Papermaking Workshop Part 2

one option for beating the fiber

 With buckets of cooked fiber and not enough coffee, on a Saturday morning in San Francisco, class began.  Students looked at sample books while Rhiannon talked about paper making and resources.  And then came the fun.  Students took turns with the blenders making the artichoke, fennel, eucapyltus, and grass fibers into usable pulp.  Others cut daffodil and horsetail stems to cook to use later in class. I prepared vats and had abaca ready to strengthen some of the weaker fibers, a good strong base for beautiful but not so strong fibers.

a significantly less popular option (this is kozo,not locally harvested)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Hand-beating fibers was also discussed and students were offered some prepared kozo to try.  It is a good fiber for witnessing the transformation of plant fiber from recognizable plant form to separated fibers ready to be part of paper.  Personally I also love partially beaten kozo because it is strong and holds its form and can form beautiful lace like designs.  Students were less interested or perhaps felt no realease in hitting something over and over.

vat of artichoke pulp

And so it began.  Pulp is added to a vat of water, the separated fibers are suspended, and then removed with a mold and deckle, almost like a screen with a frame.  Here the mold and deckle await the next person.

using a deckle box

An alternative method is to use a deckle box, adding the fiber and water to a box with a screen for a bottom and high sides.  Here, Rhiannon demonstrates how to make a one-of-a-kind pulp mixture in the deckle-box.

 

 

wet paper!

Either way, once most of the water has drained through the mold or the deckle box, the new sheet of paper is turned on to a pelon on felts to be ready to be pressed.  The pressing released more water and squishes the fibers together.

My paper is still drying in San Fransisco.  I will share photos once I get it back.  The class lasted all day and by the end, everyone was excited and exhausted.  I went home with a few bags of pulp and can't wait to try them out! They may have to wait until after the Patchwork show though.

And if you live in the Bay Area and this looks fun to you, contact Rhiannon Alpers through her website to sign up for summer classes in papermaking www.rhiannonalpers.com

Catching Up

tall windows in Rhiannon's studio

Yikes! It's been a while.  I've been busy busy.  I just downloaded my desktop calendar for April today.  It hasn't been all work--yesterday Andy and I took a walk in the woods and ended up in a redwood grove for a few hours, but more on that later.  Here's a  little bit of what I've been up to.

tools

Rhiannon Alpers was teaching a class using local fibers in papermaking and I asked to be her assistant.  I haven't been making paper too much and though I do not have a project in mind, I thought it might get me excited about paper again.  And it did!  I went to her studio a week before the class to help prep.

cooking eucalyptus leaves

 First we went for a walk and collected eucalyptus leaves and palm bark--the hairy stuff around the tree.  She also had some fennel from a friend though there is plenty growing wild in San Francisco. (I planted it in my garden anyway. And, thanks to the cats, it never sprouted).

cooking fresh fennel

checking the fiber

 We returned to the studio and started cutting the plants in prepartation. The fennel was fresh and the eucalyptus was brittle and would have to be mixed with a stronger fiber anyway so we started them cooking right away.

I love using the rotary cutter!

It takes about two hours for the fiber to cook so we cut some pelons (like interfacing for quilting) to put our formed sheet onto during class.  Then we had a little drink.  And got back to work.

artichoke and grass pulps

Rhiannon had some pulp left over from a previous class, some of which had dried and some of which was a little moldy.  We cleaned and rinsed and rehyrated.  Then we strained the cooked pulp and called it a day.

Next time: photos of class and the finished paper!

 Hey, if you live in the Bay Area and want to take a papermaking class, contact Rhiannon though her website for summer classes.

Vandercook Weekend

I once told a papermaker friend that I tell papermakers I am a printmaker and vice versa.  Maybe it seems like I am lowering the bar as an excuse for myself but I am just giving myself more room to learn all around.  This weekend, I found myself explaining that I print equally on platen presses and flatbed Vandercooks as I had the opportunity to take a Vandercook Maintenance class with Paul Moxen at the San Francisco Center for the Book.   All of my internship hours were worth the chance to take apart sections of presses I have used to create many years of postcards.

 

For non-letterpress friends, this might be a little nerdy.  Paul Moxen probably knows more about Vandercook machines and history than anyone in the US now.  He is a great collector of stories and information, constantly gathering more.  He keeps a registry of Vandercook presses in the world, to which I added the beauty in our garage.  I also had the chance to meet someone who has the same press we have, a motorized Universal 1 with an adjustable bed and automatic feeder.  I look forward to emailing Chip at Quail Lane Press next time our press makes that weird noise as I print another postcard.

checking the balance of the carriage

paper grippers from the inside out

gauge on the 219 for the adjustable bed

 I won't bore you with details of what I learned but a few things started to make sense about presses I have used before (oh the LSU Vandercooks need love).   Maybe I will post some photos when Ben and I have a chance to clean up ours.  But today, before it rains, I must fix my bike after my derailleur somehow twisted itself into my back wheel the other day.  Wish me luck!

For Middle Schoolers!

I am teaching a class with the Baton Rouge Arts Council Community School for the Arts. It is my first workshop with them and I am excited. It starts Tuesday so if you know any one interested, contact Robin at robin@acgbr.com .