HAN D P A P E R M A K I NG
N E W S L E T T E R
Number 72, October 2005
Newsletter Editor: Tom Bannister. Columnists: Sidney Berger, John Bordley, Susan Gosin, Helen Hiebert, Peter Hopkins, Elaine Koretsky, Winifred Radolan, Pamela Wood.
Hand Papermaking Newsletter is published
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Hand Papermaking is a 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization. Staff: Tom Bannister, Executive
Director; Mina Takahashi, Magazine Editor.
Board of Directors: Martin Antonetti, Cathleen
A. Baker, Inge Bruggeman, Gail Deery, Amanda
Degener, Helen Hiebert, Peter Hopkins, Barbara
Lippman, David Marshall, John Risseeuw,
Lynn Sures, Marilyn Sward. Board of Advisors:
Timothy Barrett, Simon Blattner, Gregor R.
Campbell, Mindell Dubansky, Jane Farmer, Helen
C. Frederick, Elaine Koretsky, James Sitter, Claire
Van Vliet, James Yarnell. Co-founders: Amanda
Degener and Michael Durgin.
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As you know, the mid-south region of the U.S. is still taking count of the devastation
resulting from Hurricane Katrina. The Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) is committed to
helping and to keeping you informed about the ways in which you can help.
To facilitate in this effort, we have created a Disaster Recovery Message Board on our
web site <www.craftemergency.org>. If you know a papermaker or other craft artist who
needs help and/or if you can offer help (financial support, supplies, equipment, a place to
stay or work, advice, encouraging words, etc.), please join in this discussion. CERF’s Disaster
Relief Fund, interest-free loan programs and staff are prepared to respond to professional
craft artists who have suffered significant losses. Please help us get the word out about the
availability of our assistance as well as our need for the community’s support at the time.
With warm regards,
Cornelia Carey, Executive Director
(802) 229-2306, <info@craftemergency.org>
Dear Readers,
Since Hand Papermaking has been so supportive of our friends at Tibetan Handicraft
Industry in Kathmandu (see Winter 1996 and Winter 2001 issues), I decided I ought to share
some bad news.
Samten Lama, Nimto Sherpa, and Nima Sherpa – the three owners of Tibetan Handicraft
Industry – have been very excited about property that they have purchased near Kopan
Monastery, on the outskirts of Kathmandu. They had begun construction of their own production
center, complete with childcare for workers’ children and eventually some housing.
Samten had been the primary person overseeing the construction.
On May 10th Samten was inspecting an issue on the new roof and fell to the recently
poured concrete floor below. He died shortly after this tragic accident. As is the Tibetan Buddhist
tradition, special pujas or prayer ceremonies were conducted each week for Samten in
Bodinath in Kathmandu. The final puja took place June 28th, on the 49th day following his death.
Needless to say the sudden loss of their partner has been very difficult for Nimto and
Nima. I know that they would appreciate hearing from their friends around the world...
Tibetan Handicraft Industry, P O Box 10527, Kathmandu, Nepal, <thi@wlink.com.np>.
Sincerely,
Jane M. Farmer, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Upcoming in the Winter 2005 Magazine: Focus on Handmade Paper Collections...
World survey of handmade paper collections which are accessible to researchers, including
collections of handmade paper specimens, watermarks, art made in and on handmade paper,
and objects utilizing handmade paper such as kites, paper filigree, early manuscripts and
bindings, wall coverings, and photographs ~ Peter Bower on cataloguing collections as a
‘forensic paper historian’ ~ Edward Saywell on the Fogg Museum works on paper collection
as a teaching tool ~ Sidney Berger on the development of international standards for
cataloging decorative papers ~ Madelyn Garrett on University of Utah’s digitized collection
of the Dard Hunter publications ~ Marilyn Sward interviews Audrey Niffenegger on her
book The Time Traveler’s Wife ~ Susan Gosin remembers artist Golda Lewis ~ David Marshall
reviews “Collaboration as a Medium: 25 Years of Pyramid-Atlantic” at Edison Place Gallery,
Washington, DC ~ Helen Hiebert reviews Buzz Spector’s recent exhibition at Alysia Duckler
Gallery, Portland, Oregon ~ Exhibitions in Brief
ALONG THE PAPER ROAD...
This regular feature offers paper musings from
Elaine Koretsky – renowned paper historian,
researcher, and traveler. In this installment,
Elaine describes early encounters with kudzu.
I am writing this article on a beautiful
sunny day in late July. Outside, my
garden of papermaking plants is thriving,
although I mourn the Daphne bholua (the
paper plant of Nepal), a veteran of 20 years,
which succumbed this past winter, perhaps
a victim of scale. I also lost one Edgeworthia
(mitsumata in Japanese), but the other three
are fine. The winged celtis (Celtis pteroceltis
tatarinowi), used in Anhui Province, China,
for the finest art and calligraphy paper, died
back in our harsh winter, but is growing out
again. My emphasis is on the cultivation of
plants that are traditionally used in hand
papermaking throughout the world, so I
am growing Broussonetia papyrifera (kozo in
Japan), rice, wheat, Agave sisalana, Musa textilis
(abaca), cotton, flax, bamboo and more.
Technically, any plant can be used in papermaking,
but right from the start, the early
papermakers 2,000 years ago discovered
what fibers were most successful in producing
paper. Two criteria were availability and
ease of preparing the fiber to form sheets.
When Donna Koretsky and I started
making paper in the early 1970s, we were
influenced by John Mason’s book “Papermaking
as an Artistic Craft.”1 And so we
started experimenting with what was growing
in our garden. We made a lot of fuzzy,
often brittle, but quite interesting papers
using begonia, iris, and nasturtium. Frequently
we had to forage in our neighbors’
gardens to collect enough raw material. Our
emphasis soon changed to the use of paper
as the basis of art forms, and we began to
use other materials that worked more easily
with what we were trying to accomplish.
However, I always maintained an
interest in exploring fibers and figuring out
how best to process them for papermaking.
A real challenge occurred in 1985, when a
neighbor called me to say that her gardener
had just cut down a huge kudzu vine that
had grown 30 feet up the side of her house.
She was very excited about the prospect of
my turning it into paper. I did not share her
enthusiasm because I had taught papermaking
a couple of summers previously at the
Arrowmont School of Crafts in Gatlinburg,
Tennessee, where kudzu was growing rampantly.
One class insisted on experimenting
with kudzu, so we tried it. I had no prior
experience or information about the plant,
except that it was considered a nuisance
throughout the south. The branches seemed
soft and pliable, and we treated it like an
herbaceous plant, rather than a woody one.
The group removed the leaves from the
branches, cut the branches into short pieces,
and boiled it with lye for a few hours. After
a thorough washing, they hand beat it for a
while (at that time the school did not have
a Hollander beater), then ran it through
a kitchen blender. We never were able to
make a pulp that would produce a cohesive
sheet of paper, although it could be used as
an additive to other pulps to give the sheets
a distinctive texture.
When I picked up the carload of
kudzu from my neighbor, she thoughtfully
presented me with The Book of Kudzu2. I
also looked up kudzu in one of my botany
books, and discovered that it belonged to the
Leguminosae family of plants, also known
as the pea family. Botanically, kudzu is
Pueraria, which has 15 species that are either
herbaceous or woody. The species found in
the south, which my friend was growing,
is Pueraria lobata, and is woody. The fiber,
therefore, is a bast fiber, found in the inner
bark, and must be removed from its woody
core. The Book of Kudzu deals mainly with
the cooking and healing properties of
kudzu, but there is one chapter on weaving
with kudzu, which mentions that weavers
in East Asia prized the kudzu fibers for
their strength, translucency, and radiant
luster. That sounded like I might be on the
right track to make some unusual papers. I
decided to follow the directions precisely to
extract the bast fiber.
I wrestled the kudzu out of my car
and stretched it all out in my back yard.
Following the book’s instructions, I stripped
the leaves from the 30-foot long branches
and wound each of them into a coil. Next, I
boiled the coils in a large pot of water for 20
minutes, until the outside of the branches
turned brown and started to separate from
the stalk. Now the coils were supposed to be
immersed in a nearby stream, secured with
a stone, and allowed to soak for 24 hours.
The idea is that the current of the stream
would remove some of the outer bark. Since
I don’t have a stream near by, I simply put
the coils into a pot of cold water and left it
for the following day. Meanwhile, I tried
to figure out how to handle the next step,
which involves fermenting the branches. A
one-foot deep hole must be dug and lined
with a four-inch layer of straw, followed by a
three-inch layer of green grass. The coils are
put in, and covered with another three-inch
layer of green grass, followed by four inches
of straw. Finally, the entire hole is covered
with reed or rice straw matting, and secured
by several rocks. After two days the covering
is lifted and the temperature checked. If it’s
above 104ºF, remove some of the covering;
if it’s below 95ºF, add more covering and
rocks. I definitely felt the need to improvise
this step.
We have a well-developed compost pile,
so I simply dug a hole in the compost, put
the kudzu coils in it, filled the hole with
more compost, and returned two days later.
