HA N D PA P E RMA K I NG

N E W S L E T T E R

Number 81, January 2008

Newsletter Editor: Shireen Holman Advertising & Listings: Mary Tasillo

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

Hand Papermaking Newsletter is published four

times per year. In summer and winter it is mailed

with the journal Hand Papermaking, and in

spring and autumn it is distributed separately.

Annual subscriptions include both publications:

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Hand Papermaking, Inc.

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

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The deadline for the next newsletter (April 2008)

is February 15. Please direct all correspondence to

the address above. We encourage letters from our

subscribers on any relevant topic. We also solicit

comments on articles in Hand Papermaking

magazine, questions or remarks for newsletter

columnists, and news of special events or activities.

Classified ads are 75 cents per word. Rates for

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

organization. Staff: Tom Bannister, Executive

Director; Mina Takahashi, Magazine Editor;

Shireen Holman, Newsletter Editor; Mary Tasillo,

Ads & Listings; Deborah Selk, Portfolio Binder.

Board of Directors: Cathleen A. Baker, Sidney

Berger, Inge Bruggeman, Georgia Deal, Gail

Deery, Helen Hiebert, Peter Hopkins, Barbara

Lippman, David Marshall, Cynthia Reuter

Mowery, Andrea Peterson, Margaret Prentice,

John Risseeuw, Beck Whitehead. Board of Advisors:

Timothy Barrett, Simon Blattner, Gregor R.

Campbell, Mindell Dubansky, Jane M. Farmer,

Helen C. Frederick, Elaine Koretsky, James Sitter,

Claire Van Vliet, James Yarnell. Co-founders:

Amanda Degener and Michael Durgin.

Dear Readers,

It has been my pleasure to edit Hand Papermaking Newsletter for the past twelve

years, working closely with the magazine editor – first Michael Durgin and now Mina

Takahashi – to provide the information and inspiration you have come to expect from

our publications. The magazine remains in Mina’s capable hands, but the newsletter has

a new editor: Shireen Holman.

Shireen is a nationally recognized printmaker and book artist whose work

incorporates handmade paper. She has served on the boards of Pyramid Atlantic and

Maryland Printmakers, and is a former editor of Maryland Printmakers’ InPrint.

Shireen will be assisted by Mary Tasillo, who handles advertising and keeps our event

listings up-to-date. Mary is a prolific artist herself, very active in the book and paper

communities, with an MFA from The University of the Arts.

Contact Shireen at newseditor@handpapermaking.org and get in touch with Mary

at newsletter@handpapermaking.org. They need your input as we move forward with

plans to improve and expand the newsletter in upcoming issues. We’re in our eighties

now (issue 81) and looking ahead with new energy and enthusiasm. Please share your

ideas, leads, comments, and suggestions, and give your full support to Shireen and Mary

as Hand Papermaking Newsletter evolves.

Many thanks,

Tom Bannister

Greetings,

My name is Frank Brannon, and I am the incoming Executive Director of

The Friends of Dard Hunter. I’ve been working this autumn with outgoing Executive

Director Betsy Cluff to make for a good transition, and I began my duties at the end

of October. I welcome anyone who has questions or thoughts regarding the Friends to

get in touch with me, and check out our website at www.friendsofdardhunter.org. The

Friends annual meeting will be held in Hawaii next October and the website will provide

information on the event as the time approaches. I hope you might join us.

Frank Brannon

frankbrannon@hotmail.com

HAND PAPERMAKING  publishes a series of limited-edition portfolios, each

on a different theme, showcasing distinctive handmade papers. The papers are

protected in imprinted folders and described in a handbound booklet; each set

of papers reside in a custom-made clamshell box. The editions are limited to 150.

Handmade Paper in Nepal: Tradition & Change,  $195

Watermarks in Handmade Paper: Modern and Historic,  $265

Innovative Printmaking on Handmade Paper,  $495

The Art of Pulp Painting,  $495

Calligraphy and Handmade Paper, $495

Insured postage is $15 in the US or $35 elsewhere. Ask about standing orders and

our traveling exhibitions program. Go to our website, call (800) 821-6604 or fax

(301) 220-2394 to place an order. To view images and complete prospectus, visit:

www.handpapermaking.org

ALONG THE PAPER ROAD...

This regular feature offers paper musings from

Elaine Koretsky – renowned paper historian, researcher,

and traveler. Here Elaine shares the joys

and frustrations of pulling miniature sheets.

In my previous article I wrote about

my Oxford/London experiences. However,

I neglected to mention an extraordinary

acquisition that resulted from the IAPMA

conference in Oxford. IAPMA members had

exchanged keepsakes, the most incredible of

which was the one created by Brian Queen of

Calgary, Canada.

Brian had designed and produced a micro

mould and deckle measuring 2.25” x 1.75”. It

was housed in a box that looked like a miniature

book, and it all was encased in a black

velvet bag appropriate for holding such a jewel

of a keepsake. An accompanying description

was also printed in miniature, indicating that

the book was made of bloodwood, the mould

and deckle made of mahogany, and the screen

was 60-mesh brass. The woodworking was

impeccable, with the deckle routed out to fit

snugly over the mould. The entire production

was simply outstanding.

Inspired by Brian’s work, I decided that

I would use his micro mould to make two hundred

keepsakes the size of postage stamps for

the next Friends of Dard Hunter conference.

With thirty-five years of papermaking

experience, I did not anticipate that this

decision would be foolhardy. Years before I

had succeeded in making 12 x 12 foot sheets

of paper, so little postage-stamp sheets should

not pose a problem. I could not foresee the

disasters ahead.

My first step in the new project was to

beat half a pound of abaca, which has always

been my fiber of choice with its tremendous

wet as well as dry strength. I confess, however,

that I was warned both by Donna Koretsky,

of Carriage House Paper in Brooklyn, and

Shannon Brock, the studio’s Art Director, not

to use a long-fiber pulp like abaca or kozo to

make such tiny sheets. As they had predicted,

the abaca proved impossible to use, and I

reluctantly began beating second-cut cotton

linters, which I generally scorn. To overcome

the whiteness of the bleached cotton, I added a

goodly measure of “Super Russet,” a so-called

luster pigment.

The short-fibered pulp seemed to work

much better with the little mould than the

abaca, although I immediately encountered

a couching problem. My usual heavy felts,

thoroughly wetted, always allowed me to

couch sheets quickly without any trouble. The

technique is to remove the deckle immediately,

allow the mould to drain just a little, and

couch the sheet by firmly placing one edge

of the mould on the felt, then the opposite

edge, watching a wave of water appear on the

back side of the mould. Then I quickly lift

the mould. Since I use professionally made

moulds that have tightly affixed screening, either

laid or wove, I rarely encounter a problem.

Difficulty occurs when a screen is somewhat

loosely attached to its frame, so that the newly

formed sheet on the mould does not come

completely in contact with the felt. The solution

is pressing down the back of the screening,

but then water has to be poured onto the

screening to release the sheet. Brian’s mould,

however, was expertly made. The screening

was completely tight on the frame, and the

sheets made complete contact with the felts.

I should not have had a problem, but I now

faced frustration. My couching method worked

perhaps a third of the time. Other times the

sheet remained on the mould when I lifted it

from the felt, and then I resorted to pouring

some water on the back of the mould, which

sometimes worked. The rest of the time, the

sheet tore, leaving half on the felt and half on

the mould. I attributed that problem to the

weakness of second-cut cotton linters.

Finally, I had a small group of tiny papers

with exaggerated deckle edges. I pressed them

lightly, and decided to dry them by simply

applying the sheets to my Formica table so that

they would air dry and remain flat. Again I

had a problem, namely, picking them up from

the felt. This was solved by inverting the felt

and carefully prying the sheets down onto the

table surface. I brushed the little sheets to keep

them adhered to the table until they dried. The

next morning I eagerly rushed to the studio to

examine the papers.

First of all, I was disappointed with the

color. The pigment had simply made the cotton

look very pink, without the sparkle I had

anticipated. The worst part was that I could not

peel the sheets off the table. For years I had

been drying paper by brushing the sheets onto

wood boards, glass, Formica, and sometimes

the stucco walls of my studio to achieve a special

texture. There was never a problem removing

the papers. There had been no additives

to the pulp except for the pigment and our

normal retention agent. Finally, I tried dampening

the paper, but even that did not work.

