mandalay and Yangon.

A visit to the goldbeaters continued to be a tourist attraction in Mandalay as it was twenty-eight years ago, but in 2012 they had expanded their enterprise with a detailed display of the papermaking process. And as soon as the tour bus arrived, the papermaker there got to work.

As we left Mandalay for the small village of Duang Ma, our guide Swe told us that one of the residents of the village had done well financially in the gem trade, and bankrolled the building of a dirt road to the village. Swe suggested we take a jeep, but we opted for the nostalgia of taking an ox cart, even though it probably took twice as long. After the papermakers proudly demonstrated the entire process of bamboo papermaking, we sat in their newly built concrete house equipped with minimal electricity, drank tea, and bought paper.

Our special papermaking family in Nyaung Gone continued to impress us all with their genuine warmth and kindness and pride in their unchanged papermaking ways. After major paper and rosewood tool purchases, the obligatory group photo was taken outside their home, and we were truly sad to leave them at the end of the day.

When Momo, our favorite guide, who is well versed in papermaking, having been our guide for so many years, picked us up at the tiny airport in Heho to escort us to Pindaya, she commented that there was now a papermaking workshop near the airport on the tourist’s route. She remarked that it was an entrepreneurial venture, built purely for the purpose of catering to the tourists, and since she knew I had no interest in visiting it, she took us to see a traditional papermaker, our good friend Ma Htoo. She had slowed down, but continued to make the traditional paper used for umbrellas as well as for the balloon festival, and also paper with flowers to sell to the tourists. Her children had grown up, graduated from Mandalay University, and were looking for jobs, but not as papermakers.

On this particular trip, I made arrangements to also explore an area I had not yet been to. We flew to Kengtung in the far eastern part of Shan State where I had leads to a few papermaking villages. Unfortunately I realized our guide was programmed to take his clients on treks to see the colorful minority groups in the area, and had no interest in veering from this well-trod tourist path. We left town with lovely blank prayer books made of handmade paper that we bought at the market, but our guide was unwilling to persevere in our quest to locate the papermakers. Kengtung is a quiet scenic town dotted with Buddhist temples, decaying colonial British architecture, and I think I was the only one truly disappointed that we weren’t successful in locating a papermaker.

Maintaining a relationship for twenty-six years with our papermaking friends in remote Burma has truly been rewarding. As of 2012, not only did none of these papermakers have email addresses, they still did not even have mailing addresses that we were aware of. We never made a reservation—we simply appeared, and were always welcomed. Just as I enjoy frequenting the same few restaurants in New York, I also enjoy visiting old friends and seeing their familiar, unique papermaking process as it changes over the years. Nevertheless I equally cherish journeys to new places, to taste as yet undiscovered papermaking villages.

> TEACHING HAND PAPERMAKING

Based in Philadelphia, Winifred Radolan operates an itinerant teaching papermill, and has taught papermaking to thousands of adults and children. Here Winnie introduces hand papermaking to a very receptive and engaged group of senior citizens.

On a cold and blustery January morning I drove into the parking lot of St. Cyril’s of Jerusalem church in Jamison, PA. From my car I unloaded my portable papermaking demonstration tool kit, which I carried into a very large community room, occupied by forty senior citizens, who were gathered at one end of the cozy warm space, attentive to a business meeting. My presentation was to follow what turned out to be a lengthy review of the group’s upcoming monthly events. (February’s feature was a hot soup luncheon, in March one would find the group at the casinos, and in April birdhouse construction was on the calendar.) I wondered if the booking call I received only two weeks prior was in hopes of filling a last minute cancellation they experienced, but I was happy to be there!

Because the gathered audience was situated comfortably in front of the two long tables upon which I would set up, I had no opportunity to prepare before the meeting’s end. I would need to let everyone stand and stretch, yet not wander off, but instead be engaged by what they saw me doing and what I was saying. So, my necessary multi-tasking made for an interesting, if a bit scattered, presentation opening. I also knew, after the length of their meeting, that I would need to be lively and invite the group to provide questions and comments.

On one table I arranged a variety of handmade paper samples, ranging in color, texture, size, and fibers. Rag papers ranged from a 300-year-old watermarked linen book page to cotton, denim, and my own linen papers. I showed a range of plant fiber papers, representing bast, leaf, grass, and seed hair fibers. There were samples of the proto-papers papyrus and amate. And there were many examples of pulp-painted papers and sheets that were the substrate for printmaking, illustration, and photography. While I gave a consolidated and lively synopsis of paper’s long history, I also highlighted the recent range of artistic exploration involving the medium. And of course the question came up, “What if you WANT to make white paper?” It is something I rarely desire to do!