I dug out the kudzu, but declined taking its
temperature. However, fermentation had
definitely occurred. Rather than now putting
the coils back into the nearby stream
that I didn’t have, I uncoiled the kudzu and
stretched it out on the grass. Using a garden
hose, I sprayed the whole thing vigorously,
and easily removed the entire outer covering
of the bast fiber. The last step sounded
bizarre, but I was determined to try it. I held
the base end of a kudzu branch in one hand
and with two fingers of the other hand I
managed to peel back a very thin layer that
surrounded the woody core. I kept pulling
back this entire concentric sheath, similar
to skinning a snake, until I reached the tip
of the kudzu branch. Amazingly, I now had
the bast fiber, which was shiny and translucent,
resembling a very thin, flexible plastic
tube, 30 feet long. The fiber was also very
strong, and I could not break it.
Since the rest of the directions dealt
with its preparation for weaving, I now
treated the fiber as I normally would for
papermaking. I coiled up the kudzu again
so it would fit into a large cooking pot, and
boiled it in a 25% lye solution. Periodically,
I tested the fiber. It easily could be pulled
apart lengthwise, but that was true even
before cooking. For papermaking purposes,
the test for bast fibers is that the fiber can
be pulled apart transversely. I cooked the
kudzu for several hours, and the fiber still
remained tough and unyielding. Next, I
drained the kudzu and rinsed it thoroughly.
The fiber still retained its shine and
translucency. I tried beating it with a mallet,
but that became an exercise in frustration.
Finally, I cut it all up into short pieces and
put it into my Hollander beater. The beater
made short work of the fiber, and within 15
minutes I had pulp.
Unfortunately, after all that work, there
was very little pulp. Another important
criterion of fiber selection is the percentage
of yield per weight of the plant material
used. In the case of kudzu, the yield was
low. With great anticipation I made as much
paper as possible, amounting to a dozen
sheets on my 8”x12” mould. The finished
sheets, however, displayed none of the shine
or translucency that the fiber had originally
shown. They were simply smooth, off-white
papers, not especially distinctive. However,
my neighbor was thrilled to receive a sheet
of this kudzu paper and believed she had
made an important contribution to my
papermaking research. Perhaps she did, because
my next newsletter article will explore
wood pulp.
october 2005 3
1 John Mason, Papermaking as an Artistic
Craft, publ. by Twelve by Eight Press, 1963.
2 William Shurtleff & Akiko Aoyagi, The
Book of Kudzu, publ. by Autumn Press,
1977.
BEGINNER TOPICS
Well-known author and teacher Helen Hiebert
offers helpful tips and guidance for newcomers
based on her popular books (see www.
enlightenedpapers.com). This is the second in a
two-part column on plant fibers. The first part
covered where to find fibrous plant materials.
We follow up with a guide to harvesting fiber.
In general, harvesting at the end of
growing season or during dormancy will
yield the most papermaking fiber, but there
are a few things to consider. You might
want to let the plant naturally decompose
in the field to make processing easier. For
example, herbaceous basts such as milkweed
and nettles (Urtica lyalli) will start
to decompose if left in the field over the
winter. Most fibers can be harvested during
more than one season. Paper made from
fiber harvested in the spring may look different
from paper made from the same fiber
harvested in the fall. Young nettles harvested
in the spring make a green paper, but
if they are harvested in the fall, the resulting
paper is brown. The age of the plant, soil,
environmental conditions such as air quality
and rainfall, and geographic location of the
plant will also affect the fiber quality and the
look of the sheet. Experiment with different
seasons and locations and keep records to
note ease of harvesting and paper results.
There are three main types of plant
fiber used in papermaking: bast fiber, leaf
fiber, and grass fiber. What follows is a
description and instructions for harvesting
each type. From other papermakers, books
on fibers, and my own experiments, I have
discovered papers made from many plants,
ranging from common items such as wheat
straw (Triticum aestivum) and hosta (Hosta
fortunei, a.k.a. plantain lily), to things I
would never think of using such as seaweed.
When collecting your first plant fibers for
papermaking, I would recommend starting
with a plant from one of the lists that is
widely known to produce paper. After you
become familiar with the processing, feel
free to go out on your own.
The fibrous, inner bark of trees or
shrubs is called the bast. The bast fiber is located
in the stem and branches between the
outer bark and the woody core. There are
three types of bast fiber: woody, herbaceous,
and petiole. Woody bast is found in shrubs
like blackberry, vines like kudzu (Pueraria lobata),
and trees such as paper mulberry and
willow (Salix spp.); herbaceous bast is found
in non-woody annuals and perennials such
as nettles and milkweed (Asclepias speciosa);
petiole bast is found in the leaf stalks and
stems of banana plants like manila hemp
(Musa textilis).
If you cut a shoot of a tree, shrub, or
vine and look at it in cross section, you will
find the bast fiber (inner bark) between the
outer black bark and the woody core. To collect
the bast fiber, choose shoots or branches
of trees that are one-half to one inch in
diameter. Smaller shoots will have less fiber
and larger might be tough to process. Cut
the shoots at a forty-five degree angle near
the base or just above a bud, leaving the
main plant intact so that it can continue to
grow. (The angle is important because it will
aid later in the stripping process. Where
you cut will affect how the plant continues
to grow.) Many papermakers harvest bast
fibers while they are pruning. Remember
that you are only using the inner bark for
papermaking, so you need a fair amount
of branches to produce a small amount of
paper. In order to have enough bast fiber
to make paper, you need to harvest at least
five or six branches that are approximately
five or six feet long. This will yield approximately
one pound of bast fiber, which will
produce about thirty sheets of paper that are
8-1/2” x 11”. Strip leaves and twigs from the
branches.
Herbaceous bast is collected in a similar
fashion to the bast of trees, by cutting the
stalks at an angle. Annuals like hollyhock
(Alcea rosea) and okra (Hibiscus esculentus)
can be pulled up by the roots. The roots,
leaves, and twigs should be removed.
The petiole of a plant is the leaf stem
that is connected to the stalk and supports
the blade of the leaf. In manila hemp
(abaca) plants, the leaf stalks are often many
feet in length and contain long strands of
bast fiber that are easily obtained once the
stalks are cut from the plant. Many banana
plants in the Musaceae family yield this
type of fiber, and they usually have fibrous
trunks as well. Petiole fiber tends to be very
tough and can require extensive processing.
Once you have collected enough plant
material, you will need to separate the bast
fiber from the woody core and outer bark.
In certain plants, the bast fiber can be easily
separated from the woody core after harvesting.
For example, gampi (Wikstroemia
retusa), one of the important papermaking
fibers in Japan, is harvested in the spring
when it is easy to peel. Willow and elm trees
(Ulmus americana and U. pumila) are also
easy to peel. With other plants you will need
to steam or ferment the stalks in order to
recover the bast fiber.
In most cases, substantial, elongated
leaves such as the leaves of iris (Iris spp.)
or yucca (Yucca filamentosa or Yucca elata)
plants are the best sources of leaf fiber for
papermaking. A general procedure I follow
when determining whether a leaf will yield
paper is to check its tear strength – the
harder it is to tear crosswise, the better the
paper will be.
The easiest leaves to process come
from plants like iris, gladiolus (Gladiolus),
and lilies, which can be cut right from the
plant and are ready to process directly into
paper pulp. These types of leaf fiber can be
collected in the spring or fall, producing a
green paper in the spring and a brown paper
in the fall. To harvest in the spring, cut
individual leaves near the base of the plant,
removing only the outer leaves The leaves at
the core should be left on the plant so that
it can continue to grow. You can also collect
the leaves in the fall when they drop from
the plant – a gentle tug will release the leaf
from the tuber underground, where the leaf
is connected to the plant.
Leaves from sword-like plants such as
sisal (Agave sisalana) and yucca have long,
stringy fibers inside that look like fishing
line. These fibers are difficult and time
consuming to process, and often require
specialized equipment. Harvest these leaves
as you would the others – removing only the
outermost leaves and cutting them near the
base. These leaves contain a large amount
of fleshy connective tissue that should be
removed immediately after harvesting by
decortication, retting, or cooking.
With any leaf fiber, you will need to
harvest at least one pound of dry fiber in
order to have enough leaves to make a small
amount of paper. The dry weight is tricky to
determine if you are collecting fresh leaves–
I usually collect three times more fiber than
I think I will need. One pound of dry leaf
fiber will yield approximately fifteen sheets
of 8-1/2” x 11” paper.
Grass fibers are among the shortest
papermaking fibers, but nevertheless they
still make interesting papers. You can find
them almost anywhere. Tall weeds and
wild grasses such as straws, rushes, swamp
grasses, and beach grasses are good sources
of papermaking fiber. You can even use corn
stalks and corn husks. Many grasses can be
harvested in any season and are relatively
simple to process. With grass fiber, one
pound of dry fiber will yield about ten small,
lightweight sheets of paper. Collect more
fiber than you think you will need to ensure
that you have enough. You can always dry
and store the rest for future processing.
The best papermaking grasses are
the ones that are the most difficult to tear.
When you find a good source, collect all but
the roots and remove the non-grassy parts
of the plant, like cattail spikes and wheat
fronds. Some grasses, such as bamboo
(Phyllostachys aurea) and sugarcane (Saccharum
officinarum), are extremely tough
and must be crushed or shredded. To crush
tough weeds, some papermakers use garden
shredders. You might consider renting one.