I had to scrape them all off, which of course

destroyed the paper. I still have not figured out

why those little suckers remained absolutely

glued down, especially since I had recently

experienced the opposite. Early in the summer

our studio sponsored a workshop in threedimensional

papermaking, involving a lot of

pulp spraying in the Carriage House driveway.

In the course of spraying pulp onto armatures,

a lot of pulp was indiscriminately sprayed onto

the driveway. We didn’t bother hosing it away,

since summer rains would probably do the job.

Several weeks later, after two heavy rainstorms

and considerable traffic through the driveway,

I realized that the pulp (a combination of

abaca and flax beaten for many hours) had

coalesced into paper, and I could peel off large

paper fragments. I entertained the thought of

cutting up those fragments for my keepsakes,

but I was determined to use Brian’s mould.

For the next round of papermaking, I

tried a new tactic for drying. After pressing

them, I left the sheets on the felts to dry. This

worked, and with great care, I managed to peel

each little paper from the felt, only tearing a

small number of them. The color still bothered

me, and I dumped a few spoons of “Brilliant

Gold” pigment into the pulp. The third round

of papermaking was more successful. The

paper now had a definite sparkle, which I

thought emphasized that the mould itself was

a jewel. However, peeling the paper from the

felts was tedious, and I still had a hundred

more sheets to make. I should also mention

that after every few sheets it was absolutely

necessary to clean the mould and deckle with a

small, soft toothbrush.

I decided to try a different tactic for the

fourth round. On top of the felt I placed a

sheet of thin polyester fabric that I use in pulp

spraying to make large sheets of paper. This

worked well in the couching process, and

my tiny papers dried quickly on the polyester

fabric. Now it was easy to peel off the papers

from the thin fabric. The new problem was

that the deckle edges of the papers looked

rather strange. Usually, this situation is caused

by the nature of the deckle. If the deckle fits

loosely on the mould, one gets a “feather edge”

on the sheets. This can be quite attractive, if

the papermaker wants that kind of effect. If

the deckle fits over the mould properly, then

the finished paper has slightly irregular edges,

which is the hallmark of handmade paper.

Since Brian’s micro mould was

absolutely perfect in every detail, rivaling

the finest of European style moulds, the

corners of my sheets should have been quite

square, with just a little irregularity of the

edges. Instead, I had rather blobby looking

papers, although they displayed a somewhat

interesting uniqueness. For the final fifty

sheets I had another idea: I would make the

papers by pouring the dilute pulp into the

deckle, omitting use of the wood frame with its

screen. This worked all right, and occasionally

I managed to make a fairly even sheet, with

square corners. I did not feel that using only

the deckle was cheating. In a film I produced

in 2003, I showed the many variations in

traditional sheet formation that I documented

in thirty locations around the world. My

procedure was simply another variation.

I am deeply indebted to Brian Queen for

the gift of his micro mould. It is an important

acquisition to the Museum of International

Paper History, as it is the smallest mould in

our collection of more than forty traditional

moulds from all over the world. The largest is

66” x 36”, with a sheet size of 60” x 35”, used

in Fuyang County, China, for the production

of calligraphy paper. If I had dared to use that

Chinese mould, I could have made only one

sheet, and cut it to make nearly 2,000 keepsakes,

rather than the 200 that I needed. Or I

could have used my own handmade nontraditional

mould on which I formed 12x12

foot sheets, one of which would yield over

20,000 keepsakes. But then the little sheets

would not have the crazy feather edges.

Has anyone else successfully produced

handmade postage stamps? I have a

lot to learn.

UNIQUE TECHNIQUE

Well-known author and teacher Helen Hiebert

offers helpful guidance and tips gleaned from artists

she has worked with over the years. In this issue

she relates some recent experiences with shifu.

I will never forget this story which Laura

Anderson Barbata told me about 15 years ago.

She was en route to do a project in Venezuela

and the pilot of the small plane had to stop to

refuel in a remote area. A group of indigenous

children ran up to her as the plane landed, and

while the pilot was busy refueling, Laura tried

to communicate with the children, with whom

she did not share the same language. She

had a notebook and tore off a sheet for each

one, assuming that they would communicate

through drawings. But what she soon

discovered was that these children had never

even seen or touched paper. This became

evident as she observed the children, as one

by one, they each did something different

with his/her sheet of paper. One child threw

the sheet up in the air and watched it float to

the ground; one made a loincloth out of his;

one set it on the ground and sat on it, each

one fascinated with the new material which

Barbata had introduced to them. What a lovely

encounter for all involved.

Here in Portland, I meet monthly with

a group of six women artists. We gather to

critique each other’s work and to talk about

our lives as artists. None of them had ever

worked with handmade paper, so at the end

of one of our monthly meetings, I gave them

each a sheet of wet abaca paper. Each one took

it to her studio and did something different

with it. I enjoyed seeing the fresh and varied

approaches each one took with a medium they

were unfamiliar with, and hoped they’d felt

the wonder that the indigenous Venezuelan

children appeared to have.

The next month our group met in my

studio. I had been thinking about making wet

paper thread, a variation on the traditional

Japanese shifu, which was created by weaving

cloth from threads of paper sometime in sixteenth-

century Japan. The traditional process

involves cutting large dry sheets of paper into

strips, which I’ll describe briefly here, but

you can find more details in a comprehensive

article by Susan Byrd in Hand Papermaking:

Volume 1, Number 2.

This is the basic technique for cutting

a sheet of paper in preparation for making

shifu. Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half.

Now take the two edges and make two parallel

accordion folds, leaving the two edges sticking

out an extra inch beyond the central mountain

fold. Then, using a cutting knife, cut the

paper on a cutting mat into 2 mm to 4 mm

strips (depending on the

desired fabric weight), but

do not cut the paper apart.

Leave about half an inch

of paper uncut at the top

and bottom of the sheet, so

that once all of the slits are made and the sheet

is unfolded, there is still one sheet of paper

rather than many tiny little strips. Traditionally,

the sheet is then rolled on a rock or tatami

mat to pre-spin the fibers. Next, the paper’s

uncut edges are torn – first, one at the top of

the sheet and then, one at the bottom –

and the paper is stretched out into one long

continuous length of cord. At the points where

the edges are torn, a “seed” is created as the

paper joint (where the two strips of the paper

overlap horizontally) is twisted.

It is interesting to note here that it

took about one month to cut forty sheets

of paper into 2-mm widths to make thread

for a kimono. A few more weeks were then

needed to complete the weaving and to sew

the kimono. And this doesn’t include first

growing, harvesting, preparing and making

the paper from kozo!

Now back to my studio. That evening, I

prepared about ten 18” x 24” sheets of overbeaten

abaca paper so that we could make wet

paper thread. We used scissors to cut the paper

into one inch strips, and as in shifu preparation,

we left one edge of the paper intact. But

unlike shifu, we alternated the edge that was

intact (see diagram) and at the end discovered

that a rotary cutter on a quilting mat worked

better, as the scissors tended to stick to the wet

paper. After cutting the paper, we twisted it

between our fingers to form the coarse thread

or cord, creating lengths of cordage that were

approximately a quarter inch in diameter. It

looked and felt something like fresh pasta

dough. As one sheet of paper was completed,

a second one was attached by simply pinching

the end of the next wet paper strip to it. By the

end of the evening we had a big pile of this

new material.

One participant took the material back

to her studio and wound it around an inflated

balloon. The entire pile (when wet it was the

size of a beach ball) dried and shrank over the

8” diameter balloon and the strands became

flat and thin (approximately 1/16”-1/8” wide)

as they hugged the balloon. The resulting form

was quite strong and beautiful. The dried cordage

resembled dried gut. Later I tried wrapping

similar cordage around an empty wooden

frame, and after snipping the pieces loose, I

had a handful of malleable paper sticks.

> TEACHING HAND PAPERMAKING

Based in Philadelphia, Winifred Radolan operates

an itinerant teaching papermill, and has

taught papermaking to thousands of adults and

children. Winnie was asked to encourage employee

teamwork through papermaking and here’s how

it went.