My presentation was interspersed with sufficient “questions from the audience” opportunities to address everyone’s personal interest. This definitely helped me to gauge when I was nearing the end of their “listening” potential. I was pleasantly surprised by their range of attention and inquiry, considering the length of the prior meeting.

The culmination of my program provided the opportunity for everyone to try their hand in the vats. My set-up was actually what I employ for many of my children’s “make-it-and-take-it” experiences, with the exception that we had only one vat of warmly pigmented cotton/abaca, enhanced with cooked marigold petal inclusions. I requested that everyone form a single line that stretched past the sample table, allowing them to peruse and handle my paper samples before they reached my wet vat table.

Our assembly line procedure began with an assisted mould and deckle dip into the vat to form a sheet of paper, followed by a stand and drain water station, and a quick couching area. For drying, I had everyone blot their pellon couched sheets with synthetic chamois for water removal. I then transferred the newly formed sheets onto upcycled cardboard pieces. My papermakers placed a dry chamois atop their creations and affixed them to the cardboard with a couple of firm swipes of a rolling pin. I explained that the cardboard was both a safe means of transporting their damp paper home, as well as a way to maintain some dimensional stability in their paper while it dried overnight. Dry paper could be removed from the cardboard the next day.

I was thrilled to have had the opportunity to present to such a receptive and inquisitive group of seniors. Almost everyone was game to roll up their sleeves and make paper. Perhaps at some future date a lengthier papermaking program will be discussed as a monthly activity during one of their planning meetings.

> PAPER HISTORY

Maureen and Simon Barcham 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. He provides consulting services to papermakers worldwide. Letters from America, is a series of columns about the English vatman, Robert P. Robertson, who wrote about various aspects of hand papermaking while he was living in the United States. This column is an introduction to the series.

The next three articles will deal with a series of letters written by the English papermaker, Robert Perry Robertson. This first section is intended to explain why these letters are of interest, especially to anyone who has been inspired by Dard Hunter’s interest in, and devotion to, the art and craft of paper—as well as the fine handmade editions of books he produced at the Mountain House Press, Chillicothe, Ohio.

Following his marriage in 1908 to the musician Edith Cornell, the Hunters travelled extensively throughout Europe. It was in 1911 that Hunter visited the then Science Museum in London where he came upon displays of hand papermaking equipment. It was this visit which sparked his lifelong interest in the art, craft, and history of paper. While living and working in London, he began purchasing various items of equipment relating to typography, printing, and papermaking.

Returning home, the Hunters eventually moved to Marlborough-on- Hudson, Ulster County, New York in 1913. Having purchased a farmhouse and considerable tract of land, Hunter writes in his recollections “I constructed a small, half-timbered paper mill resembling a Devonshire cottage” on the site.1 The power to drive the mill’s eight-foot waterwheel was provided by Jew’s Creek, which ran through the Hunter’s property.

With the birth of two sons, the family had expanded to the extent that they decided to sell the Marlborough property and its small paper mill, moving to Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1919. It was here that Hunter set up the now renowned Mountain House Press. However, he never lost interest in operating his own commercially viable, hand paper mill and began acquiring machinery to equip a large scale handmade paper mill in 1920. Much to his chagrin, the cost of storing the equipment “amounted to ten times what had been paid for the antique equipment.”2

It was not until 1926 after receiving a letter from a “Michigan businessman” which encouraged him to proceed with the venture that Hunter began to consider finding a suitable site for his mill.

One obstacle remained in that there were no trained vatmen in the country because there were no hand papermaking operations in America at this time.

Hunter initially resisted the idea of recruiting craftsmen from abroad. The loss of good employees would undermine any European mill, especially as there was a seven-year apprenticeship program involved, which in England was closely monitored by The Original Society of Paper Makers, the trade union affiliated with the hand-made sector. However, when visiting a number of mills in England one papermaker, Robert Perry Robertson, indicated that he was interested in, and more than willing to move with his family to America if an opportunity availed itself.