If you live in an area where sugar is processed,
you might be able to obtain leftover
crushed stalks, called bagasse, directly from
a manufacturer. Bagasse fiber is a good fiber
to mix with another fiber since it does not
hold together well on its own.
There is a fourth fiber category: seed
fiber. Cotton (Gossypium) is the most
common seed fiber, and it is one of the
most widely used raw materials for hand
papermaking in the United States. After
cotton has been ginned for textiles, weaker
fiber left on cotton seeds is collected for
papermaking during a second ginning. This
fiber is processed into rough sheets, called
cotton linters, which can be processed in a
blender or a Hollander beater. Paper also
can be made from cotton rags. Your old,
ratty blue jeans and 100% cotton t-shirts
(no synthetics) can make wonderful paper,
but doing so requires a lot of work. The rags
must be cut into tiny squares and beaten in
a Hollander beater.
There are many fine sources of papermaking
fibers that do not fall into any of the
above categories. A papermaker in Oregon
collects seaweed that washes up from the
ocean after storms and makes a beautifully
translucent, brown-flecked paper. A papermaker
in England uses the skins of fruits
like mango to produce lovely sheets.
If you do not want to collect your own
plant fibers, you can buy processed fibers
(like cotton linters) from a number of mailorder
papermaking supply companies (see
advertisements in this newsletter). Other
fibers such as abaca, Spanish flax, and
esparto grass (Stipa tenacissima) are also
available in semi-processed sheet form. You
can buy the three traditional Japanese bast
fibers: kozo, mitsumata, and gampi. Some
grass, leaf, and seed fibers such as wheat
straw (Triticum aestivum), raffia (Raphia
ruffia), and kapok from the Ceiba pentandra
tree, are available in their raw, unprocessed
form. Fibers like raffia and flax can also be
purchased at weaving supply shops. Sometimes
you can even find sisal, jute (Corchorus
capsularis), and other strong natural
fibers for sale at your local hardware store in
the form of string or rope.
Portions excerpted from Papermaking with Plants,
© 1998, by Helen Hiebert with permission from
Storey Publishing. <www.storey.com>.
TEACHING HAND PAPERMAKING
Based in Philadelphia, Winifred Radolan
operates an itinerant teaching papermill, and
has taught papermaking to thousands of adults
and children. In this article, Winnie takes us to
summer camp.
Most teachers would agree that a
major fringe benefit of the profession is a
summer’s break from the classroom –
time to rejuvenate, recharge creative energies,
travel, etc. And then there are those
among us who, as children, didn’t experience
summer camp, so we dedicate our
warmer summer days to the annual pursuit
of this adventure in its many forms. There
are both advantages and challenges packaged
with this special time of teaching,
where a more relaxed mindset is both a
blessing and a curse.
I’ve been a camp papermaking instructor
for many years at Perkins Center for
the Arts in Moorestown, New Jersey. My
summer wouldn’t feel complete without
being part of this enriching and well organized
event. This half-day, comprehensive
arts experience is offered to children aged
six through thirteen in a series of four
two-week sessions. Campers have the opportunity
to work with six different visual
and performing artists in this condensed
time. By the final Friday’s performance for
family and friends, it is amazing to watch
the competency achieved in performing
an African dance routine, Latin rhythm on
drums, or perhaps storytelling – with no
more than four to six hours of instruction
time. The teaching artists stand by and applaud
the results of each other’s work with
these children we’ve come to know for such
a short time. And we want desperately to be
one of the kids in each other’s classes!
Each camp session is given a theme
around which the various artists design
their activities. In ten years I can’t remember
a time in which I didn’t work the “Asia”
session and anger the “washi gods” by planning
Japanese papermaking in summer.
They have consistently responded by producing
the hottest weather of each year for
these particular two weeks! I should mention
here that we are either making paper
outside on the porch or in a non-air conditioned
room, where the fiber spoils quickly
and the neri (kids love the slimy part) often
wants to quit in the heat. Nevertheless,
although much more labor-intensive, its
always one of my favorite lessons. I request
a Tuesday/Thursday schedule, allowing me
to work with two of the four age groups for
1½ hours on each of four days. The children
learn a brief history of Japanese papermaking.
Then they noisily pound the fibers I
have cooked for them with wooden mallets
for thirty minutes. In that first session I
rotate the kids through making their first
sheet of washi too. Days two and three of
the four-day period are spent scooping kozo
from the vats with su-keta that I’ve made
from sushi mats sandwiched between artstretch
frames. We make lots of paper, then
press it and brush it out on boards to dry.
Over the years, projects completed on day
four have included kites, three-dimensional
sculptures, carp to celebrate Boy’s Day, and
books. This year we made toro-nagashi,
the paper lanterns that guide spirits home
after August’s Obon Festival. Often, making
washi is a camper’s first papermaking experience,
which I learn in successive years that
they have remembered in great detail. This
makes the increased work and extra-hot
weather all worth it for me!
The compressed teaching schedule
of these sessions teaches us how to adapt
projects, and just what we can actually
accomplish in the form of miracles (and
what we should never try again). I recall
the summer session in which our theme
was “Africa.” With Egyptian papyrus in
mind, I decided to cook up enough squash
to make the veggie version with sixty
campers in two weeks. If one is a Monday/
Wednesday/Friday artist in a session, one
sees thirty kids in three days to complete
a project, then starts over with thirty older
kids to do the same activity the following
week. I learned who in my neighborhood
subscribed to the daily newspaper and
had them contribute to my drying needs. I
discovered that old cotton/poly bed sheets
torn up worked just fine to lay the veggies
out on, instead of more scarce linen cloth.
I realized that overcooking the veggies
made them too mushy for little hands
to manipulate into overlapping designs.
I honed my storytelling skills to keep
the kids interested while, one at a time,
they checked the drying progress of their
papyrus. I found I could get thirty layers
of squash and newspaper into my portable
Arnold Grummer press. I learned that
if I changed the newspaper between the
thirty mini-masterpieces three times daily,
I actually had dry papyrus by Friday. We
mounted them onto kids’ handmade paper
and stamped hieroglyphics on with rubber
stamps. The kids and I loved the project but
I’ve never repeated it.
Some of the more challenging summer
camp situations have arisen as a result of a
poorly established system of counselors and
“in-training” staff. I’ve found that the strong
leadership of a mature counselor that stays
with his/her campers throughout a series of
activities during the sessions and participates
can really enhance the total experience
for all. Conversely, those who have become
counselors because they are a few years too
october 2005 5
old to actually be campers, just add extra
chaos. A more experienced counselor can
also be of invaluable help in managing the
handful of children whose mom’s have
decided to “take them off their meds” for
the summer!
I’ve learned over my years as an
“adult camper” to go with the flow of the
kids’ relaxed summer attitude. I’ve also
learned the importance of not scheduling
anything for two weeks after that last camp
session – except perhaps a serious date
with a beach chair, sun hat, and engrossing
novel. Right about now I can almost feel the
lap of salt water tickling my toes. After just
the right amount of summer camp fun, I’m
ready for some time off!
ON-LINE
Pamela S. Wood of Arizona makes one-of-akind
books from her handmade papers. She
explores the internet seeking out notable paperrelated
sites. In this installment, Pam takes a
virtual visit to Spain.
¡Vamos a Catalunya dentro espana!
Let’s go to Catalonia in Spain for some fun
in the sun and a great introduction to the
long tradition of Spanish handmade paper.
Museu Moli Paperer de Capellades is 35-40
miles southwest of Barcelona in the real
world; in the virtual world it is found at
<www.mmp-capellades.net>.
When the opening splash page appears
you have your choice of languages, then
the main page loads some photos and if
you click on the star/circle logo, up pops
the logo enlarged and in motion leading to
some snazzy graphics detailing The Watermark
Route, an educational program in the
works with other partner museums. OK,
dazzled, but now ready for substance, click
the bar along the bottom. Presentation leads
to general information including a map
showing just where in Spain the museum
is located. A click on Museum Objectives
opens policy and position statements guiding
the museum and its work. Museum
History gives a factual account of the mill
from its beginnings in the 18th century
until its opening in 1961 as a museum.
Now the best part. Click the title Virtual
Visit. Don’t be fooled, it looks so plain: a
line drawing cut-away of the museum. But
click your cursor on the lower level and up
comes another window beginning your
virtual tour. Scrolling from left to right you
enjoy the beginning stages of papermaking.
The blue arrow starts the movement and the
minus takes you back. When this finishes
click the blue plus sign and the next stages
of the papermaking process scroll in the
same fashion. Let’s join the tour of children
at the stairs and move forward. Part one
ends at the vat for pulling sheets. Part two
(use the plus sign) gets you the rest of the
papermaking process. The next floor moves
you through the gallery spaces furthering
your tour along. The third floor houses the
library and laboratories. The Ultima, last,
floor is the drying room and the theater, as
well as exhibit space and large presentation
spaces for group demonstrations.