Recently I had a most unusual opportunity

to work with a group of adults who were

being handsomely paid to allow me to encourage

their childlike creativity and wonder, as

they discovered the art of papermaking. I

learned that Sensor Products, Inc. of Madison,

New Jersey, holds “Lunch and Learn”

opportunities for their twenty or so employees

on a regular basis. Previous “Team Building”

experiences had involved making chocolate

truffles, mozzarella cheese, and wine. When

I asked how papermaking had been chosen

to follow these culinary adventures, I was told

that the company markets a “sensor” to the

papermaking industry to calibrate even Fourdrinier

roll pressure.

Since no one in the group had much previous

knowledge of paper history or technique,

we opened with a couple of short videos and a

multi-sensory peek at my paper sample collection.

“The Paper Trail,” from the Institute of

Paper Science and Technology, condenses the

2,000-year history of paper into a swift four

minutes, delivered by a lively fourth grader

from Atlanta, Georgia, and illustrated by many

artifacts from the American Paper Museum. I

then narrated the eight-minute Dutch reenactment

video portraying an eighteenth century

hand papermill operation from rag sorting to

final inspection and packaging. As I passed

around samples, everyone was invited to take

note of the various visual, tactile, olfactory, and

auditory qualities of papers made from bamboo

leaves, cotton and linen rags, and a variety

of veggies, among other things. But please, no

tasting allowed!

The company’s board room was adapted

to be our papermill/classroom, with plastic

covers protecting the long mahogany meeting

table that just about held twenty couching

blankets. Two 6’ folding tables had been

squeezed into the long, narrow room to hold

the vats and press. By the time twenty enthusiastic

adults were maneuvering about in this

space it was positively sardine-like, but everyone

played nicely together; they’d had practice.

Since I didn’t have sufficient moulds and

deckles or space for each adult to have his or

her own, I decided to set up each of four vats

with a pile of couching cloths and a couple of

moulds and deckles alongside. Someone could

pull a sheet from the black denim rag vat and

couch it onto the pellon alongside, then carry

the pellon holding the base sheet back to a

couching spot at the long board table.

I brought a collection of stencils – screens

with designs applied to them with tape or

window-seal putty. These stencils could be

scooped in a shallow fashion through one of

the pigmented cotton/abaca vats, picking up a

shaped layer of colored pulp. This design layer

was then to be couched onto those waiting

base sheets. I also brought about twenty small

containers of finely beaten and pigmented

“pulp paint,” which

I distributed along

the length of the

board table, along

with pipettes for

applying the variety

of colors to the

creations. These

“toys” seemed quite

appealing to this

“culinary crowd,” who took to the pulp-filled

pipettes as though icing were being applied to

top off a fancy cake. Between the availability

of stencils and pulp paint at the work table,

we were able to maintain a good papermaking

flow, thus avoiding log-jams at the vats.

As with most groups, there were a handful

of enthusiasts who appreciated uninhibited

vat time while the majority was enjoying their

gourmet pizza lunch. These folks were able to

experiment more fully with layering and composition,

and to benefit from my individual

attention, unimpeded by the crush of bodies

in this long narrow room. And also, typical to

workshop form, after their bellies were full of

gourmet repast, most of my papermakers were

anxious to have their papers pressed and settle

into relaxing for the afternoon.

I must remark, twenty focused adults can

make light work of what looks like a massive

clean-up proposition. Almost before I could

utter clear directions, all vats were strained,

lids were replaced on pulp paint, couching

blankets were wrung out and packed, moulds

and deckles were washed and stacked, and

tables were cleaned and dried! Of course, when

I was asked how long paper must remain in

the press and my reply was “just about the

same amount of time it takes to clean-up/packup,”

I was sure I could count on rapid and

complete cooperation.

We laid out everyone’s creations on the

two 6’ tables in order to restraint dry them. I

had forgotten my rolling pin for this process,

so the facsimile that I used was a full wine

bottle, proudly displaying the label, “Red State

Red, 2004, Sensor Inc. Cellars.” Libation has

been known to improve the papermaker’s

shake, and on this occasion it was pressed into

the service of drying as well!

I’m feeling pretty certain that most of the

Sensor folk must have had as good a time as I

did. A few days later a box arrived along with

my mail. No, it was not more libation. The

contents were three old Sensor company red

and white striped 100% cotton shirts. It seems

they are looking forward to my snipping and

beating these shirts up to a pulp so more fun

can be had by all. So I’m off now, to sharpen

up my scissors!

> ON-LINE

Pamela S. Wood of Arizona makes one-of-a-kind

books from her handmade papers. She explores

the internet seeking out notable paper-related sites.

Here Pam delves into an archive of watermarks.

All of us papermakers know about

watermarks. A watermark is defined as a

design which, when applied to the surface of

a mould or formed in the mould, produces

a tonal image in the resulting sheet of paper

where more or less pulp is distributed. To the

very skilled, watermarks are a technical thing

of beauty. To the novice, just creating a sheet

of paper with no accidental marks can be a feat

some days. The Thomas L. Gravell Watermark

Archive (http://wiz2.cath.vt.edu:8200/) is

a site that will allow you to view all kinds of

watermarks. It incorporates the University

of Delaware Library’s collection as well as

unpublished watermarks from the archive at

the Bibliotèque de Genève.

Let’s take a look. There are not a lot of

bells and whistles. Stick with the quiet plainness

and you will be rewarded. When you

open the home page, you get a glimpse of a

wonderful unicorn from the Folger Shakespeare

Library. All the topics are listed on the

left. You could just jump in with an archive

search, but let’s take a look at what the whole

site has to offer first. It starts with “Archive

Description and History,” then “Table of Watermark

Descriptors.” This is great to enhance

your search for the right detail (this site is all

about details). You can find repositories, bibliographies,

other links, online databases, and

even papers and other publications. All of this

information sets the history and origins of the

archive and its creators. It has valuable extra

reference sources as well.

The Thomas L. Gravell Watermark

Archive contains 7,000 watermarks, made between

1400 and 1835. Now let’s click “Search

The Records.” At any point while looking

through these places, you can hit the search records

button to begin combing the archive. After

having chosen “Search The Records,” you

see “Descriptor Fields.” Here you have a language

choice of English, French, German, or

Spanish. A box pops up giving an alphabetical

list for the watermarks by style. From anchor

to wheel, there’s just about everything you can

think of. So I click “Anchor,” then

the “Submit” button, and voila! My

search result gives me fourteen

anchor watermarks to look at.

It’s important to not stop here,

for if you scroll down to the first

watermark picture and click on “View Record,”

behold, the watermark

is enlarged and easier

to ponder. Truly it is

very cool. Every search

tells you at the top of

the page the number of

watermarks found for

your search. The other

information given is

the date and place of

use, for example, 1555

in Venice, Italy.

Yes, this is the

amazing part of the Internet – combing

through all these facets while still in a comfortable

chair with your cup of tea. Ah, the

sweet life!

Of course, not all things on the Internet

work as well. When researching this article, I

went to two other watermark sites in the links

reference, but neither worked as well as this

site.

Now it’s time to get out to the vat and

make some watermarks of your own.

> PAPER HISTORY

Cathleen A. Baker, PhD, is Senior Paper Conservator

at the University of Michigan Library. She

is author of By His Own Labor: The Biography

of Dard Hunter and proprietor of The Legacy

Press (www.legacy-press.com), specializing in

the printing, paper, and bookbinding arts. In this

article she documents the appearance of “wove”

paper in America.

Having an especial interest in papers

made in America, I was intrigued by Dard

Hunter’s description of the first mention

made of both the manufacture and use of

wove paper in this country. In his classic book,

Papermaking: The History and Technique of an

Ancient Craft (Dover, 1972), Hunter relates that

the Massachusetts printer/publisher, Isaiah

Thomas announced this fact in a small book

titled Elegiac Sonnets and Other Poems by the

English poet and novelist, Charlotte Turner

Smith (1749–1806), issued in 1795.

Thomas owned several printing offices

and bookstores, and he was also an important

printing historian. In 1810, he published the

book, The History of Printing in America, and it

remains an important book on the subject and

the associated business, papermaking, during

the early years of the United States. Prior to

the War of Independence, the English Parliament

prohibited almost all kinds of manufacturing

in the Colonies, forcing businessmen

to buy British-made products and equipment.

