MAKE PAPER

The same weekend as our show opening in Oakland, ProArts hosted its annual open studio tours and we were asked to participate. Jenny Williams, who has facilitated other great workshops at the space arranged for us to lead a papermaking workshop. Though one of us is a meticulous papermaker, some of us are a little more loose with our methods. Also, holding a water-intensive workshop at a bookstore posed a few issues but we brought some prepared kozo fiber, demonstrated ways to use it sculpturally without beating it. We also beat some of the fiber by hand with mallet, pulled tiny sheets, pressed them between boards and brushed them onto the bookstore windows to dry.  Overall, a successful day.

Okra used for formation aid to help the fibers settle in the vat.

Liam stands on old woodblock carvings re-purposed as boards to press out water in the new sheets. The sheets are between felts between the boards.

kozo fiber wet and ready for beating and an example of what the dried fiber can look like without beating.

brushing sheets to dry on the bookstore windows as andy works outside.