What museum visit would be complete
without a stop at the museum shop by clicking
on the bottom bar. Vamos a comprar, let’s
go shopping! Once there, a cute little figure
with paper in hand walks toward the word
comprar. The actual shopping cart did not
work on my computer, lucky for my wallet.
Until next time. ¡Hasta proximo!
PAPER HISTORY
Peter Hopkins is a media relations consultant
specializing in environmentally responsible papermaking
and the history of papermaking. In
this issue, Peter describes a 19th-century fashion
rage and business boom: the paper collar.
The outbreak of the U.S. Civil War
began as a near disaster for many papermakers
in the Northeast, with the loss
of customers south of the Mason-Dixon
Line along with their accounts receivable.
Prospects were not good as papermakers
struggled through 1861 and 1862. But one
hardship imposed by the war turned out
to be an incredible boom for northern
papermakers.
The South was then, as now, where cotton
was grown and many textiles manufactured.
Cotton became a scarce commodity
in the north. Luckily, there were adequate
supplies of rags to make paper due to European
imports, but there was a great shortage
of the material with which to make clothes.
Boston businessman Andrew A. Evans
thought he had an answer to the material
shortage which was threatening the sartorial
needs of the gents in fashion-minded
Boston. In late 1862, he inquired of Zenas
Marshall Crane whether it might be possible
to manufacture a paper sturdy enough
to make shirt collars. Samples were sent,
experiments were conducted, and the two
men wrote back and forth until the correct
specifications were arrived at. The paper
was a marvel of strength and flexibility,
made in either two or three plys on cylinder
machines. In January of 1863, Evans began
ordering substantial quantities of paper, in
the area of 50,000 pounds, which Crane
& Company began selling at 50 cents per
pound. According to correspondence on
file in the Crane Museum of Papermaking,
collar paper must have been very difficult
to make. It had a tendency to break when
folded, weights tended to vary considerably
off spec, and it appears that the quality of
raw materials available was less than desired
at times. It wasn’t long before Crane had to
settle for 35 cents per pound, but throughout
the fashion life of the paper collar, the
enormous demand made customers literally
beg for almost anything they could get.
Evans had the jump on the market, but
he also created further demand once the
product was available. By March 1863, S.A.
Wood & Co. and F.A. Hawley, both of Boston,
were also in the market. And the collar
craze was already in its second generation.
Crane was asked to start making 100-pound
paper, as the 90-pound was not heavy
enough for stand-up collars, called Garrotes,
interestingly enough.
By mid-1863, Troy, New York, had
become a major collar-manufacturing center
(hence its name, The Collar City) and more
and more enterprises were created to serve
this market, including envelope-maker
Edward Chamberlain who wrote: “I shall get
up today the edge marker and something to
punch button holes and will advise you of
my progress.” By now, collar-makers were
ordering paper a ton or two at a time.
As manufacturers strove to distinguish
their product from that of their competitors,
a host of brand names began appearing,
as did different styles and colors. Crane
sold its collar papers under the Eureka and
Byron names. In 1863, a company in New
York won a patent to apply an enamel finish
to men’s collars, and according to Evans,
“has the field.” This may have been the first
entry in what has become known as “coated
papers.” Museum samples display a significant
gloss, even 130 years later. To compete
with the patented innovation, Evans wrote:
“The paper is A-1 quality as far as the
strength and quality is concerned. It makes
a tip-top collar. But I want more finish. Get
something on it that will not allow the dirt
to stick quite so readily.” Dirt wasn’t the only
problem encountered. So was perspiration.
Several customers clamored for a paper that
was perspiration-proof.
By the middle of 1863, nearly every
correspondence with Crane could be
characterized as a “howl” for paper. Crane’s
Red Mill could not keep people supplied fast
enough. From 1863 to 1869, more than 60
percent of Crane’s capacity was taken up
by collar paper alone. In 1865, Lindley
Murray Crane’s mill in Ballston Spa, New
York, began making paper to help out.
Customers were ordering cases of collar
paper by the score. Checks to Crane arrived
for as much as $7,000 to $8,000 per
month per customer.
In 1865, several customers asked for
the entire production of the Crane mills in
order to fulfill their needs. One reported
that he had standing orders for one million
collars, and could use enough paper
to make 250,000 collars per month. That
meant a ton of paper a day for several collar
companies. In 1864, the American Molded
Collar Company wanted an exclusive contract
for 26 tons per month. The mill ran
constantly, but in August 1864, had to take
some downtime for repairs. One customer
wrote to express his distress: “I want you
to make paper day and night when you are
back up.”
During the late 1860s, this craze
expanded both geographically north and
west, as well as in the products offered.
Manufacturers wanted paper for shirt cuffs,
“bosoms,” and even ladies’ collars. The
ladies took to the fad quite readily, but it
didn’t last long – no more than 18 months.
Paper collar mania lasted until about
1874. Whether it was the vagaries of fashion
or another factor, why it ended is unclear.
PAPER SCIENCE
John Bordley is F. B. Williams Professor and
Chair of the Chemistry department at Sewanee:
The University of the South. Here is his third
chapter on papermaking science describing
water and its special properties.
The second chapter, which appeared
in the April 2005 issue of this publication,
discussed the idea of the bonding that takes
place within a molecule. The covalent, or
intramolecular, bonds are quite strong and
involve the sharing of electrons between two
atoms. Sometimes these bonds are referred
to as chemical bonds. The formula for
water, H2O, tells us that each water molecule
contains two hydrogen atoms and one
oxygen atom but not what atom is bonded
to what atom. A more instructive formula
would be HOH, emphasizing that each H
is bonded to the one, central O atom. Thus
there are two identical covalent bonds. Since
the oxygen atom has eight protons in its
nucleus and the H atom has just one proton,
the pair of electrons shared between an
O and H atom is pulled toward the O atom.
This causes the O end of the water molecule
to carry a slight negative charge and the side
with the two H atoms
to carry a slight positive
charge, viz.
where the δ represents
a small charge.
As mentioned in Chapter 2, when there
is unequal sharing of electron pair(s) in a
covalently bonded molecule, a charge separation
has occurred within the molecule,
and the molecule is said to be polar. Water is
probably the most famous polar molecule!
What happens when there are many
water molecules in a container? The polar
water molecules align themselves so that
the negative end of one water molecule is
near the positive end of another water molecule.
This alignment takes place in three
dimensions, and each water molecule is
attracted to four other water molecules. The
attractions that then take place between the
neighboring water
molecules are
referred to as intermolecular
bonding.
In the diagram to
the right, the solid
lines represent
the intramolecular
bonds; the dashed lines represent the
intermolecular bonds. These intermolecular
bonds are sometimes called physical bonds;
they are only about 1-10% as strong as the
chemical or intramolecular bonds.
There are several kinds of intermolecular
bonds, but those between water
molecules involve the attraction of a H atom
in one water molecule to the O atom on
another water molecule, are the strongest of
the physical bonds, and are given the special
name hydrogen bonds. These bonds are
strong enough to give unusual properties to
water. For example, the boiling point of water
is much higher than would be predicted
by looking at a series of compounds similar
to water. Since the molecules are attracted to
each other in the liquid phase, it takes much
more energy than expected to separate the
molecules from each other so that they can
then go into the vapor phase. The more
energy that must be supplied, the higher the
boiling point. In the solid phase, the hydrogen
bonds help create a rigid but very open
structure. As solid water (ice!) melts, some
of the hydrogen bonds break, and the liquid
water molecules move into the holes that
were in the solid structure. The result is that
liquid water from 0°C to about 4°C is more
dense than the ice. Above 4°C, the liquid
water becomes, more typically, less dense
than the solid water. If water did not have
this strange property, we would not have life
on the earth as we know it. Water would
freeze, the more dense solid would sink, and
lakes would freeze from the bottom up. But
because of water’s unusual densities as solid
and liquid, the ice goes to the surface of the
lake, and lakes freeze from the top down.
Except in very shallow water bodies, fish can
stay alive in the lower pockets of liquid.
Next time: a look at other molecules
that share some similarities with water.
PROFILES IN PAPER
Susan Gosin co-founded Dieu Donné Press
& Paper in 1976. She regularly lectures and
teaches papermaking, and has compiled
a significant collection of interviews with
noted personalities in the hand papermaking
community.
This past summer, I helped Ruth Lingen
develop custom pulp for a new Chuck
Close project being produced in Amagansett,
New York. As we worked side by side
in the studio, we shared stories about our
remarkable teacher Walter Hamady and our
fellow alumni and colleague, Joe Wilfer, a
pioneering papermaker who died ten years
ago. During the course of the summer
as Chuck and other artists (such as Alan
Shields, Linda Benglis, Paul Wong, and
Dick Soloman, Joe’s former employer at
Pace Prints) stopped by, we traded more
hilarious stories of making art and having a
ball with the late Joe Wilfer. It became clear
that this was the perfect opportunity to piece
together Joe’s story and share it with other
hand papermakers.
I noted in my last column that my perspective
on the revival of hand papermaking
is influenced by my graduate school days at
The University of Wisconsin, Madison, in
the late 1970s. Papermaking and printmaking
students were transformed by the synergy
of teachers like Walter Hamady, Warrington
Colescott, and Bill Weege, to name
just a few in the art department. As one of
Walter’s early students in the late 1960s, Joe
Wilfer lead the group of art students who
emerged from Madison charged with the
revolutionary zeal rampant in printmaking
and papermaking at that time.