Nevertheless, a handful of papermills had

existed since the first mill at Rittenhouse Town

in 1690. These early mills were principally

financed by printers who needed a steady

supply of paper for their presses. Once the

Revolutionary War began, all importations of

English paper were cut-off, and it was up to

the few domestic mills to manufacture the

paper required to keep presses and quill pens

engaged. After the War, the trend for printers

to own their own papermills continued. To

counter this monopoly, independently owned

papermills were encouraged by Congress and

states’ governments, and by 1810, the situation

had improved dramatically. Thomas estimated

that the number of papermills in America in

that year was about 195, more than a two-fold

increase over the intervening two decades. (By

comparison, in 1801 during the French Revolution,

France had 500 papermills.)

Given Thomas’s entrepreneurial spirit,

then, it is not surprising that he should be one

of the first, if not the first, American papermill

owner to manufacture “wove” paper. In order

to change from the traditional (laid) paper,

he would either have had new paper moulds

made, which were covered with a woven

wire “cloth,” or have had a pair (?) of his laid

moulds recovered.

I was pleased to discover that two copies

of this book are in the Clements Library at The

University of Michigan and recently spent a

few hours examining them. To allow those of

you who also might want to examine this book,

the title page reads:

ELEGIAC

SONNETS,

AND OTHER

POEMS,

BY

Charlotte Smith.

THE FIRST WORCESTER EDITION, FROM THE

SIXTH LONDON EDITION, WITH ADDITIONS.

PRINTED AT WORCESTER

BY Isaiah Thomas,

SOLD BY HIM IN WORCESTER, AND BY SAID

THOMAS AND ANDREWS IN BOSTON.

On the page headed, “Advertisement” [xiii], Isaiah

Thomas explained the circumstances of the

edition and, importantly, the paper employed.

The Editor of this (Worcester) Edition,

intended to have published it nearly four

years since, at which time he had the

plates engraved in his Office in this town.

His being employed in printing larger

and heavier volumes has prevented these

Sonnets appearing from his Pre∫s till now.

—As the Letter Pre∫s has been delayed,

he could have wished the Engravings had

been also; as in the infancy of engraving

in this country, four years’ additional

experience to the artist would doubtle∫s

have produced more delicate work than

what is now presented. The lovers of

this Art will, however, be enabled, in

some measure, to mark the progre∫s of

Engraving by a comparison of the Plates

now executed with these, and the Editor

doubts not but a proper allowance will be

made for work engraved by an artist who

obtained his knowledge in this country,

by whom these plates were executed, and

that done by European engravers who

have settled in the United States.

The making of the particular

kind of paper on which these Sonnets

are printed, is a new busine∫s in

America; and but lately introduced

into Greatbritain [sic]; it is the first

manufactured by the Editor.

On the whole, the Editor hopes for

the candor of those who wish well to the

productions of the Columbian Pre∫s—

their favorable acceptance of this, and

other volumes printed in this country, will

doubtle∫ s raise an emulation to produce

others, better executed on superior paper,

and with more delicate engravings.

ISAIAH THOMAS

Worcester, Ma∫sachusetts, October, 1795.

Although the first recorded use of

“wove” paper made in the West (probably

by the J. Whatman mill) was in the English

printer, John Baskerville’s publication of

Publii Virgilii… in 1757, the word was still

not in use by the time Thomas printed his

“Advertisement” in 1795. Shown in Paris

in 1777 by Benjamin Franklin, this paper

(of English manufacture?) generated a lot

of interest and in France was referred to as

papier vélin. According to the Oxford English

Dictionary, “woven” was first used to denote

this kind of paper in 1797, “We have volumes

every day, on woven paper…” (The British

Critic: A New Review 9:72). “Wove” did not

appear in an American publication until 1815.

By the mid-nineteenth century, “vellum” was a

term used to describe wove paper, wove mould

covering, or a smooth surface on either wove

or laid paper. Significantly, “laid” was coined

even later than “wove,” no doubt because there

was no need to distinguish the former until

the latter became common. Again according

to the OED, this reference first appeared in

1818: “Mr. Staines manufactures wove drawing

papers and laid writing ones” (John Hassell,

Picturesque Ride and Walks… 2:106).

In the next issue, I will describe in detail

the “wove” paper that Thomas used to print

the Elegiac Sonnets.

Erratum: Please be aware of a mistake that

appears in my article in the January 2007

issue of the Hand Papermaking Newsletter (77:

5) about Audubon’s The Birds of America. Dr.

John Bordley was kind to point out that the

sentence, “Unfortunately, free alum converts

to sulfuric acid in aged papers.” is incorrect

because this reaction is chemically impossible.

I regret any inconvenience or confusion my

error may have caused.

> DECORATED PAPER

Sidney Berger, a professor at Simmons College

in Boston and Director of the Phillips Library

at Peabody Essex Museum, has been collecting

and researching decorated paper for over thirty

years. In this issue, Sid discusses Dutch gilt and

“varnished” papers.

Many people familiar with the various

kinds of decorated papers have heard the term

“Dutch gilt” paper. The topic is rather complex,

and I thought I’d try to throw some light on it.

To begin with, what does the term mean?

The “Dutch” in the name implies not from the

Netherlands, but “Deutsch,” that is, German.

In fact, Germany is where these papers seem

to emanate from in the late seventeenth century,

and certainly throughout the eighteenth.

What constitutes a Dutch gilt sheet? Is

it the fact that there is some metallic pattern

pressed onto it? Not quite, but that’s close.

There are several kinds of papers with metallic

decoration on them. Some are more accurately

designated “Gold-varnished,” “Silvervarnished,”

or “Bronze-varnished” papers.

(The German terms are “Goldfirnispapier,”

“Silberfirnispapier,” and “Bronzefirnispapier”

– gold-, silver-, and bronze-varnished paper.)

Sometimes the papers were called “Kattunpapier”

(cotton, calico, or chintz paper), so

named because the patterns stamped on them

were influenced strongly by the fabrics used

for clothes and linens. As Dick Wolfe points

out in his encyclopedic book Marbled Paper

(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania

Press, 1990): “The term ‘Kattunpapier’ meant

decorated papers produced with woodblocks

and stencils” (p. 22). He adds that “The German

description of this type as Kattunpapier or

calico paper is indicative of its origin in the textile

industry” (p. 22). The reader should look

at Wolfe’s discussion of these papers on pages

22-23 for more information.

Another term for Dutch gilt paper is

“Brokatpapier” – brocade paper – also indicative

of its origin in the textile industry.

In his classic work on the subject of

decorated papers, Buntpapier (Munich: Callwey,

1961), Albert Haemmerle says that these

sheets were stamped with a metallic ink using

wooden blocks, on white or colored papers.

(“Unter Bronzefirnispapieren versteht man

von Holzmodeln gedruckte Buntpapiere auf

weissem, einfarbigem oder auch mahrfarbig

gemustertem Papier” [p. 69].) The pigment

was the metallic “varnish.” And he says

that the earliest of these papers come from

Augsburg in 1692. The metallic pigment is imparted

to the paper in the ink and the paper is

white, with a single color, or with more colors.

A second method of getting the metallic

colors onto the sheet is more correctly

called Dutch gilt. In this method, the sheet is

prepared the way a paste paper is: by having

one or more applications of colored paste

brushed on and then having the gold pattern

stamped onto the sheet with an engraved plate.

The catalog Decorated Designs 1800 says that

this “more elaborate method ... used handengraved

copper plates. The impression was

made by pressing these copper plates against a

sheet of gold-foil (or silver or bronze) and then

placing the plate on a freshly-painted sheet of

paper” (Amsterdam: Pepin Press, 1997, p. 169).

The most common color of foil was gold,

so these sheets were called Dutch gilt; but

as noted, sometimes the metal was silver or

bronze. Also, copper was sometimes mixed

with the gold, imparting a reddish hue to

the metal on the decorated sheet. Over the

centuries the gold or silver may have flaked

off many of these papers, though sometimes a

trace of them remains. But some of the great

paper collections in Europe and the United

States have many of these sheets in good condition,

with all of the metal still shiny.

