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.

IAPMA, Papermakers of Victoria and paper donation

Early in December Barb was contacted by Liz Z to see if Papermakers would like some paper donated, of course we said yes and I volunteered to store it. Little did I know what I was letting myself in for though I must say I was warned. There are three types of paper mostly made from off cuts from the garment industry in Bangladesh. Lots of lovely colours of silk paper, it isn't paper as you know it but is big enough to use as wrapping paper and would be great in collages. Papermakers is selling the sheets for $2 each, contact me if you are interested in purchasing some.

Some of the silk paper

Some of the silk paper

The other paper there is lots of is this highly textured card made from hemp and cotton, it appears to be mould dried so isn't very dense but recycles beautifully.

Some of the hemp and cotton

Some of the hemp and cotton

Two thirds of the paper in my guest room

I have recycled some of the white and cream in my Lander critter and used the paper for my works that I have proposed for the exhibitions that IAPMA is running in celebration of 30 years. The theme is luminous within and here are some glimpses of three of my pieces.

Detail of Pearl

Detail of Pearls of Wisdom

Detail of Precious

Europe and workshops

I am about to go to Europe for the IAPMA Congress that is happening next month in Fabriano, Italy at the Museo della carta e della filigrana. I have just finished putting together a catalogue for the members show and am putting the finishing touches together for both my travel plans and those for husband and daughter who will be travelling in Italy while I am at the congress. I will be visiting Paris for the first time and Netherlands and Italy for the second, it will be Mike's first trip to Europe.

From the week after I get back I will be teaching a series of workshops for Open Drawer on decorative papers.

A series of classes looking at ways of getting pattern and colour onto paper.

4 x 3 hour workshops $60 each payable to Open Drawer

Time: 12.30 – 3.30pm

Friday July 25th:    Natural Dye and Print

Make marks onto paper using a range of natural materials including tealeaves, gum leaves, ferns, berries and a range of metals. Some great effects can be achieved.

Bring along a range of leaves from your garden

Material Fee $6 includes: paper and other materials needed – payable to Gail on the day

Friday August 8th:    Indigo and Rust

Learn how to set up an indigo vat for dyeing paper (and fabric) to a range of beautiful blues. Also learn about rusting paper using readily obtained chemicals then combine the two processes to achieve some wonderful effects.

Material Fee of $10 includes:  paper and chemicals – payable to Gail on the day

Friday August 22nd:   Paste Papers

Get back to kinder with some finger painting. Use a range of tools to create beautiful patterns on paper using paste and colour.

Material Fee $10 includes: all materials needed for workshop

Friday September 5th:   Scraper Paper

Get some wonderful effects on paper using acrylic paint and a scraper of some sort, a great use for old plastic gift cards.

Bring along a spray bottle and at least three tubes of acrylic paint (Jo Sonya works well, anything that is not too thin) including one metallic colour. Please also bring disposable gloves and wear an apron.

Material Fee $6 includes: all  Paper - payable to Gail on the day

Sunday workshop and a book finally made

I started this post nearly a week ago but somehow none of it saved so here goes again.
I am teaching a workshop for Papermakers of Victoria this coming Sunday and we are doing acetate etching (although it is perhaps more correctly acetate engraving). I have done a bit with sheets of thickish acetate scratching the surface with an awl and that is what we will be concentrating on however I have also been playing around using an engraver on perspex and was happy with the results so we will do some of that too.
Here are a few that I did with the acetate:-

And these ones I did with the perspex and the engraver.

Some time ago I blogged about a workshop I did with Velma Bolyard in February this year, well it took getting together with Chris to bind our PoV snake books (from longer ago, last December!) to finally bind the second book of pages that were in the blue tones. Some I dipped in indigo but I also slipped in a few cyanotypes and other bits and pieces.

This book will be going to Fabriano to the IAPMA congress for the silent auction and I have started work on my keepsakes, I have enough of the plant fibre paper that is a mix of papyrus and New Zealand flax both of which got well washed and bleached somewhat by the rain. I have made my two plates from easy cut rubbery material and done a trial print, the next challenge is to see if they will overprint without too much slippage.

The snake book bound! At last.

                                    

My page on right, the back of Chris's on the left

More of my page, all the paper is yukka, the top sheet has been momigamied with arrowroot paste and the bottom sheet has daphne bast fibre added and has a lino print.

Mind you while I am mucking around with this blog I should be either printing my keepsakes, binding some eco books or preparing the catalogue for the Congress members show. I had better get back to at least one of these!!!

Too busy to blog???