Joe became a fixture in the art world
of Madison, a supporter of art and artists
alike. As Paul Wong remembers, “Joe
was exceptionally generous, especially to
young, unknown artists.” With his people
skills and technical mastery of all forms of
printmaking, he was a born collaborator.
Soon after he was introduced to papermaking
in Walter’s book class in 1969 he passed
on his new passion where he worked at
the Madison Art Center by setting up a
papermill and organizing some of the first
exhibits of handmade paper art. As part of
his Master’s Degree exhibition, he produced
custom paper for selected artists such as
Ed Ruscha and Richard Artschwager, then
displayed their work alongside his own.
A fervent convert to papermaking,
Joe delved deep into the history of papermaking
by visiting mills in Europe and
researching the commercial industry in the
United States. His passion for papermaking
became an integral part of his life as his
daughter Kate remembers, “For our family
vacations we used to visit papermills!” By
1974 when he established The Upper U.S.
Papermill outside of Madison he brought
this knowledge to professional artists willing
to experiment with him using paper
pulp as an art medium. Alan Shields, one of
the first artists to work with Joe, was urged
to think “out of the box” of the standard
white paper rectangle of traditional printmaking.
Joe and Alan developed a model
working partnership, “I was the idea guy
and Joe was the facilitator, then as with all
real collaborations, our roles flip-flopped
even though as the artist I always took the
lead. For Joe, nothing was impossible; as he
said, the impossible just took a little longer.”
Eager to connect with other hand
papermakers and aware of a growing movement
in the United States, Joe organized
The First Conference of Hand Papermakers
in 1975 at The Paper Chemistry Institute in
Appleton, Wisconsin. It was a pivotal event
for all 45 of us attending and a chance for
many colleagues such as the Clarks and the
Koretskys to meet. Joe not only introduced
us to each other, he also introduced us to
the Dard Hunter Collection, at that time
housed in Appleton, Wisconsin. Following
the conference he established the first organization
of contemporary hand papermakers
called The Friends of Paper, a precursor
to The Friends of Dard Hunter.
During the few short years while he
worked his way up from janitor to Director
of The Madison Art Center he also
developed educational programs, mounted
exhibits, established his own papermill,
collaborated professionally with artists,
conducted papermaking research, and
completed graduate school. It is little
wonder that by the time he moved to New
York City and Maine to become the Director
of The Skowhegan School of Painting and
Sculpture at age 37, he was legendary. Yet
his triumphal entry into the professional art
world of NYC was short lived. His entrepreneurial
style, embracing enthusiasm, and
outspoken candor put him at odds in this
administrative role and within a year he had
left the Skowhegan School.
Looking for a studio where he could
work with artists, Joe accepted my invitation
to collaborate at Dieu Donné in 1980. Joe’s
approach to collaboration reinforced our
own while his energy, persistence, and desire
to experiment were appreciated assets,
not liabilities. With Joe’s help we initiated
many collaborations and began a long association
with Chuck Close. Within a year
Joe’s total absorption with Chuck’s paper
editions necessitated moving production
out of Dieu Donné into a studio dedicated
to his work. A year later while Joe continued
to work on the Close editions at Austin Productions
on Long Island, he also found the
opportunity to design and build papermaking
equipment. However, this endeavor was
abandoned when he began to work full time
at Pace Editions first as the Publications Director,
then in 1985 as the Director of Pace’s
printmaking and papermaking studio, The
Spring Street Workshop.
For the next decade until his death
Joe flourished as a master collaborator
creating art in both handmade paper and
almost every form of printmaking. Multiple
projects with veterans such as Alan Shields
and initiates such as Donald Baechler
afforded Joe the opportunity to stretch his
papermaking skills and help these artists
make some of their most distinctive work.
The landmark paper collaborations that Joe
did with Chuck Close revealed a range of
expression and subtlety that redefined
hand papermaking.
Though these achievements justify
honoring Joe as an important pioneer in
the revival of hand papermaking, for those
who knew him, there are other reasons
why we remember him so well. Those
of us attending his memorial services
in Wisconsin and in New York City
were overwhelmed by the outpouring of
hundreds of friends who came to share their
“Joe stories.” The man who became the first
male cheerleader of his high school and
who never failed to spread good cheer for
the rest of his life stole our hearts by giving
so much of his own. As Bill Weege said,
“To be with Joe was to be at the party, a party
with an open invitation.” And that’s just
what his memorial service was at the corner
bar he owned with friends not far from The
Spring Street Workshop.
For those interested in learning more
about Joe Wilfer, I highly recommend a
catalogue from a show organized by Ruth
Lingen and Diane Fine, “The Joe Wilfer
Show: Collaborations in Paper and Printmaking,”
The Plattsburgh Art Museum,
State University of New York, 1998. Portions
were reprinted in the Summer 1998
issue of Hand Papermaking magazine.
DECORATED PAPER
Hand Papermaking is pleased to welcome
another new columnist. Sidney Berger, a
professor at Simmons College in Boston, has
been collecting and researching decorated paper
for over thirty years. In this first installment,
Sid introduces ways of thinking about
decorated paper.
In my work on a thesaurus of terminology
of decorated paper (see the forthcoming
issue of Hand Papermaking magazine), I
have been challenged by some of the folks
on our committee to clarify just what that
term means. What is “decorated paper”?
I will connect all this to handmade
paper in a while, but before leaping into the
creation of a wordlist, we did need a good
definition of just what we were making a list
of. The background: libraries and archives
throughout Europe want to catalog their
paper collections, and they all want to use
the same terms for the same phenomena
so that their catalogs would be universally
searchable. A cataloger or scholar looking at
a catalog in Germany with the term “French
snail marbled paper” wants to know that it
is the same pattern as “Dutch curl marbled
paper.” So the catalogs in other libraries
should all use the preferred term, with a
cross-reference to the non-preferred term.
After hours of discussion, slowed down
a bit by the difficulty of the language barrier
(my German was not quite up to the discussion,
and people from Belgium, Holland,
and Poland had the same problem since
both of the two-day meetings were conducted
in German), we figured out that there is
a difference between “decorated paper” and
“decorative paper,” the position that a few of
the German marblers took strongly.
Decorated paper starts out plain and
gets decorated, as the word indicates. Decorative
paper is paper that has decoration on
it, and that serves artistic functions. So a
marbled sheet may be decorative, but it is
decorated in that it didn’t start out that way.
Several on the committee said that if we
were compiling terminology of decorated
paper, then much handmade paper, lace
papers, and watermarked papers did not
qualify since the decoration was created in
the formation of the sheet; it was not added
onto the sheet after its manufacture.
The position I took, and which was
supported by most people around the table
(there were almost 20 people who convened
in Leipzig for both meetings) was that the
idea was to create a tool that we could all
use to catalog our collections. If the collections
included lace papers and watermarked
sheets, then these terms needed to be in the
thesaurus. The sense of this was acknowledged,
and we changed the title of the thesaurus
to include the phrase “Decorated and
Decorative.” This satisfied all of us and the
work on compiling the list could proceed.
As for handmade paper, we all
know the many ways it can be decorated.
However, a sub-topic arose in the meeting
that engaged us for a while. Someone said
that since handmade paper is beautiful
merely in its manufacture – the human
touch, and so forth – and since it has
characteristics that machine made paper
does not have, it is inherently decorative,
even if it is merely a sheet of white,
unadorned paper. This is a philosophical
issue that it might be profitable for
readers of Hand Papermaking to express
their opinions on.
In an aesthetic way, I agree completely.
Even the earliest handmade sheets I formed
more than 30 years ago had a loveliness in
their crudeness, in the three-dimensional
texture produced from the old army blanket
that sacrificed itself to become my first felts,
and in the rather pretty, wild deckles that
formed. I remember showing these plain
white papers to people who remarked on
their beauty. Beauty! There was something
absolutely decorative about this paper.
What do you think?
In my next column I will pick up on
this discussion. Just what is decorative
about handmade paper? And how many
ways can handmade paper be made
decorative in the papermaking process
itself? That is a question really worth my
asking for help on. I know about lace
papers, inclusions, embeddings, coloration,
watermarks, poured pulp, and shaped
deckles that produce shaped sheets. What
else produces decoration in the actual handmaking
process? What techniques can be
combined to add decoration for the final
product? And so forth. I look forward to
hearing from you at <sid@simmons.edu>.
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 January
Newsletter is November 7. Contact each
facility directly for additional information
or a full schedule.
Teachers: Tell your students about Hand
Papermaking! Brochures and handouts
can be mailed to you or your institution.
Email <info@handpapermaking.org>.
CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
Amagansett Applied Arts, 11 Indian Wells
Hwy., PO Box 1336, Amagansett, NY 11930,
(631) 267-2787, <www.a3arts.org>. Papermaking
classes taught by Susan Gosin on
the eastern end of Long Island.