The range of patterns of the papers is

remarkable, from florals to geometric designs

to country scenes, common or exotic fruits,

leaves, saints, soldiers, children’s games, people

practicing professions, carriages, animals,

gods and goddesses, hunting scenes, and so

forth. Usually the metal foil was stamped over

a sheet that had a single color of paste brushed

across it. But sometimes the sheet had several

colors of paste brushed or daubed on. And

sometimes the white, bare sheet was stamped

with no paste at all.

In a lecture at the Deutsche Bücherei in

Leipzig in February 2005, Matthias Hagenböck

showed that on some of the more elaborate

Dutch gilt sheets, printed from copper plates,

a decorative element may have been removed

from the plate and replaced by another. For

instance, a family crest from one clan could be

pulled out and replaced by a different crest or

monogram.

Many of the makers are anonymous, but

for a large number of sheets the makers

stamped their names along the bottom edge

of the design (part of the copper plate), along

with the city they were working in, and,

sometimes, the number of the pattern. That

is, if a paper decorator had a large number

of patterns available, customers could order

them by the number. For instance, in our collection

my wife and I have two lovely sheets

from Augsburg (spelled Augspurg) done by

Johann Wilhelm Mayr, numbered 1 and 2 in

the margin.

Haemmerle says that in Augsburg alone,

in the eighteenth century, at least forty papermakers

whose names we know were making

decorated papers (p. 22). The Haemmerle book

is a great font of information. In the biographical

sketches of the papermakers, Haemmerle

notes that Mayr (Meyer) was born in 1713 and

died on December 3, 1784. So we can date our

two sheets to somewhere before or around

1784. Though this kind of decoration was done

throughout the eighteenth century – mostly in

Germany and some in Italy – the practice was

mostly gone by the end of the first decade of

the nineteenth century.

The papers had many uses. They appear

extensively on book bindings, particularly dissertations,

almanacs, and gift books throughout

the eighteenth century. Finding full sheets

is a challenge today, but one can still find the

occasional book using the papers for bindings.

I am always on the lookout for them. Let me

know if you see one.

> FOR BEGINNERS

Mary Tasillo is a papermaker, book artist, and

mixed media maven based in Philadelphia. She

works at the Center for the Conservation of Art

and Historic Artifacts, and teaches workshops

nationally. Her topic today… Working Large

Without Limitation.

This is the first of two columns addressing

the incorporation of recent printing

technologies with handmade paper.

One of the challenges of making art with

handmade paper is that sometimes your ideas

are bigger than your moulds and deckles.

Especially early in your papermaking career,

you are unlikely to have access to the space

and equipment needed for working large.

Here is one way you can work as large as you’d

like with nothing bigger than a 12 x 18-inch

mould and deckle.

Let’s discuss a project I worked on that

involved the entire text of the State of the

Union Address. I had to get that text onto a

large swath of paper somehow. The process I

describe is but one solution to the problem.

Between the limitations of the moulds to

which I had access, and the capacity of most

printers and photocopiers, the maximum size

sheet I could make was 12 x 18 inches, which

then had to be cut down to 11 x 17 inches.

However, that wasn’t the size I was going for.

I was going for a large, overwhelming State

of the Union Address on bright red – about 6

feet by 9 feet, to be specific. This meant I was

going to have to tile those sheets together.

Access to decent graphics software was

crucial here. I needed to be able to create a file

that was the actual size of the finished piece,

and then crop that image down into smaller

images in a document that had rulers and the

ability to draw cropping lines for my reference.

For me, this was a combination of Adobe Photoshop

or Illustrator, and PageMaker. I created

a document in Illustrator that was the full size

of my piece – 6 feet by 9 feet. I used that file to

create my piece. Please note that you’ll need a

workhorse of a computer if the information in

that file is very detailed, since it is such a large

area to cover. Mine was black and white, no

color, which was less taxing on my computer

than it might have been. Once I saved the finished

full-sized file, I drew guidelines to break

the image down into the tiled pieces – six

columns of 17 inches each, and six rows of 11

inches each.

Next I created a document in PageMaker

of the thirty-six (6 x 6) 11 x 17-inch pages I

would need for the piece. I went back to my

Illustrator document, selected an area that was

a little bit larger than the 11 x 17-inch block I

had marked off, copied it, and pasted it into

the first page of my PageMaker document. It

would, of course, be easier to keep organized

if I followed a system. I started with the upper

left corner, making that page 1, and worked

my way left to right across row 1, then worked

my way across the next row and on down the

page. For each page, I selected an area slightly

larger than the box I had marked off with

guidelines, maintaining the top and left edge I

had marked with the guidelines, and allowing

extra at the bottom and the right. If I’d had a

laser printer, I would have been able to print

directly onto my handmade paper. However, I

had an inkjet printer, and was concerned about

the image bleeding should it get wet. (Later

on, I would need to paste the pages together.)

Thus I inkjet-printed the pages onto plain

printer paper, and then photocopied them onto

handmade paper. I retained the deckle edges.

So now to piece old Georgie’s text back

together. I wanted to retain the deckle edges

around the edge of the piece, but did not

want them and indeed could not retain them

at the center of the piece. The top row would

remain untrimmed at the top to retain that

outside edge. The left-most pieces would not

be trimmed for the same reason. Pieces 2-6

would be trimmed along the left edge of the

image. Precision was crucial here. Next, the

pieces had to be lined up. I placed piece 2’s

left edge overlapping the right edge of piece 1’s

imagery, adjusting them to line up perfectly.

I weighted the pieces down to hold them in

place as I worked, and used wheat starch paste

to adhere them to each other. The advantages

of wheat starch paste are the slow drying time,

so that I could make adjustments if necessary,

and the reversibility, which is largely a

conservation concern (or a “I might mess up”

concern). Depending on your paper and the

effect you are going for, you may find it useful

to allow the seam to dry under a blotter under

weight. I was going for a textured sculptural

effect, so I brushed my wheat starch paste

over the surface and allowed the page to

wrinkle at will.

Work across the top row in the same

manner, trimming the left edge and slightly

overlapping the last page you put down, lining

up your imagery with care as you go. For the

second row, you will be trimming the top edge

of each page, as well as the left edge of all but

the left-most page. Now you will line each

sheet up both with the sheet above it and the

sheet to the left as you go. I was even able to

work some sculptural detail into this piece. To

do this, I created a paper-mache face. I left an

opening in my tiled sheet where I wanted this

face to appear. I adhered the tiled sheet to the

edges of the sculptural face. Then I magnified

the text of the pages that would cover the face

into two to three times as many pages of larger

text. I covered the face in these magnified pages,

creating the appearance that this sculptural

element was pushing at the piece’s surface and

stretching the text. This dimensional tiling was

a more approximate art than the flat tiling.

With proper care and precise tiling and

seaming, you should be able to create the

appearance of an image on one giant sheet

of paper, complete with computer type. The

seaming virtually disappears, even at a short

distance.

> more for beginners at

handpapermaking.org/beginner

Listings for specific workshops and other

events in the following categories are offered

free of charge on a space-available basis.

The deadline for the April Newsletter is

February 15. Contact each facility directly.

Teachers: Tell your students about

Hand Papermaking! Brochures and handouts

can be mailed to you or your institution.

> CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg,

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

org. Classes and workshops in a variety of

disciplines, including papermaking.

Asheville BookWorks, Asheville, NC, (828)

255-8444, www.bookworksasheville.com.

Hands-on workshops in bookbinding, printmaking,

decorative paper, and papermaking.

Basic Marbling on Paper and Cloth, February 16-

17, with Steve Pittelkow. Learn the history and

terminology of marbling, preparation of materials,

techniques and patterns, and acquire the

skills to marble at home.

More Marbling on Paper and Cloth, August

23-24, with Steve Pittelkow. Learn intricate and

unusual patterns, including the Italian hair

vein, Spanish moiré, and other waved patterns,

as well as intricate flowers and other designs.

Bear Creek Paperworks, Columbia, MO, (573)

442-3360, www.bearcreekpaperworks.com.

Workshops in paper and book arts; some

workshops can be taken for academic credit

through Central Methodist University. Contact

Leandra Spangler at leandra@bearcreekpaper

works.com for more information.

Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT, (203)

775-4526, www.brookfieldcraftcenter.org.

Workshops at a colonial vintage campus 75

miles north of New York City.

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.