It was not until April 16, 1928, that Dard Hunter Associates eventually invested in an abandoned mill in Lime Rock, Salisbury, Connecticut. According to Hunter:

After the mill buildings had been renovated and put in fair structural order, the English handmade-paper appliances, two hydraulic presses, and the heating-plant were installed on the ground floor of the central building. The rag-cutting tables, beater, stuff-pump, stuff-chest, and plater occupied the second floor, while the entire third floor was devoted to the drying of the paper.3

Two years later, Robert P. Robertson (an experienced vatman) and his son Thomas (a coucher) arrived in New York with the understanding that the rest of his extended family would follow.

The Robertsons could trace their history in the trade back through several generations when “Thomas Robertson of the age of 14 on the 23rd of May last, the son of Robert Robertson of Afonwen in the county of Flint [Wales] paper maker” was apprenticed to Johnson Rogers Jones at Afonwen Mill, Caerwys, Flintshire.4 When or how the family moved to Maidstone, Kent remains a mystery but before Robert P. Robertson and his sons, Thomas and Reginald, immigrated to Lime Rock, they had been employed at Hayle Mill near Maidstone, in the county of Kent.

It was a challenge to bring English workmen into the country during a severe economic depression which had left many men unable to find work. Hunter made trips to Washington, wrote letters to government officials, and finally received clearance to bring the entire family over on the grounds that “there was not a single handmade-paper mill in the United States and that therefore we were inaugurating a totally new industry.”5 Initially, Robert and his eldest son, Thomas, arrived in Lime Rock on March 6, 1930. They were followed by younger son Reginald, Mrs. Robertson, daughter Gladys, and her husband. As Hunter remarked, “it seemed as though the population of a small town had descended upon me. By now the Great American Depression had overtaken us, and there were twelve adults, nine children, and three dogs all depending for support upon the revival of the craft of making paper by hand.”6 Hunter’s partner in the business, a perfume salesman, also moved his family to Lime Rock and his three brothers-in-law were all employed at the mill as well.

Unfortunately, the enterprise was ill-timed and despite everyone’s best efforts the mill was not economically viable. On November 4, 1933, the mill and all of the equipment plus stocks of paper were sold by the receiver. As Hunter recalled:

The property was put up at auction to satisfy the remaining creditors, but not a bid was forthcoming. The representative of the Court asked me to advance an offer, but on that dark, gloomy afternoon I was doubly certain I never again wanted to try my hand at the revival of a dying craft.7

The responsibility of bringing the Robertson family over from England must have weighed heavily on Hunter’s conscience but members of the family eventually found work in towns nearby and they remained in America.

Despite having to find alternative employment, Robert P. Robertson never lost interest in the hand papermaking industry. Over a period of years he continued to correspond with his old workmates in Maidstone giving advice to members of the Original Society of Paper Makers, as well as commenting on problems within the trade. He also wrote regularly to his old employers at Hayle Mill, Herbert and Jack Barcham Green.

To be continued in the next issue.

1. Dard Hunter, My Life with Paper: an Autobiography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1958), p. 60.

2. Dard Hunter, My Life with Paper, p. 98.

3. Dard Hunter, My Life with Paper, pp. 102- 103.

4. Document: Hayle Mill Archive 2/1/25A

5. Dard Hunter, My Life with Paper, p. 102.

6. Dard Hunter, My Life with Paper, p. 105.

7. Dard Hunter, My Life with Paper, p. 106.

> 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 forty years. Here Sid reviews a recently published anthology of decorated papers from the Olga Hirsch Collection at the British Library.

In past columns I have spoken of some of the more important paper collections in the world. And I have also written about important publications for those interested in learning about decorated papers. Today (January 21, 2016) I got in the mail a new book, fresh off the press, that I had heard was in the making: P.J.M. Marks’ An Anthology of Decorated Papers: A Sourcebook for Designers (London: The British Library and Thames & Hudson, 2016). This is an opportunity to write about two things: collections and books. The Marks text—as the title says—is about decorated papers, and it draws its information from the Olga Hirsch Collection at the British Library. Along with the Parkes and other collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Hirsch Collection is one of the most important such gatherings in Britain.

I will begin by quoting Mirjam M. Foote:

In 1968 Mrs. Olga Hirsch, the widow of Paul Hirsch the celebrated music collector, bequeathed to the British Library her collection of decorated papers, consisting of over 3,500 sheets of paper and about 130 books in paper wrappers or with decorated endpapers, as well as her eminently useful small reference library on paper making and paper decorating.