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Box
567, Gatlinburg, TN 37738, (865) 436-5860,
<www.arrowmont.org>. Classes and workshops
in a variety of disciplines, including
papermaking.
The Banff Centre, Box 1020, Banff, Alberta,
T1L 1H5, Canada, <www.banffcentre.ca>,
(800) 565-9989 or (403) 762-6180. Contact
<wendy_tokaryk@banffcentre.ca> to make
paper in the Canadian Rockies!
Brookfield Craft Center, 286 Whisconier
Road, Brookfield, CT 06804, (203) 775-
4526, <brkfldcrft@aol.com>, <www.brookfieldcraftcenter.
org>. A wide variety of craft
workshops at a colonial vintage campus 75
miles north of New York City.
John C. Campbell Folk School, Route 1, Box
14A, Brasstown, NC 28902, (704) 837-2775,
<www.folkschool.org>. Classes in papermaking
and other crafts in the mountains of
western North Carolina.
Paper Bead Jewelry & Paper Boxes, October
28-30, with Judy Anderson. Create colorful,
one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry from paper.
Fiber Fun, October 30-November 5, with
Martine Caillon House. Experiment with
techniques such as silk paper, “rag making”
(using loose fibers), stamping, beadwork,
embroidery, photo transfers, fabric beads,
creating textures with Tyvek paper, etc.
Papermaking to Books – Pulp to Pages, November
6-12, with Rajeania Snider. Experience
the creation of books – from producing
paper pages and making decorative covers,
to binding and creating journals, albums,
and portfolios.
Holiday Cards-Individual Masterpieces,
December 4-10, with Margaret Estes. Get in
the holiday spirit while creating cards that
are individual works of art to share with
family and friends.
Papercutting: Old and New, March 19-25,
with Barbara Stoop. Explore the tradition
of “papierklip,” making beautiful papercuttings
using small, curved scissors and many
different papers.
Carriage House Paper, 8 Evans Road,
Brookline, MA 02445, (617) 232-1636,
<paperroad@aol.com>.
Carriage House Paper, 79 Guernsey St.,
Brooklyn, NY 11222, (800) 669-8781,
<www.carriagehousepaper.com>.
Center for Book Arts, 28 West 27th Street,
New York, NY 10001, (212) 481-0295,
<www.centerforbookarts.org>. Dozens of
book and paper workshops offered.
Columbia College Chicago Center for
Book and Paper Arts, 1104 S. Wabash,
Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 344-6630, <www.
bookandpaper.org>. Classes in papermaking
and book arts.
Papermaking for Parent & Child, October
8, with Jamie Thome. Join together kids
and papermaking and you have nothing
but rewarding, messy, incredible (wet and
smelly) fun.
Blind Embossing, October 18 & 25, with
Nancy Vachon. Using found objects and
stencils, work with wet pulp and smooth
papers to produce a collection of papers you
can use for book covers, picture frames,
cards, boxes and more!
Cheap Papermaking Day, October 29, with
Ami Trosley. In one action packed day,
introduce yourself to the basics of papermaking:
sheet forming, couching, pressing
and drying.
Dieu Donné Papermill, 433 Broome Street,
New York, NY 10013-2622, (212) 226-0573,
<www.dieudonne.org>. Beginning and
advanced papermaking classes for adults
and children.
Feather River Art Camp, 484 Lake Park
Ave., PMB Box 186, Oakland, CA 94610,
(510) 601-1619. Art camp for adults in the
Sierra foothills near Quincy, California.
Great River Arts Institute, PO Box 48, 33
Bridge St., Bellows Falls, VT 05101, (802)
463-3330, <www.greatriverarts.org>.
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, PO
Box 518, Deer Isle, ME 04627, (207) 348-
2306, <www.haystack-mtn.org>. Workshops
in various disciplines, including papermaking
and book arts.
Historic RittenhouseTown, 206 Lincoln
Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19144, (215) 843-
2228, <www.rittenhousetown.org>. Summer
workshop series on hand papermaking
and other paper arts topics at the site of
America’s first paper mill.
La Font du Ciel, La Chambary, Charrus,
F-07230 Saint André Lachamp, France,
<pfpfrerick@aol.com>, <www.frerick.de>.
Papermaking workshops at the east foothills
of the Cevennes taught by Helmut Frerick.
Magnolia Editions, 2527 Magnolia St.,
Oakland, CA 94607, (510) 839-5268, <www.
magnoliapaper.com>. Workshops in papermaking,
printmaking, and book arts.
Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 1011
Washington Avenue South, Suite 100, Minneapolis,
MN 55415, (612) 215-2520, <www.
mnbookarts.org>. Classes at the Open Book
center for book and literary arts.
Autumn Papermaking, October 8, with Jenea
Rewertz. Capture the shapes and changing
colors of autumn through papermaking.
Preschool Papermaking, October 27, with
Ellen Ferrari. Spend and hour with your
preschooler making paper.
Thanksgiving Paper Dinner, November 13,
with Ellen Ferrari. Celebrate the colors and
aromas of Thanksgiving dinner by “cooking”
up some paper.
Paper Circle, PO Box 117, Nelsonville,
OH 45764, (740) 753-3374,
<papercircle@frognet.net>.
The Papertrail, 135 Lexington Court, Unit 4,
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2J 4R1, (800)
421-6826, <www.papertrail.ca>. Classes in
papermaking, marbling, and related arts.
PapierWespe (PaperWasp), Aegidigasse
3/Hof, 1060 Wien, Austria, (0676) 77-
33-153, <papierwespe@chello.at>, <www.
papierwespe.at>. Workshops in English
and German taught by paper specialists in
downtown Vienna.
Vegetable Papyrus, October 7-9, with Tanja
Boukal. Visit the Viennese main market to
purchase a selection of fruit and vegetables
for making colorful, transparent sheets,
lampshades, and bowls.
Peninsula Art School, Box 304, Fish Creek,
WI 54212, (920) 868-3455 <www.peninsulaartschool.
com>. Classes in papermaking
and other crafts for all ages, held in Door
County, Wisconsin.
Penland School, Penland, NC 28765,
(828) 765-2359, <www.penland.org>. A
full program of craft workshops, including
papermaking and book arts.
Peters Valley Craft Center, 19 Kuhn Road,
Layton, NJ 07851, (973) 948-5200, <www.
pvcrafts.org>. Workshops in a variety of
craft, including papermaking.
Pyramid Atlantic, 8230 Georgia Avenue,
Silver Spring, MD 20912, (301) 608-9101,
<www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org>. Workshops
in papermaking, printmaking, and
book arts.
Introduction to Papermaking, October 8
with Amanda Degener. Learn the basics
using both Western and Eastern fibers and
traditions.
Suminagashi Marbling, October 15 or 22,
with Jake Benson. Create marbled papers of
your own after a short, historical lecture.
Photo Imagery on your own Handmade Paper,
November 4-5, with Amanda Degener. Make
sized handmade paper, then create cyanotypes
and kallitypes the following day.
Dimensional Paper, November 3,
10, 17, December 1, with Amanda
Degener. Develop your sculptural skills,
understanding of materials, hands-on
knowledge, and conceptual appreciation.
Pulp Painting, December 3-4, with Ellen
Hill. Pull base sheets and explore various
techniques and materials for creating pulp
painted imagery.
Robert C. Williams American Museum of
Papermaking, 500 10th Street NW, Atlanta,
GA 30332, (404) 894-7840, <www.ipst.
edu/amp>.
MASKerade Family Workshop, October 15,
with Fran Rottenberg. Create and decorate
original and colorful masks.
Basics of Japanese Papermaking, January 21,
with Ashley Ott. Try the Eastern techniques.
Pulp Painting, March 25, with Beck Whitehead.
Create original works of art with pulp.
Make Your Own Stationery, May 6. Make
beautiful envelopes, note cards, and letters
to share with your family and friends.
San Francisco Center for the Book, 300 De
Haro, San Francisco, CA 94103, (415) 565-
0545, <www.sfcb.org>. Book arts classes and
events year-round.
Pastepapers, December 16, with Leigh
McLellan. Create colorful, vibrant patterns
by covering paper with paste and then
drawing, stamping, combing, or pulling in
the paste.
Seastone Papers, PO Box 331, West Tisbury,
Martha’s Vineyard, MA 02575, (508)
693-5786, <www.seastonepapers.com>.
Workshops in papermaking and book arts
taught by Sandy Bernat.
Sievers School of Fiber Arts, PO Box 100,
Washington Island, WI 54246, (920) 847-
2264, <sievers@itol.com>, <www.sieversschool.
com>. Summer workshops on an
island in Lake Michigan.
Handmade Paper Lampshades, September
30 - October 2, with Michelle Workowski.
Make your own custom lampshade, choosing
from a variety of handmade papers, and
various barks and fibers to trim it.
Snow Farm, The New England Craft
Program, 5 Clary Road, Williamsburg, MA
01096, (413) 268-3101, <www.snowfarm.
org>. Study in a pastoral setting near the
five-college communities of Amherst and
Northampton.
Southwest School of Art & Craft, 300
Augusta, San Antonio, TX 78205, (210) 224-
1848, fax (210) 224-9337, <www.swschool.
org>. Classes and workshops including
papermaking, book arts, and printmaking.