Limited Edition Marbling, March 30-April 5,

with Charlotte Erwin and Ira Erwin. Make

marbled papers and use them for unique book

bindings.

Recycling – Paper Surprises!, April 20-26, with

Rajeania Snider. Recycle your junk mail and

plant materials into unique stationery and

books utilizing basic papermaking techniques,

and learn to build your own equipment.

Making Paper for Small Projects, May 11-17, with

Claudia Lee. Make your own mould and deckle

for forming sheets from traditional fibers,

recycled materials, and plants, then turn these

sheets into a variety of objects.

Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild,

Toronto, ON, (416) 581-1071, cbbag@ccbag.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.

A full program of beginning and advanced

papermaking classes taught by Donna

Koretsky and Shannon Brock.

Center for Book Arts, New York, NY, (212) 481-

0295, www.centerforbookarts.org. Dozens of

book and paper workshops offered in midtown

Manhattan.

Columbia College Chicago Center for Book

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

www.bookandpaper.org. Papermaking classes

in spacious downtown studios.

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

226-0573, www.dieudonne.org. Beginning and

advanced papermaking classes for adults and

children.

Introduction to Contemporary Papermaking,

January 7, February 4, March 3, or April 7, with

staff instructor. Learn the basic papermaking

process, as well as various artistic techniques.

Open Studio, January 16, February 13, March

12, or April 6, with staff instructor. Experiment

on your own with studio pulps, making sheets

up to 11 x 14 inches.

Creative Techniques for Artists, January 23,

February 20, March 19, or April 23, with staff

instructor.

Grafton Arts Fest, Grafton, Australia. (02)

6643 1528 or artsfestgrafton@bigpond.com.

Spring and fall workshops in a range of media.

The Hall of Awa Japanese Handmade Paper,

141 Kawahigashi, Yamakawa-cho, Yoshinogawashi,

Tokushima 779-3401, Japan, fax 81-883-

42-6085, www.awagami.com.

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle,

ME, (207) 348-2306, www.haystack-mtn.org.

Workshops in various disciplines, including

papermaking and book arts.

Historic RittenhouseTown, Philadelphia, PA,

(215) 843-2228, www.rittenhousetown.org.

Summer paper arts workshop series at the

site of America’s first paper mill. For further

information, call (215) 438-5711 or email

programs@rittenhousetown.org.

La Font du Ciel, La Chambary, Charrus,

F-07230 Saint André Lachamp, France,

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

Papermaking workshops at the east foothills of

the Cevennes taught by Helmut Frerick.

Magnolia Editions, Oakland, CA, (510) 839-

5268, www.magnoliapaper.com. Workshops in

papermaking, printmaking, and book arts.

Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis,

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

Classes at the Open Book center for book and

literary arts.

Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis,

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

Classes at the Open Book center for book and

literary arts.

Introduction to Marbling, January 26, with Lin

Lacy. Learn the process and materials needed

to marble paper that can be used in a variety of

projects.

Western Papermaking I, February 2, with

Jana Pullman. Learn to process fibers in the

Hollander beater and to form sheets; discuss

drying techniques.

Western Papermaking II, February 3, with Jana

Pullman. Form sheets while learning about

pigmenting, dyeing with natural compounds,

organic inclusions, external sizing, and simple

decorative techniques.

Landscapes: Western Papermaking, February 23,

with Mandy Brannan. Create handmade paper

landscapes using several techniques, including

sheet formation with abaca and garden fibers

and the use of pigments and inclusions.

Marbling Open Studio, March 1, with Lin Lacy.

Marble with others and hone your skills in this

open session.

Paper Circle, Nelsonville, OH, (740) 753-3374,

www.papercircle.org, papercircle@frognet.net.

Call or e-mail for information about upcoming

paper classes.

The Paper Studio, Tempe, AZ, (480) 557-5700,

www.paperstudio.com. Classes in book arts,

papermaking, printmaking, and alternative

photographic processes.

The Papertrail, Waterloo, 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), Aegidigasse

3/Hof, 1060 Wien, Austria, (0676) 77-33-153,

office@papierwespe.at, www.papierwespe.at.

Workshops in English and German taught by

paper specialists in downtown Vienna.

Penland School, Penland, NC, (828) 765-2359,

www.penland.org. A full program of craft

workshops, including papermaking.

Fresh Cuttings, April 26-May 2, with Béatrice

Coron. Create paper images and tools for

producing paper cutout editions, incorporating

techniques for stenciling, pochoir, simple popups,

and three-dimensional paper cutting.

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

948-5200, www.pvcrafts.org. Workshops in

papermaking and a variety of crafts.

Pyramid Atlantic, Silver Spring, MD, (301)

608-9101, www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org.

Workshops in papermaking, printmaking, and

book arts.

Rhode Island School of Design, Providence,

RI, (800) 364-7473. Continuing education

through the Summer Institute of Graphic

Design Studies.

Robert C. Williams Paper Museum, Atlanta,

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

edu/amp/.

Papermaking and Bookbinding Teacher’s Workshop

I, January 19, with Marcia Watt. Make

paste paper and learn four or five simple book

structures.

Papermaking and Bookbinding Teacher’s Workshop

II, February 9, with Berwyn Hung. Make

paper and learn an open spine binding.

Teacher’s Japanese Papermaking Workshop, June

23-27, with Berwyn Hung. Learn about the

history of Japanese papermaking and fiber

preparation, and get hands-on experience in

sheet forming and Japanese stab bindings.

San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco,

CA, (415) 565-0545, www.sfcb.org. Book

arts classes and events year-round.

An Introduction to Calligraphy, February 21,

with Georgianna Greenwood. Use modern and

traditional tools and materials to pen a classic

script.

Pastepapers, April 18, with Leigh McLellan.

Produce colorful, vibrantly patterned papers

using multiple techniques of this centuries-old

process.

Paper Conservation for Bookbinders, March 1-2,

with James Reid-Cunningham. Learn about

the characteristics of paper and how to surface

clean, mend tears, fill losses, humidify sheets,

and tone tissue; practice treating provided

samples and your own sheets

Seastone Papers, West Tisbury, MA, (508)

693-5786, www.seastonepapers.com. Summer

paper workshops in Martha’s Vineyard taught

by Sandy Bernat.

Sievers School of Fiber Arts, Washington

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

sieversschool.com. Summer workshops on an

island in Lake Michigan.

Snow Farm, The New England Craft Program,

Williamsburg, MA (413) 268-3101, www.

snowfarm.org. Study in a pastoral setting near

the five-college communities of Amherst and

Northampton.

Southwest School of Art & Craft, San Antonio,

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

Classes at the Picante Paper Studio.

Advanced Studio Rental, most Wednesdays,

with Beck Whitehead. Use the Picante studio

and equipment; some instruction is available

upon request.

Papermaking Saturday, one Saturday each

month, with Linda Draper. Create paper in

an environment that is somewhere between a

class and an open studio.

Making Your Own Paper, February 26 or April

1, with studio instructors. Learn how to make

paper the color, shape, and size you want.

Botanical Paper, March 8-9, with Jo Etta Jupe.

Make paper from a variety of plants grown

regionally.

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

Mandeville, LA, (504) 674-9232.

Nagashasuki with Mary-Elaine C. Bernard,

selected Saturdays. Learn this Eastern method

of making paper and incorporate local plant

fibers.

Valley Ridge Art Studio, Muscoda, WI, (608)

250-5028, www.valleyridgeartstudio.com.

Workshops in papermaking, bookmaking,

photography, writing, etc.

West Dean College, Chichester, West Sussex,

U.K., (0)1243 811301, short.course@westdean.

org.uk, www.westdean.org.uk.

Hand Marbling on Paper and Fabric for Beginners,

February 15-17, with Christopher Rowlatt.

Create styles found in traditional marbling and

then explore the medium freely, learning to

prepare numerous pigment dye recipes.

An Introduction to Papermaking and Its Decorative

Uses, March 13-16, with Jonathan Korejko.

Learn to manipulate paper pulp, forming

sheets for decorative objects, adding materials

from the environment, and using the papers

in three-dimensional ways.

Recycled Papermaking for Artwork and Decorative

Objects, May 23-26, with Carol Farrow.

Experiment with paper pulps made from

re-used paper ephemera, learning about paper

selection, forming sheets, casting, laminating,

embossing, embedding, sizing, and coloring.