After her marriage in 1911, Olga Hirsch, nee Ladenburg, started to learn bookbinding in order to be able to give the necessary professional attention to the repair of her husband’s music library. She was trained at the Buchbinderei Ludwig in Frankfurt am Main, and started her truly remarkable collection from the need to match the paper for the end-leaves and wrappers of many of the music books. (“The Olga Hirsch Collection of Decorated Papers,” British Library Journal 7.1 [Spring 1981]: 12-38; this statement is on page 12)

In the world of decorated paper, the Hirsch Collection is fairly well known. It is rich in old marbled sheets, block-printed papers, and dutch gilt papers, along with a variety of other kinds of decoration. Foote says that Hirsch, in 1916, acquired a 2,000-sheet collection and spent most of the next five decades acquiring, and exchanging for, others (p. 12).

The British Library finding aid says of the collection: “There are hand-made papers from the 16th century onwards, and also later, machine-made papers. Various techniques of decorating paper are represented: there are brush-coated, sprinkled, sprayed, flock, marbled, block-printed, embossed, and metallic-varnish papers, as well as book jackets and 20th-century artists’ papers” (the finding aid for the collection can be found at “Olga Hirsch Collection of Decorated Papers,” http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/ findhelprestype/bookbind/olgahirsch/ olgahirschcolintro.html; accessed 1/21/16). This is a wonderful gathering of important and, in many cases, extremely beautiful sheets—and from the perspective of a fairly avid collector, I must say that I have drooled over these papers for some time. One small indication of the quality of the Hirsch holdings is that the collection contains over 100 dutch gilt papers, some of the most sought-after collectibles in the paper world.

The book by Marks is a gem. In its large format (about 12” x 9 ½”), and with its more than 250 full-color pictures, it delivers a great deal of information, not in the least because the text was written with authority by someone who really knows what she is talking about. P.J.M. Marks is Philippa Marks, the British Library’s curator of bookbindings, about which she has written. In fact, she is the author of the Treasures in Focus series volume on Decorated Papers: The Olga Hirsch Collection, published in 2007 by the British Library.

Many writers take on a topic about which they are not well versed and they produce a text that sounds authoritative, but it is based on imperfect understanding and guesswork. That is not the case with this new book: Marks is an expert and she knows from handling innumerable historical volumes what the papers are, what terminology to use for them, how, where, and when they were produced, and how they were used. She of course shapes the text after the Hirsch Collection, so there are chapters on marbling, paste paper, dutch gilt paper (she uses the term “brocade papers,” a perfectly reasonable alternative, inspired by the German Brokatpapier; most of these were made in Germany, so the term “brocade” merely follows the papers’ origins), mass-produced papers, and “Miscellaneous Decorating Techniques.”

In an email to me Marks mentions the fact that selection of papers is Eurocentric, but that is to be expected given the nature of the Hirsch Collection. It is true, however, that the British Library has only sporadically followed up on Olga Hirsch’s collecting, and her collection lacks much from after she died— and that in a world of great productivity in decorated paper production. This is not to criticize the book, which does an admirable—even brilliant—job of showing in great detail the wide range of paper-decoration types, with excellent pictures and a reliable text. In most such books (and there are dozens of them on the market), we usually see the finest examples of the great decorated papers. In this one we get that, but we also get what I think is equally important: many pictures of truly uninspired decoration, marbles and pastes that are nothing to write home about. This is important, because millions of books have been bound in such papers, and they represent a large percentage of decorated covers. This selection is truly representative of the great world of paper decoration over the centuries.

Europe and America—and, of course, Japan—have seen an extensive flowering of decorated paper activity over the last 50 years—sheets of all kinds and adornments. I hope that the British Library will continue to build the collection to reflect the many wonderful papers that have been produced since Hirsch’s time. The volume, then, like the collection, is a fine source of information up to just past half way through the 20th century, but it is only of little use after that. The collection itself does contain papers of such more recent paper artists as Graham Day, Sandy Cockerell, Victoria Hall, Susanne Krause, and a few others (the papers of some of these are shown in the book), but the volume is primarily a historical look at decorated papers up to the time that Hirsch stopped collecting in the 1960s.

Despite the lack of information about and images of more recent papers, the present volume under review here is a great treasure. And while it needs to be supplemented with another that fills in the historical vacuum, this book belongs on the shelves of anyone interested in decorated papers. It is a stunning achievement, beautifully produced, and with one of the most innovative and amazing dust jackets you will ever see! The book is available on the Web for under $40—a great bargain.