I notice it is almost two months since I last blogged. I have been thinking lately that I have been spending too much time working for and promoting other peoples practices and not enough on my own. I have been spending a lot of time helping with the organisation of the next IAPMA Congress that is happening in Fabriano Italy from 1-6 July. And yes, I will be attending and having some holiday time in Paris, Amsterdam and Rome before the congress.

Connections cyanotype on handmade cotton paper

Nexus - detail cyanotype on hanji

These two pieces will be exhibited as part of the member show in Fabriano, they are on their way to Italy now, I have my fingers and toes crossed that they'll arrive safely. Back in 2000 the work I sent for the members show failed to arrive. Three of the boxes arrived back in Melbourne in January 2001 and one was delivered to the Tuscany address a couple of months later.

This dress is currently in Jeonju Korea but due to the ferry disaster there won't be shown until some later date. All public events have been cancelled or postponed.

I have made a few journals lately including a new series of Melbourne icons. It all started when I made my daughter who is currently living in Netherlands a cardboard Christmas Tree and Vegemite jar ornament. Since I had the photo of the Vegemite jar I put it on the cover of a couple of books but they were deemed to breach copyright so I started again with some Vegemite on toast, lamingtons and twisties. They in turn led to using photographs of some Melbourne landmarks, The Skipping girl and Luna Park.

Skipping girl

Skipping girl inside

Skipping girl

Luna Park

Lamingtons

Vegemite

These books are currently available at Open Drawer and The Alcove Art Shop, not on Etsy yet.

recent publications

I have some work in a few recent publications. IAPMA has produced another book of members work and this time 261 members participated. Copies are available by contacting Eva Juras but if you are in Melbourne contact me at president@iapma.info and I can arrange delivery, I am getting some sent to me that will be for sale through Artisan Books. You can see some more images from the book here.

I also had work in the East Gippsland Art Gallery artist books award 'Books...beyond words, Revolution. Here is the catalogue and my page in the catalogue. 

This one has been out for some time but Lark Books produced 500 Paper Objects and three of my pieces were included.

Earthworks

Papermakers of Victoria has an exhibition coming up at Open Drawer, I delivered my two pieces yesterday and Yabbers worked on putting our piece together for the show, I will post some preliminary pics soon. I am about to head off to the US, my eventual destination being the IAPMA, Friends of Dard Hunter meeting in Cleveland at the Morgan Conservatory but I'll be visiting San Francisco, New York, Boston, Washington, Cleveland, Cincinatti and maybe Chicago and Toledo. It takes a lot of organising but I'm getting there!

Butterflies and keepsakes

Back in late January on return from holidays I noticed that a couple of my daphne bushes were looking very sad, I think they had got wet feet, one had died and the leaves on the other had gone very yellow. What does a papermaker do but steam the stems and cook up the inner bark then stick it in the fridge!

A healthy daphne

The stems in the steamer

The stripped stems

Two hours later the inner bark ready to cook

Sheets of coffee chaff paper. Last year I was sent a big box of coffee chaff,
I cooked some up and washed and made paper without any beating.

The backs of my sheeting couching cloths, the coffee paper shrunk quite a lot.

The third lot of sheets that are part of the keepsake exchange for Watermarks 2012, FDH and IAPMA joint meeting in Cleveland. These sheets are bluebell flower stems courtesy of Beverly Bennett who brought a giant bag of dried stems to the last Papermakers of Victoria meeting laminated with well beaten cardamon stems and leaves from Margaret Mason's garden. Koala, kangaroo and wombat signs were made from gaffer tape to form stencils.

As usual I have gone over the top my keepsakes are taking ages to put together, they have daphne, then coffee chaff then the laminated cardamom and bluebell (scilla), I have done about a third.

I have a bit of a butterfly theme happening at the moment, yabbers are making a range of butterflies for the PoV exhibition that's to be held at Open Drawer in November. I have made these with black card and coloured New Zealand Flax, I liked them so much I decided to frame some. 

Papillon Three, is currently on show at the Contemporary Art Society Members Exhibition at 314 Church Street Richmond until 16 September 2012

I have used butterflies on books and cards

I also made some origami butterflies out of paper I made from recycled teabags, I had asked the T'Arts to save me some teabags then remembered how well teabags work with photocopy transfer using oil of wintergreen. This pic shows the original butterfly and the transfer onto teabag and the paper that was under the teabag.

Lemons on our tree

Lemons again transferred onto a piece of silk that Ruth left under the teabags she was collecting for me.

Pulp Fiction my contribution to Book Art Object Edition Four