> more classes and workshops at

handpapermaking.org/listings.htm

Wisconsin Center for Book and Paper

Arts, Madison, WI, (608) 284-8394,

wcpaperarts@hotmail.com, www.wibookandpaper.

org. Offering tutorial programs in hand

papermaking and decorative papers.

Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY

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

Summer Arts Institute includes workshops in

papermaking, printmaking, book arts, photography,

and other media.

> EVENTS

The 2008 Holland Paper Biennial takes place

June 10 through September 14 at the Rijswijk

Museum in The Netherlands. An exhibition

of contemporary, international paper art will

be accompanied by a publication entitled Pure

Paper. On September 14 the traditional Grand

Paper Fair will again be held in the courtyard

entrance to the museum and in the Oude Kerk

(Old Church) opposite. See www.museumryswyk.

nl for further information.

The Friends of Dard Hunter meet annually to

enjoy speakers, presentations, tours of local paper

and book arts facilities, a trade show, auction,

and banquet. Scholarships are available to

those with financial need. For information on

this conference visit www.friendsofdardhunter.

org. Plan ahead for the 2008 meeting, October

23-26, in Kona, Hawaii.

Collective Workshops 2008, an eleven-day

residential conference offering hands-on

courses in book, paper and print techniques,

will be July 4-15 at Wellington College in

Berkshire, England. Students will choose

three courses from ten offerings that include

Papermaking with Jim Patterson, Paper Washing

and Bleaching with Karen Vidler, and

Historical & Contemporary Pastepapers with

Mark Walmsley. The first event of its kind in

the U.K., this conference aims to challenge,

encourage, stimulate, and entertain. The

limit of sixty participants gives everybody the

chance to get to know each other. To receive

a brochure or join the mailing list, email

info@collectiveworkshops.org.

Donkey Mill Art Center in Holualoa, Hawaii,

presents a series of collaborations and workshops

this February in conjunction with Laila

Art Fund Artist-in-Residence Mina Takahashi.

She will challenge people to go beyond the

technique of papermaking to incorporate various

art media. Her residency will begin with

a slide lecture on February 22, followed by a

workshop February 23-24. She will be available

February 22, 25, and 26 to collaborate on projects,

which will then be exhibited. For more

information, visit www.donkeymillartcenter.

org or email hfac.dmac@hawaiiantel.net.

The 20th IAPMA Congress meets in Tasmania

in 2009 in the coastal town of Burnie, home

to Australia’s largest handmade paper mill.

The conference theme is Paper of the New

World and Rejuvenation of the Creative Spirit.

Events include workshops and lectures and

a juried exhibition. Pre-registration is now

available. Visit www.creativepapertas.com.au

for more information or contact Joanna Gair at

manager@creativepapertas.com.au.

> EXHIBITS

Against the Tide: A Review of Three

Independent American Presses, is on view

at the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum in

Atlanta January through March. The exhibit

recognizes and honors the contribution of

three significant independent presses that

continue to produce works in the tradition

of Dard Hunter, illustrating the best of print,

design, and papermaking. For further details

call (404) 894-7840 or visit www.ipst.edu/

amp. In April, look for Paper Play: Children,

Toys, Imagination, and Paper, a look at the

way children have created toys and play with

seemingly simple paper.

Fiber Art International 2007, a juried

exhibition of contemporary fiber art, including

handmade paper, is on view at the Mint

Museum of Craft + Design in Charlotte,

North Carolina, through February 24. It will

then move to The Clay Center for the Arts

and Sciences of West Virginia in Charleston

in April and travel through the summer of

2009. For more information, visit www.

fiberartinternational.com.

Pulp Function, curated by Lloyd Herman,

founding Director of the Smithsonian’s Renwick

Gallery runs through January 6, 2008

at Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Massachusetts,

and will travel through 2010. It will

be at Arts United in Fall River, Massachusetts

February 16 to April 6. It will then go to the

Worcester Center for Craft, Massachusetts; the

Nicolaysen Art Museum and Discovery Center,

Casper, Wyoming; the Plains Art Museum,

Fargo, North Dakota; and the James Michener

Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Art made

from paper pulp; recycled paper; cardboard;

papier mache; and cut, folded, or otherwise

manipulated paper is featured. For more

information, visit www.fullercraft.org or www.

artsunitedfallriver.org.

Paper Circle in Nelsonville, Ohio, will be

exhibiting the work of several paper and book

artists. The work of Jonathan Silbert is on

display through January 23, followed by Susan

Urano’s work January 25 through March 26.

Beth Holyoke and Bob Lazuka will be featured

in the gallery in the spring and summer of

2008. For more information or to view images

of past exhibitions, visit www.papercircle.org

or call (740) 753-3374.

Dieu Donné Gallery features work both old

and new this winter. Work from the Workspace

Program 2001-2007 is on view through January

5. Next, work from the archive by sculptor

Alan Shields is on view January 10 through

February 9. New and recent work produced

during a Lab Grant residency by Mel Kendrick

opens February 14 and runs through March

22. For more information, please contact

Catherine C. Parker, Gallery Director at (212)

226-0573 or cparker@dieudonne.org, or visit

www.dieudonne.org.

Water Ways: Interpretations by Nancy Cohen

is a 50-foot sculptural installation on display

until January 6 at The Noyes Museum of Art

in Oceanville, New Jersey. In her work, Cohen

uses hundreds of translucent handmade

papers and marsh grasses to create organic

structures, shaped over a meandering wire

armature, evoking the beauty and movement

of waterways. Visit www.noyesmuseum.org or

call (609) 652-8848.

The Mark of the Maker, a traveling exhibition

from the collection of the Robert C. Williams

Paper Museum, is now on view at the

Wisconsin River Papermaking Museum

until March 27. The Museum, located at 730

First Avenue South in Wisconsin Rapids,

Wisconsin, is open 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please call (715) 424-

3037 for more information.

Transformation: Carol Cole Sculptures is

on view through February 17 at Colgate

University’s Longyear Museum of

Anthropology in Hamilton, New York. Carol

Cole utilizes paper pulp, found objects, and

mixed media in her work. For information,

visit www.carolcole.com.

The Embedded Image opens at the Craft

Alliance Gallery in Saint Louis, Missouri

on January 11 and runs through February

24. Curated by papermaker and printmaker

Tom Lang, this exhibition presents 10 artists

who have embraced hand papermaking as

an integral part of their visual syntax. Artists

include Beck Whitehead, Buzz Spector,

Georgia Deal, Joan Hall, John Risseeuw,

Margaret Prentice, Paul Wong, Sandy Kinnee,

and Susan Warner Keene. Gallery information

can be found at www.craftalliance.org or by

calling (314) 725-1177.

Artworks on Piña Paper: Mini-Exhibition 2007

II runs through January 4 at Aklan Museum

in Kilibo, Philippines. The show features the

work of 25 paper artists from 14 different

countries. For information, call (036) 268-9260.

Black/White (and Read), a traveling exhibition

of artist books curated by the late Gloria Helfgott

that includes work utilizing handmade

paper, is on display January 28 through March

16 in the library of the School of Art, Media

and Design, The University of the West of

England, in Bristol. Information can be found

at www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk.

The Ghost Trees, a site-specific handmade

paper installation by Michelle Wilson, will be

on display for the month of April in the Window

on Broad at The University of the Arts.

The Window on Broad is located at 322 South

Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA. For more information

on Michelle Wilson, please visit her

website, Rocinante Press, at rocinantepress.

blogspot.com.

Shellie Jacobson: Clay and Paper is on exhibit

until January 6 at The Hunterdon Museum of

Art in Clinton, New Jersey. Visit www.hunterdonartmuseum.

org or call (908) 735-8415.

> CALLS FOR ENTRIES

The Susan Hensel Gallery in Minneapolis

solicits entries for Reader’s Art 8: Handmade

With Care. The gallery is seeking artists

books/bookobjects that have the emphasis

on the mark of the hand, with special weight

given to submissions using handmade paper.

The submission deadline is January 15, 2008

and the show will take place in March and

April. For complete submission information

visit www.susanhenselgallery.com or call (612)

722-2324.