> FOR BEGINNERS

Mary Tasillo is a papermaker, book artist, and mixed media maven based in Philadelphia. She teaches workshops nationally. Here Mary gets into some of the nitty-gritty details of setting up a community studio.

Following last fall’s Friends of Dard Hunter Bull & Branch newsletter, with its focus on Community Studios, and my Friends of Dard Hunter Annual Meeting talk with Nicole Donnelly about Community Papermaking in Philadelphia, I’d like to discuss some basics of starting a community studio. Equipment-heavy practices like papermaking are strong candidates for the community shop, where expensive items that usually take up a lot of space can be shared—especially by those interested in creating large work.

Space... Finding and funding space is often the biggest challenge of the community studio. Patience, research, and networking all come into play here. Wait for a space that will accommodate your needs. Just because you are ready to get yourself set up you should not settle for something that is awkward, requires a lot of changes, or is a financial stretch. You want to be able to stay in this space for a long time, so make sure it is affordable and sustainable. If you are new to leasing commercial spaces, remember that negotiating is the norm, unlike residential rentals where the price may be more fixed. And if you don’t ask for something, you definitely won’t get it. The Soapbox: Community Print Shop & Zine Library found our space when we inquired after a different space, and were proposed an under-renovations church basement instead. It presented an opportunity to help support a community studio with private studio rentals.

Structure... How will your studio be organized? An artist collective? A non-profit organization? A for-profit venture? This depends on your goals, how many reliable parties are involved, and your ability to take on risk, as well as on your tolerance for paperwork and filling out forms.

Artist Collective: You have several reliable collaborators you can count on to pay the rent. These are the people on whom the studio relies, and also primarily for whom the studio exists. You may or may not invite other people into the space, and can operate this way informally as individuals or as a more formalized organization. If you are inviting others in to use the space, it may be time to look at liability insurance.

Non-Profit Organization: You are operating from an ethos of community benefit. You are likely to secure organizational grant funding due to your community-based activities and you have a high tolerance for paperwork. You still need to have a business plan that you can rely on independently of grant funding.

For-Profit Venture (individual or organization): You are operating a business. This can run the gamut from an individual or partnership taking on the risk (responsibility for meeting the costs) and running activities to support themselves and these costs (whether through workshops, studio rental, art making, or paper production), to a corporate structure involving more parties or investors. The more parties involved, the more complicated the paperwork.

These are two fundamentals of the myriad decisions to make in starting a community studio. Of course there is also the fun of dreaming about how this space will be set up. Start-up culture, maker spaces, and the concept of the “creative economy” have sparked some great resources for business education in many areas, where one can go for more information on marketing, finance, and more. Some public libraries also offer resources on business education or grant seeking. Are there areas of creating a shared studio space you’d like to see addressed in the next column? Advice you’d like to add? Send an email to newsletter@ handpapermaking.org.

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 2016 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 newsletter@ handpapermaking.org.

> CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN, (865) 436-5860, www .arrowmont.org. Workshops in a variety of disciplines, including papermaking.

Paper Possibilities: Exploring Structure & Surface, June 19-25, with Kerri Cushman. Experiment with making paper—both as a flat substrate and investigating its three-dimensional potential.

Fiber + Water + Heat + Hand + Paper = Books, September 15-18, with Steve Miller. Explore the characteristics of kozo and other Asian fibers for artistic possibilities in book making.

The Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, Canada, (800) 565-9989 or (403) 762-6180, www .banffcentre.ca. Artist residencies in fully equipped papermaking studio, and other disciplines. Contact wendy_tokaryk@ banffcentre.ca for registration info.

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.

Illuminated Paper: Make Art, Make Lamps, June 26 to July 2, with Pam Granger Gale. Enter the world of handmade paper, from fiber selection and processing to pulling sheets of paper for creative use in lamps.

Making Paper from Kudzu Leaves, September 9-11, with Nancy Basket. Use retted kudzu leaves to make sheets of paper, embedding flowers or seasonal plants as an option.

Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild, Toronto, ON, (416) 581-1071, cbbag@ cbbag.ca, www.cbbag.ca. Book and paper workshops located on-site in Toronto and in off-site studios.

Carriage House Paper, Brooklyn, NY, (800) 669-8781, www.carriagehousepaper.com. Papermaking workshops offered in a new studio space. See site for schedule.

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.