Creating Lampshades with Watermarked
Paper, October 5-12, with Linda Draper. Explore
the translucent quality of paper, create
simple watermarks, and apply wet paper to
shade forms.
Botanical Paper, October 15-16, with Jo Etta
Jupe. Do something with those plants you’ve
trimmed in your backyard.
Stone and Paper Art Center, L.L.C., 2020
Woodrow Street, Mandeville, LA 70448,
(504) 674-9232, fax (504) 674-9227.
Nagashasuki with Mary-Elaine C. Bernard,
selected Saturdays. Learn this Eastern
method of making paper and incorporate
local plant fibers.
Valley Ridge Art Studio, 115 S. Franklin
St., #303, Madison, WI 53703, (608) 250-
5028, <www.valleyridgeartstudio.com>.
Workshops in papermaking, bookmaking,
photography, writing, etc.
West Dean College, Chichester, West
Sussex, U.K., (0)1243 811301, <short.
course@westdean.org.uk>, <www.westdean.
org.uk>.
Sculpture & Paper, February 27-March 2,
2006, with Susan Cutts. Process fibre into
pulp, then sheets, which will be used, wet,
to create a small shoe sculpture on the first
day and a larger torso on the second, without
the use of glue or stitching.
Wisconsin Center for Paper Arts, 811 Williamson,
Madison, WI 53703, (608) 284-
8394, <wcpaperarts@hotmail.com>.
Women’s Studio Workshop, PO Box 489,
Rosendale, NY 12472, (914) 658-9133,
<http://wsworkshop.org>. Summer Arts
Institute includes workshops in papermaking,
printmaking, book arts, photography,
and other media.
CONFERENCES & SPECIAL EVENTS
The Friends of Dard Hunter will meet
in Salt Lake City, Utah, October 20-23,
2005. The Friends meet annually to enjoy
speakers, presentations, tours of local
paper and book arts facilities, a trade show,
auction, and banquet. Some scholarships
will be available to those with financial
need. The 2006 meeting will take place
October 19-21 in Chillicothe, Ohio. For
more information write to the Friends of
Dard Hunter, PO Box 773, Lake Oswego, OR
97034, or call (503) 699-8653 or visit
<www.friendsofdardhunter.org>.
The Geelong Forum is an annual event
held near Melbourne, Australia, sponsored
by The Australian Forum for Textile Arts
(TAFTA). Accommodation and meal
programs are available, and participants
may sell handmade items at the Heathen
Bazaar. Among the many classes offered
is Japanese Sheet Forming and Translucent
Paper Casting with Oriental Fibre taught
by Catherine Nash. The 2005 gathering
is September 25 through October 1. For
details, contact tafta@iinet.net.au or visit
< www.ggcreations.com.au/tafta/ >.
Shangri-La, Dieu Donné Papermill’s annual
benefit, will feature live and silent auctions
of over 100 artworks on handmade
paper. The event will take place on Thursday,
October 20th at the Grand Harmony
Restaurant, 98 Mott Street, New York City.
Tickets are $110 for an individual ticket and
$800 for a table of ten tickets. Please call
Erin O’Rourke at (212) 226-0573 ext. 326 to
reserve your tickets.
Hand Papermaking will present a lecture at
the Hudson Opera House in Hudson, New
York, Saturday, November 5 at 2:00pm. Editor
Mina Takahashi will speak about global
papermaking traditions and give a preview
of the upcoming issue of Hand Papermaking
magazine focused on handmade paper
collections around the world. Sculptor Linda
Cross and painter Ken Polinskie, two artists
recently featured in Hand Papermaking
publications, will also make presentations
on their work in handmade paper. In addition,
there will be a preview showing of
Hand Papermaking’s upcoming portfolio,
The Art of Pulp Painting. Afterwards, stay for
the opening reception of Ken Polinskie’s
30-year pulp painting retrospective down
the street at Modo Gallery.
IAPMA, the International Association of
Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists, will
hold its 2006 Congress in Austria, about 40
minutes east of Salzburg, August 3-8. Enjoy
workshops, demonstrations, and presentations
in a historic papermaking town near
the Austrian Lake District. Non-members
welcome. For information, contact Helene
Tschacher at <helene@tschacher.de>.
EXHIBITS & COMPETITIONS
Life is Life! features paper objects by Annica
Stiernlof at the Dalarnas Museum, Falun,
Sweden, through January 5, 2006. For details
contact <annica.stiernlof@telia.com>.
Paper in Particular annually showcases
art which incorporates paper as a primary
element. Prints, drawings, photographs,
digital images, paintings, sculpture, etc., are
all eligible. Art must have been produced
within the past five years. The juror for this
year’s exhibit is noted painter and printmaker
Kevin Mullins of Wichita State University.
The deadline is November 14. Show
opens February 6 at Columbia College, 1001
Rogers St., Columbia MO 65216. Call (573)
875-7517 for further information.
Plane & Form is an exhibit of contemporary
handmade paper, December 3 through February
25, at Minnesota Center for Book Arts.
Juried by Mary Hark and Jeff Rathermel, the
show contrasts two- and three-dimensional
works. The opening reception is December
3 at 6:00pm. Contact MCBA at (612) 215-
2520 or <www.mnbookarts.org>.
Handmade paper works by Ione Citrin will
be on display in Southern California during
November at Roberts Art Gallery/Santa
Monica High School, 601 Pico Blvd. A101,
Santa Monica; November through January
at Spiritual Living Center, 340 N. Mobil
Ave., Camarillo; December and January
at Exhibit Up, 13011 Newport Ave., #206,
Tustin. E-mail <icitrin@aol.com> or visit
<www.artbyione.com> for further details.
The 3rd National Collegiate Handmade
Paper Art Exhibition will open January
12, 2006, at the American Museum of
Papermaking, 500 10th Street NW, Atlanta,
GA 30332, (404) 894-7840, <www.
ipst.edu/amp>. Juried by Barbara Korbel,
Frank Paluch, and Marilyn Sward, this third
national survey exhibit showcases the finest
works being made in paper by college, university
and art school students from across
the USA.
In the summer of 2006, the sixth Holland
Paper Biennial will take place at the Rijswijk
Museum and the CODA / Apeldoorns
Museum. The Holland Paper Biennial
2006 has no special theme but will show
paper art in pure and varied ways. For more
information about the Holland Paper Biennial,
visit these websites: <www.hollandpapierbiennale.
nl>, <www.museumryswyk.
nl> or <www.coda-apeldoorn.nl> or write
to: Museum Rijswijk, Holland Paper Biennial
2006, Herenstraat 67, NL-2282 BR,
Rijswijk, The Netherlands.
Pyramid Atlantic presents Fibers of Memory,
mixed media on handmade paper by Gibby
Waitzkin, until November 3. Pyramid Atlantic’s
National Members’ Juried Exhibit will be
up November 8 through December 23. And
Collaboration as a Medium: 25 Years of Pyramid
Atlantic opens January 10 at Maryland
Art Place in Baltimore. Details from Pyramid
Atlantic, 8230 Georgia Avenue, Silver
Spring, MD 20912, (301) 608-9101, or visit
<www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org>.
From Hand to Machine: The Evolution of
Papermaking and Handcrafted Books - The
Legacy of Dard Hunter will run concurrently
until December 22 at The Robert C. Williams
American Museum of Papermaking,
500 10th Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30332,
(404) 894-7840, <www.ipst.edu/amp>.
Dard Hunter and the Arts & Crafts Movement
is on display through November 4 in
the Special Collections Gallery, 5th Floor,
Marriott Library, University of Utah. The
Rare Books Division of the library holds
the complete collection of Dard Hunter’s
monumental works. For further details go
to <www.lib.utah.edu/rare> or call (801)
585-9191.
A solo exhibit featuring works of handmade
paper by Buzz Spector, Redux: Drawings
and Word Works 1975-2005, continues
until October 15 at Zolla-Leberman Gallery,
325 West Huron Street, Chicago,
IL 60610, (312) 944-1990, <www.
zollaliebermangallery.com>.
Happy Medium, featuring art on paper
by Ken Polinskie, is on view November 5
through December 31 at Modo Gallery, 506
Warren Street in Hudson, New York. The
opening and artist reception takes place Saturday,
November 5, 5:00-8:00pm. The solo
exhibition will survey landmark art on paper
from the last thirty years and introduce a
recent body of work that is a culmination of
the hand papermaking techniques and compelling
subject matter that have preoccupied
the artist for three decades. Contact (518)
828-5090, <Nicole@modogallery.com>,
or <www.modogallery.com> for further
information.
october 2005 11
TRAVEL
Kathy Clements and Marilyn Sward will
lead an excursion exploring The Crafts,
Textiles & Handmade Paper of India, January
11-25, 2006. After visits to Old Delhi,
the Taj Mahal, and Jaipur, the group goes
to Sanganer, home of a handmade paper
industry where an astonishing 25,000
sheets per day are made. For further information
call Four Corners Travel of Evanston,
Illinois, at (847) 869-3366, or e-mail
<kathy@4cornerstravel.com>.
