Cards and workshop

There are still a few spaces left in the Beginners Papermaking workshop that I am running for Papermakers of Victoria next week.
You can still enrol at the papermakers website.
As part of the class I'll be teaching basic recycling and will cover fibre selection, pulp making, sizing, sheet forming, pressing and drying. In addition we will emboss paper, make paper with various inclusions and do a small bit of pulp painting. Participants will come away with around 30 sheets of beautiful paper.

I have been having a lovely time lately making gelatine prints and making cards from them, I've been really happy with some of the effects I've been getting.
I have added some to my Etsy shop and there will also me some for sale at the Alcove Art Shop and Open Drawer.

Website updated

After quite a hiatus and a lot of mucking around with iprimus and dreamweaver I have finally updated my website.
Also we had the opening of the Papermakers exhibition Paper is that is on at Mont de Lancey in Wandin yesterday, it rained most of the day so not a great day for an opening however we had quite a good turn out. Last Monday I decided that my leaves would look better green so I got out the paper dyes and turned them green, I think they look much better.

Paper is: Leaves

Paper is: Leaves

I have been having a great time with some abaca that I beat in the valley beater for 7 hours. It took two trips to Bundoora but it is such a wonderful fibre. This particular piece uses wire embedded between two sheets of fibre. The longer you beat the pulp the more the paper shrinks. The area braced by the wire becomes taut while the rest shrivels.

Paper is: Circulation

I have nearly finished my most ambitious piece for the exhibition next month at Mont de Lancey in Wandin. I've called it Paper is: Circulation playing on the title of the exhibition and on newspapers and the spots and other circular imagery in my spherical books.

When I took these photos I had made six books with cases but decided it looked better with an extra three so I have now made nine books and have nearly finished the cases and I've used each of the colours of the hemp paper that came from Bangladesh and has been living in my studio for around a year.

Herring Island Summer Arts Festival

 Each year a small group of volunteers puts on an arts festival on Herring Island, a lovely bushy island in the middle of the Yarra River. The first two for the year were Association of Sculptors and Basketmakers of Victoria and next up is the Contemporary Art Society of Victoria followed by A4 Art. I usually enter both Contemporary by Nature and A4 Art however this year I've just entered the first show and for the first time instead of framed wall hanging pieces I have entered these two artist books. The first I did some time ago after a workshop with Glen Skien and the second more recently.

Spore mixed media, collage, print and handmade mushroom paper

Spore mixed media, collage, print and handmade mushroom paper

Spore mixed media, collage, print and handmade mushroom paper

Circularity handmade paper pulp painting and gelatine print

Circularity handmade paper pulp painting and gelatine print

Circularity handmade paper pulp painting and gelatine print

Second box

My second box also incorporates the well beaten abaca plus the hemp that used to be my Christmas tree. 

I made a drum from a cardboard cylinder with abaca and hemp. I made the string from a mix of the two fibres and the bits on the end from hemp pulp. The abaca worked beautifully as the drum surface.  It makes a lovely sound, I made a video but unfortunately had the sound turned off.

I cut all the musical symbols out of abaca.

One Black Box down

As part of our Paper is exhibition we have a black box challenge where we make a work to fit inside the box. My first piece is done.
After two trips over to Bundoora and 7 hours in the valley beater I have some abaca that I am loving. It stretches beautifully over armatures and is almost like velum in appearance and feel.

This piece is Paper is Light and although you can't see in the picture a small battery operated tea light sits inside.

The green in the background and on the wires of the armature is hemp that was my Christmas tree this year.

Back on Board

First post for the year and it is almost 7 months since the last. I had a fabulous trip away last September and October travelling to South America, mainly for the IAPMA congress in Brasilia but also to visit Iguassu falls and Machu Picchu among others then it was off to the US to attend a wedding in Boise Idaho. While in the US we visited Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, The Grand Canyon (only for about an hour, not nearly long enough), three other parks and Las Vegas (about 4 days - too long!)

At the moment I am preparing some works for our Papermakers of Victoria exhibition that is very nearly upon us. As I complete works I'll try to post some images.