Desert Paper, Book and Wax, Tucson, AZ, (520) 740-1673. Papermaking, book, and mixed media encaustic workshops, as well as consulting and studio rental. Visit www .papermakingresources.com for registra-tion information.

Dieu Donné Papermill, New York, NY, (212) 226-0573, www.dieudonne.org. Beginning and advanced papermaking classes for adults and children. Open studio sessions also available.

Introduction to Contemporary Papermaking, April 5, May 3, or June 7, with staff instructor. Learn the basic papermaking process, as well as various artistic techniques.

Embedding, Blowouts, and Simple Watermarks, May 10 or August 16, with staff instructor. This course covers incorporating materials into your sheets of paper as well as stencil techniques with a number of creative applications.

Pulp Painting, Stenciling, and Pigmenting, June 14, with staff instructor. Learn proper pulp coloring techniques and create a range of pulp paint consistencies for a variety of purposes.

Casting with Molds and Laminate Casting, April 12 or July 19, with staff instructor. Explore two different sculptural papermaking techniques: casting with molds to achieve a solid sculpture composed of thick cotton pulp, and laminate casting to produce a hollow sculpture made of thin paper.

Eureka Springs School of the Arts, Eureka Springs, AR, (479) 253-5384, www.esartschool.org. Offering learning opportunities in multiple media including fiber arts.

Print and Paper Making on the Quick and Dirty, May 16-20, with Henry Gepfer. Craft handmade paper and make prints using the linocut and screen print processes.

Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA, (215) 922-3456, www.fleisher.org. Offering workshops and community programs in a range of media.

Papermaking with Plants, April 4, 11, 18, 25, and May 2, with Mary Tasillo. Explore several techniques for processing plant fibers for paper.

Green Heron Book Arts, Forest Grove, Oregon. Classes in book and paper arts at the Accidental BookMaker. Contact pagrass@aol.com for more information.

The Hall of Awa Japanese Handmade Paper, 141 Kawahigashi, Yamakawa-cho, Yoshinogawashi, Tokushima 779-3401, Japan, fax 81-883-42-6085, www.awagami.com.

34th Handmade Paper Workshop, August 16- 20, with staff instructors. Learn traditional Japanese papermaking methods, from preparing kozo bark for cooking, cleaning and beating the fiber, making paper, and drying, in this five-day intensive.

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME, (207) 348-2306, www.haystack-mtn.org. Workshops in various disciplines, including papermaking and book arts. Scholarships available. Deadlines are March 1 for Residency and Scholarship applicants and April 1 for Regular applicants.

Paper Contains the Universe, July 17-29, with Aimee Lee. Begin with paper mulberry, processing virgin fiber into tissue thin sheets, move on to abaca, and use natural dyes and finishes, followed by paper manipulation.

Joomchi & Beyond, August 28 - September 3, with Jiyoung Chung. Create strong, textural, and painterly surfaces by layering and agitating long-fibered handmade papers.

Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI, (808) 532-8700, www.honolulumuseum.org

Kozo Bark Fiber Workshop, April 16-17, with Jill Powers. Experiment with pioneering techniques for using kozo in contemporary art, forming and casting the cooked bark directly, with specific techniques for creating two- and three-dimensional art, including beautiful vessels, collage, sculpture, and translucent wall hangings.

Hook Pottery Paper, LaPorte, IN, (291) 362-9478, jonandrea@hookpotterypaper. com, www.hookpotterypaper.com. Classes in papermaking and pottery and a residency program in northern Indiana.

Inter-Ocean Curiosity Studio, Englewood, CO, (303) 789-0282. For more information on papermaking workshops with Ray Tomasso, contact him at ray@raytomasso .com or (303) 552-8256.

Jaffe Center for Book Arts, Boca Raton, FL, (561) 297-0226, www.library.fau.edu. A book arts collection, gallery, and studio, including Paper Lab.

Jill Powers Studio, Boulder, CO, jpowesstudio@gmail.com, www.jillpowers .com. Classes in paper and other materials, retreats, and private mentoring sessions.

Kozo Bark Fiber Workshop, May 2016.

Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, Kalamazoo, Michigan, (269) 373-4938, info@kalbook-arts.org, www.kalbookarts.org. Classes in book printing and binding, printmaking, hand papermaking, and creative writing.

Paper: Innovations in Paper Weaving, April 9, with Helen Hiebert. Experiment with paper crumpling, varying the warp and weft lines and cutting tiny windows to expose the paper which lies beneath to create works that can hang on the wall or in a window, bringing paper weaving into new dimensions.