Fiber Celebration 2008 seeks entries for this

juried exhibition of functional and non-functional,

two-dimensional and three-dimensional

fiber art, including work in papermaking, spinning,

weaving, sculpture, felting, and more.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Northern

Colorado Weaver’s Guild and will be held at

Lincoln Center Gallery in Fort Collins. Entries

are due January 31. Full submission guidelines

are available at www.fortnet.org/NCWG. Questions

can be directed to Kristi Bott at (970)

454-2950 or kristibott@what-wire.com.

14 hand papermaking newsletter

The Miniature Book Society invites entries to

the 2008 Miniature Book Competition and

Exhibition. To qualify, a book must measure no

more than three inches in any dimension and

must have been published in a multiple copy

edition (one of a kind books are not eligible)

within the two year period April 2006 through

April 2008. Submissions utilizing handmade

paper are encouraged. Rules for entries are on

the MBS website, www.mbs.org. Questions

can be directed to the Chair, Neale M. Albert at

nma8156@yahoo.com.

> OPPORTUNITIES

The Interdisciplinary Arts Department of

Columbia College Chicago invites applications

for a tenure track, graduate faculty appointment

in Paper/Book arts. See ad on page 15 for

details. Application deadline is January 21.

Wells College Book Arts Center seeks applications

for the Victor Hammer Fellowship in

Book Arts. The successful applicant will have

extensive experience in hand bookbinding plus

one other area of the books arts such as letterpress,

papermaking, or calligraphy. Duties

of this two-year fellowship include: instructing

one introductory hand bookbinding course

per semester, assisting with Center projects,

and producing an independent body of work.

For complete information and application

instructions, contact the Book Arts Center at

bookartscenter@wells.edu or (315) 364-3420.

Applications are due February 15.

The Creative Residency program in Visual Arts

at The Banff Centre, Alberta, Canada, provides

studio facilities and support for artists working

in a broad range of media, including painting,

drawing, performance, ceramics, book arts,

textile art, papermaking, sculpture, installation,

photography, and more. In the spring of

2008, The Banff Centre offers the thematic

residency “Making Artistic Inquiry Visible.”

Visit www.banffcentre.ca or contact wendy_

tokaryk@banffcentre.ca or (403) 762-6402.

Spring internship positions in the areas of

Art Administration, Archive, Gallery, and

Studio are available at Dieu Donné Papermill,

a non-profit artist workspace dedicated to

contemporary art in the hand papermaking

process in New York City. Participants earn

credits toward classes and studio time. Visit

www.dieudonne.org for complete details and a

downloadable application.

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.

> more opportunities at

handpapermaking.org/listings.htm

Cultural Collaborative, a small non-profit

working with children in Ghana, is looking

for papermakers and bookbinders to volunteer

to teach the kids next summer. If interested

contact aba@culturalcollaborative.org. For

information on Cultural Collaborative, visit

www.culturalcollaborative.org.

> MISCELLANEOUS

The Robert C. Williams Paper Museum, Atlanta,

Georgia, has received a grant from Weyerhaeuser

Company Foundation to design a new

tour experience, Paper in Our World. This

education program, consisting of a guided museum

tour and hands-on papermaking activity,

will use paper as a lens to raise the consciousness

of children and adults alike about the

importance of safeguarding the environment

and our natural resources. For more information,

contact Fran Rottenberg at 404-894-5726

or fran.rottenberg@ipst.gatech.edu.

The work of paper artist Bobbi Mastrangelo

is featured on www.sewerhistory.org in the

“Sewers in Our Culture” section, which

features ways that sewers have entered our

culture in art, sculpture, literature, and music.

Mastrangelo uses the designs and textures

of manhole covers to create sculptures and

handmade paper pieces.

Julie Jones is exploring a book on

Environmental Aspects of Hand Papermaking

and seeks references to works or people

looking at the environmental aspects of

choices made by hand papermakers and the

resulting impacts on both the environment

and the paper. Please contact her at

jjones@sasweb.org, or by mail c/o Julie Jones,

PO Box 178, Sewanee, TN 37375.

Bring us your questions! Hand Papermaking

Newsletter re-launches its Q & A column.

To help us get started, please submit your

questions about handmade paper to

newsletter@handpapermaking.org,

be they wacky, obscure, off-the-wall, or even

run of the mill. Next, look for answers by guest

columnists in upcoming issues.

> CLASSIFIEDS

Classifieds in Hand Papermaking Newsletter

cost 75 cents per word, with no minimum.

Critter Paper Beater Wanted, preferably from

Florida or American Southeast area. (954) 727-

8584 or delfoxton@batelnet.bs

Eastman Ultonic Cutter. This comes with the

manual, glove and spare blades. New $1600.

Asking price $800 or best offer. Cuts 7” of rag

at once. Will ship anywhere. Contact Amanda_

Degener@yahoo.com

Bay Area paper-making and letterpress shop

for sale. See ad on page 10.

> SPECIAL THANKS

Hand Papermaking would like to thank the following

people and organizations who have made

direct contributions to further our mission. 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.

Benefactors: The Fifth Floor Foundation,

Barbara Lippman, David Marshall & Alan

Wiesenthal. Underwriters: The Drachen Foundation,

Charles E. Morgan, Peter Newland

Fund of the Greater Everett Community

Foundation, John L. Risseeuw, Marilyn Sward.

Sponsors: Jane M. Farmer, Peter Hopkins, Abby

& Mitch Leigh, Nancy Norton Tomasko, Anil

Revri, Kimberly Schenck, Scott R. Skinner,

Beck Whitehead, Pamela S. Wood. Donors:

Grimanesa Amoros, Cathleen A. Baker,

Eugenie Barron, Simon & Kimberly Blattner,

Nita Colgate, William J. Dane, Mona Dukess,

Lori B. Goodman, Helen Hiebert, Lois James,

Kristin Kavanagh, Joyce Kierejczyk, Betty L.

Kjelson, Dianne L. Reeves, Mary C. Schlosser,

Marvin Spomer, R. H. Starr, Jr., William J.

Wagner, Tom Weideman, Marcia Widenor.

Supporters: Susan K. Abrams, Rochelle Brown,

Inge Bruggeman, Bertram Cohen, Wavell

Cowan, Amanda Degener, Linda Draper,

Martha Duran, Gail Fishberg, Eve Ingalls Von

Staden, Rick Johnson, Lou Kaufman, Betty

Kjelson, Hedi Kyle, Edwin Martin, Dennis

Morris, Patricia L. O’Neal, Andrea Peterson,

Agnes Schlenke, Kathleen Stevenson, Ellie

Winberg, Kathy Wosika.

Recognizing Hand Papermaking’s 20th anniversary

in 2006, the Board of Directors pledged

an initial gift of $10,000 to launch the Hand

Papermaking Endowment Fund. We now have

nearly $40,000 received or pledged thanks to the

generosity of:

49er Books, Marjorie & Harold Alexander,

Martin Antonetti, Shirah Miriam (Mimi)

Aumann, Cathleen A. Baker, Tom Balbo,

Timothy Barrett, Sidney Berger, Marcia Blake,

Inge Bruggeman, Tom & Lore Burger, Nita

Colgate, Georgia Deal, Gail Deery, Jeanne M.

Drewes, Bryan C. Ellison, Jane Farmer, Helen

Frederick, Sara Gilfert, Susan Gosin, Helen

Hiebert, Peter Hopkins, Lois & Gordon James,

Julie Jones, Kristin Kavanagh, David Kimball,

Elaine Koretsky, Abby & Mitch Leigh, Barbara

Lippman, Winifred Lutz, Allegra Marquart,

David Marshall & Alan Wiesenthal, Anne and

Robert McKeown, Jesse Munn, Peter Newland

Fund of the Greater Everett Community

Foundation, Margaret Prentice, Preservation

Technologies L.P., Michelle Samour, Peter

Sowiski, R. H. Starr, Jr., Marilyn Sward, Betty

Sweren, Gibby Waitzkin, Tom Weideman,

Beck Whitehead, Pamela and Gary Wood.

Please consider becoming a Founding Contributor

to the endowment thereby assuring the long-term

future of Hand Papermaking. For more information

about this campaign, or to make a pledge,

contact Tom Bannister at (800) 821-6604 or visit

www.handpapermaking.org/Endowment.html

Thank you!

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