A papermaking retreat in Hawaii is being
offered by Marilyn Wold, February 5-11,
2006. Gourmet food, accommodations,
a week of papermaking with local fibers,
evening luau, and local transportation is
included. Reach Marilyn Wold at (541) 296-
2317 or <washi@localnet.com>.
OPPORTUNITIES
Fellowship Grants at Women’s Studio
Workshop are designed to provide concentrated
work time in the printmaking,
silkscreen, hand papermaking, photography,
letterpress, and clay studios. Fellowships are
awarded through a jury process. Recipients
pay $200 per week, approximately one-fifth
the actual cost. To apply, send an application
form, resume, 6-10 slides, a letter of interest,
and SASE to WSW, Box 489, Rosendale,
NY 12472. The deadline for Spring fellowships
(March - June) is November 1.
Artists experienced in papermaking are
invited to apply for the opportunity to spend
up to three months working in the Paper
Studio at the Southwest School of Art &
Craft. Artists are expected to provide their
own transportation and materials. Housing
may be available, but is not guaranteed. Collaborations
will be considered. For further
information contact SSAC, 300 Augusta,
San Antonio, TX 78205, (210) 224-1848,
<www.swschool.org>.
The Creative Residencies program in Media
& Visual Arts at The Banff Centre, Alberta,
Canada, provides studio facilities and support
for artists working in a broad range of
media, including photography, sculpture,
print media and papermaking, ceramics,
painting, performance, architecture, new
media, television, video, curatorial and
critical studies, and textiles. Visit <www.
banffcentre.ca> or call (800) 565-9989 or
(403) 762-6180.
PUBLICATIONS
There is still time to purchase Hand
Papermaking’s latest portfolio, The Art of
Pulp Painting, at a special pre-publication
price of $395. Extended for one month until
November 1, this discounted price includes
the juried collection of eighteen pulp paintings
in a custom-made clamshell box, plus
a handbound booklet containing statements
from each artist and a commissioned essay
by the esteemed Jane Glaubinger, Curator of
Prints at The Cleveland Museum of Art. The
edition is limited to 150. View the complete
prospectus at <www.handpapermaking.org>
or call (800) 821-6604 or (301) 220-2393.
Floating World Editions is pleased to announce
the reprinting of Timothy Barrett’s
essential but previously hard-to-find book
on the craft of Japanese papermaking.
Please order from your local or on-line
bookseller, or visit <floatingworldeditions.
com>. Japanese Papermaking: Traditions,
Tools, Techniques sheds light on every facet
of a time-honored craft and offers complete
instructions on how to produce Japanesestyle
papers in the West. A substantial appendix
on utilizing local fibers by Winifred
Lutz, a bibliography and a glossary further
supplement the text.
Dyes from American Native Plants: A
Practical Guide, by Lynne Richards and
Ronald J. Tyrl, has recently been published
by Timber Press. The core of the book is
an exhaustive reference to the hundreds of
colors that can be obtained from 158 commonly
encountered North American plant
species. 155 color photos and over 300 color
chips round out the volume. Ask at your
bookstore (ISBN 0-88192-668-X) or visit
<timberpress.com>.
CORRECTION
We regret that there were factual errors in a
review of Winifred Lutz’s exhibition in the
Summer 2005 (Vol. 20, No. 1) issue of the
magazine. The visit of Timothy Barrett to
Yale introduced Lutz to the creative possibilities
of Japanese papermaking, not European.
In addition, Lutz spent three months
in Japan and Korea, not one month.
MISCELLANEOUS
Skin MD Elite is now being marketed as
a completely new category of product that
looks like a lotion but acts very differently
on the skin. It is a shielding lotion that,
instead of artificially adding moisture to
the skin, is designed to create a protective
barrier that helps keep harmful chemicals
out and keeps natural moisture in. More
information on Skin MD Elite is at <www.
skin-md-elite.com> or call (800) 540-4790.
Podcast interviews conducted by Steve
Miller with Cindy Bowden, Mina Takahashi,
Ann Marie Kennedy, and others in the
handmade paper community, can be heard
at <http://bookarts.ua.edu>.
The beater at Minnesota Center for Book
Arts is available for rental at $35 per hour.
Papermaking equipment rents at $20 per
hour. To reserve your time call MCBA at
(612) 215-2520.
Hand Papermaking sells an attractive
clamshell box to hold back issues of the
magazine in style. Our friends at Campbell-
Logan Bindery in Minneapolis, makers of
the original Hand Papermaking storage
clamshell, are again providing these
beautiful and practical boxes – each one
holds approximately twenty-five magazines.
To place an order, send $75 postpaid in the
U.S., plus $10 postage outside the U.S.,
to Hand Papermaking, PO Box 77027,
Washington, DC 20013. Or call (800) 821-
6604 or (301) 220-2393.
The Society of Marbling is an international
organization dedicated to the promotion
and preservation of the art of marbling. For
information, contact Marie Palowoda, 2605
W. 19th Street Road, Greeley, CO 80634,
<marie-p@despammed.com>. Also available
is the International Directory of Marblers
and Resource Guide featuring 313 listings.
Hand Papermaking continues to offer its
fifth in a series of distinctive portfolios of
handmade papers. Available since 2001,
this juried collection features seventeen
watermarked sheets, each in a protective
folder, described in a handbound booklet,
and enclosed in a custom-made clamshell
box. The edition is limited to 150 and the
price is $265 plus $15 US postage, or $30
for postage outside the US. Call (800)
821-6604 or (301) 220-2394 to order or to
request a prospectus. Copies also remain
from Hand Papermaking’s third portfolio
featuring Nepalese paper, priced at $195.
Hand Papermaking is pleased to offer
Selected Paper Artists, 2004, featuring
62 images of contemporary artwork by 19
paper artists juried from the Hand Papermaking
Artist Registry. Two versions of
this collection are on sale now: purchase a
set of slides for $200 plus $10 postage, or
purchase a CD-ROM for $35 postpaid. Both
include a 48-page booklet including image
descriptions and artist statements, plus
an introduction and history of the project.
Juried from over 500 current slides, this
generous sampling of stunning imagery
demonstrates a wide variety of techniques.
These inspiring images make an excellent
classroom presentation. They are the perfect
solution for educators, publicists, scholars,
and curators looking for unique talent. They
present a helpful overview for newcomers.
They are an inspiration to anyone interested
in handmade paper art. To place an order
send $210 for the set of slides or $35 for
the CD-ROM to Hand Papermaking, PO
Box 77027, Washington, DC 20013. Or call
(800) 821-6604 or (301) 220-2393. Additional
information about Hand Papermaking’s
Artist Registry can be found at <www.
handpapermaking.org>.
Denmark has a new Paper Museum in
Silkeborg: The Bikuben Paper Museum.
Located in the old production halls for handmade
paper at the Silkeborg Paper Factory,
the museum’s focus is handmade paper.
There are exhibitions about the Danish
Paper Industry, Danish Paper, watermarks,
and the Silkeborg Paper Factory, where
the paper for the Danish banknotes was
produced by hand from 1910 to 1958. For
more information contact Bøttebygninngen,
Musik- og Teaterhuset, Smedebakken 1, DK
8600 Silkeborg, telephone +45 8685 4564,
<www.papirmuseet.dk>.
SPECIAL THANKS
Hand Papermaking would like to thank
the following people who have made direct
contributions to our organization.
As a non-profit organization, we rely on the
support of our subscribers and contributors to
continue operating. All donations are greatly
appreciated and are tax deductible. Call or
write for more information on giving levels
and premiums.
Patrons: David B. Marshall Jr. Underwriters:
Abby Leigh, Charles E. Morgan. Sponsors:
Cathleen A. Baker, Simon Blattner,
Jane Farmer, Bobbie Lippman. Donors:
Grimanesa Amoros, Martin Antonetti,
Terry Boone, Kathy Crump, Karla Elling,
Helen Frederick, Lori B. Goodman, Susan
Gosin, Patricia Grass, Ingrid Rose Co.
Ltd., Chuck Izui of Aiko’s Art Materials,
Lois James, Rick Johnson, Lynn Kidder,
Joyce Kierejczyk, David Kimball, Elaine
Koretsky, Mary Lou Manor, Jesse Munn,
Peter Newland & Robyn Johnson, Nancy
Norton Tomasko, Lise Poulsen, Dianne
L. Reeves, John L. Risseeuw, Kimberly
Schenck, Richard H. Schimmelpfeng,
Agnes Schlenke, Marilyn Sward, Claire Van
Vliet. Supporters: Shirah Miriam (Mimi)
Aumann, Lore Burger, Carla A. Castellani,
Chery Cratty, Joanne R. Davis, Amanda
Degener, Martha Duran, Walter Feldman,
Jean Freeburg, Helen Hiebert, Peter
Hopkins, Lou Kaufman, Kristin Kavanagh,
Patricia L. O’Neal, Michelle Samour, Mary
C. Schlosser, Thomas G. Siciliano, Robbin
Ami Silverberg, Peter Sowiski, Lynn Sures,
Carla J. Tenret, Pamela S. Wood.
And Hand Papermaking is especially grateful
to the Fifth Floor Foundation for its
generous grant in support of the magazine.