Paper: Papermaking & Alternative Processes, April 23, with Katie Platte. Create white and pigmented sheets, incorporating pulp painting, to make paper that is ideal for any printing process, as well as for cyanotype and image transfers.

MayBe Studio, Abita Springs, Louisiana, (985) 893-3184.

Hand Papermaking, selected Saturdays, with Mary-Elaine Bernard. Learn Eastern and Western methods of making paper and incorporate local plant fibers.

The Mill Paper and Book Arts Center, Rhinelander, Wisconsin, (715) 360- 3804, info@themillbookarts.org, http:// themillbookarts.org. Classes, studio access, and other resources in paper, book, and print arts in Northern Wisconsin.

Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN, (612) 215-2520, www.mnbookarts .org. Classes at the Open Book center for book and literary arts.

Beater Training, first Tuesdays, with staff instructor. Learn beater operation, safety procedures, and cleaning for MCBA’s three beaters as a prerequisite to renting the beaters for your own use.

Open Studio: Paper Beater or Papermaking, Tuesdays, with staff instructor. Beat fiber for paper for future sheet-forming.

Japanese Papermaking, April 9-10, with Bridget O’Malley. Learn the tools and techniques of Japanese papermaking, creating papers that range from strong yet nearly translucent sheets to papers with decorative layers and inclusions, with sizes ranging from 5 x 7 inches to 5 x 7 feet.

Introduction to Marbling, April 30, with Sally Power. Learn the basic process of marbling with acrylics, including recipes for the various components of the process.

Paper Marbling, June 3, with Suzanne Hughes. Explore paper marbling—try your hand at “throwing” color and building patterns that you can use to decorate cards, journals, etc.

Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory and Educational Foundation, Cleveland, OH, (216) 361-9255, http:// morganconservatory.org. Workshops in hand papermaking and the arts of the book in an innovative green environment.

BigAss/BadAss Paper Fabrications, June 1, with Julie McLaughlin and Rebecca Cross. Start with large-scale papermaking from kozo fiber and incorporate shibori dye techniques to create diverse sheets of paper that can be torn into strips, shared with classmates, and woven into a new piece.

Make and Use Hanji, June 11, with Aimee Lee. Learn to make paper in the Korean tradition in both one- and two-ply sheets using two different sheet formation techniques with fiber that will be processed by hand.

Covers Uncovered: Recreating Historic Japanese Stab Bindings, June 17-19, with Anne Covell. Explore processes of papermaking, cover decoration, and binding to create historic stab bindings as they were likely produced during the Edo Period.

3-D Papermaking: Relief Papercasting, June 18, with Tom Balbo. Learn the art of papercasting using repurposed, everyday objects placed on the surface of a vacuum table to create a composition, casting pigmented pulp over the top.

Handmade Paper: Surface Manipulation, June 25, with Masha Ryskin. Explore a variety of surface manipulation techniques, from relief printmaking and monotype to embroidery and drawing.

Paper to Book, July 9, with Aimee Lee. Learn how to make sheets of paper expressly to transform them into books.

Creative Papermaking Processes: Positive & Negative Stenciling, August 27, with Kyle Holland. Learn Western-style papermaking as well as several stenciling techniques to create imagery during the papermaking process, focusing on various pulp painting and blowout techniques in addition to pulling shaped sheets of paper.

Islamic World Papermaking, September 16- 19, with Radha Pandey. Learn about Islamic world papermaking and its role in the history of paper, including fiber preparation, cooking, and beating, as well as the sheet forming technique.

Paper and Book Intensive, Ox-Bow, Saugatuck, MI, www.paperbookintensive.org. Workshops in book and paper arts over two weeks each spring.

Buying and Harvesting Fiber for Papermaking, May 15-26, with Frank Brannon. Compare paper made from fibers sourced from many locations, and discuss how to locate and harvest fibers locally.

Hanji in its Many Guises: Korean Paper at Work, May 15-26, with Aimee Lee. Learn the process of making hanji (Korean paper) from raw paper mulberry bark, and methods of manipulating paper—from sheets both made in class and imported from Korea.

Paper Circle, Nelsonville, OH, (740) 753- 3374, www.papercircle.org, papercirclearts@ gmail.com. Call or e-mail for information about upcoming paper classes.

Open Studio, second Saturdays, with studio artists. Gain new skills while working on themed, relaxed projects.

Papermakers of Victoria, at Box Hill Community Arts Centre, Whitehorse, Victoria, Australia, phone 9885 2479. Workshop and exhibition information can be found at www.papermakers.org.au.

A Case for Your Casting, April 10, with Barb Adams. Casting paper over an array of objects, then make a box to display these artworks.

paperTHINKtank, Philadelphia, PA, http://paperthinktank.wordpress.com A papermaking studio offering workshops throughout the year.

High Shrinkage Fibers and Basic Armatures, April 10, with Nicole Donnelly. Use high-shrinkage flax and abaca fibers for sheet forming as well as stretching over basic armatures.

The Papertrail, New Dundee, Ontario,

Canada, (800) 421-6826, www.papertrail.ca

Classes in papermaking, marbling, and related arts, and studio rental scheduled on an as-needed basis.

PapierWespe (PaperWasp), Klimschgasse 2/1, Vienna Austria, (0676) 77-33-153, office@papierwespe.at, www.papierwespe.at. Workshops in English and German taught by paper specialists in downtown Vienna.

Bamboo, Light, Paper, April 23-24, with Anna Rubin. Create bamboo armatures to support airy paper sculptures.

Papers from Native Plants, October 15-16, with Beatrix Mapalagama. Create papers from beer hops, straw, long flax fibers, and more.

Penland School, Penland, NC, (828) 765- 2359, www.penland.org. A full program of craft workshops, including papermaking.

The Topography of Handmade Paper, June 12-24, with Mary Hark. Produce high-quality papers suitable for use in books, printmaking, and sculptural forms, leading to a personal exploration of surface, texture, color, and the use of natural dyes.

Unprotected Paper, June 26 to July 8, with Frank Brannon. Learn the basics of papermaking with a focus on developing successful site-specific, outdoor paper installations at Penland, using hand-harvested tree bark as paper fiber.

Large Scale & Sculptural Papermaking, July 24 to August 9, with Lynn Sures. Create pulps from diverse raw fiber with surprising properties, assemble papermaking molds for big sheets and pulp paintings, and build sculptural armatures from various kinds of material.

Seastone Papers, West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard, MA, (508) 693-5786, www .seastonepapers.com. Scheduled classes, open studio, and private workshops in hand papermaking, surface design, and book arts. For further information, email Sandy Bernat at sandy@seastonepapers.com.

Sievers School of Fiber Arts, Washington Island, WI 54246, (920) 847-2264, www .sieversschool.com. Summer workshops on an island in Lake Michigan.

Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, Otis, Oregon, (541) 994-5485, www.sitkacenter .org. Workshops and residencies in a range of media.

Exploring Drawing and Painting with Handmade Paper, June 18-19, with Jenn Woodward. Use materials like charcoal, pencil, ink, pastel, a manual typewriter, wax, acrylic, glue, and even thread and yarn as mark-making tools and create papers from a variety of materials.

Islamic World Papermaking, September 3-5, with Radha Pandey. Learn fiber preparation and papermaking methods, as well as applying special surface finishing techniques.

The Soapbox: Community Print Shop & Zine Library, Philadelphia, PA, info@ phillysoapbox.org, www.phillysoapbox.org. Workshops in papermaking, bookmaking, and printmaking in West Philadelphia.

Islamic World Papermaking, May 21-22, with Radha Pandey. Experience Islamic papermaking by participating in dyeing of dried sheets, surface sizing, and burnishing.

Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, TX, (210) 224-1848, www.swschool.org. Classes at the Picante Paper Studio. Individual papermaking classes can be scheduled for one person or a group; please contact Beck Whitehead at bhwhitehead@swschool. org for more information. Studio time, consultation, and instruction available most Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and select Saturdays with Beck Whitehead.

Papermaking Saturdays, select Saturdays, with Beck Whitehead. Work on independent projects with consultation.

Papermaking: Things I Have Learned, May 2-6, with Beck Whitehead. Working with a variety of fibers and techniques, Whitehead will do one or two demonstrations per day, sharing expertise gained over 31 years in the paper studio.

Wells Book Arts Center, Aurora, NY, www .wellsbookartscenter.org. Offering a Summer Institute in the arts of the book.

East Meets West Papermaking, July 24-30, with Peter Sowiski. Compare Eastern (Asian) and Western (European) traditions in sheet forming while investigating different fiber types, preparation, sizing, color, and texture.