Monday, April 9, 2012

Holy Weekend Willow Paper Redux

For the second year in a row my friend Carol and I gathered several months' worth of willow bark peelings and settled into the paper studio at BookWorks in West Asheville to make a supply of willow bark paper.  I kept careful notes of the procedure, and my journal pages are here:
This kind of project journal is one of my favorites because of its usefulness.  Carol and I were completely dependent on last year's journal notes to remember this willow paper process, and I started a new set of notes for this year, as we were making improvements and trying out a new recipe. 

This year we had the unexpected diversion of a termite swarm as we were getting ready to drain the pulp from the beater.
We also solved a mystery this year in that we realized last year's slow drying time was because we had forgotten to line up the cells in the triwall correctly in reference to the fan.

Below are samples of the two tones of paper that I made.  The one on the right has more abaca (manilla hemp) and cotton linter with the willow.  The one on the left is about half willow and half abaca/cotton linter.  Both have a lovely smooth finish with just enough tooth to be great for drawing on and using gouache and light watercolor.  The whole sheets are 11 x 14".
 

9 comments:

  1. You never fail to astound. Love the perfect sheets you made. See ya Friday in the rotunda.

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  2. Wow!! Beautiful paper - but a termite swarm?!!!! Now that is dedication to your art!!

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  3. lovely post, gwen. did you make any 100% willow paper? i'd be interested in seeing it!

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  4. How wonderful to make your own special paper.

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  5. Thanks for the comments! Velma- 100% willow paper would be pretty weak because the fibers aren't very long. Abaca makes it very strong, and cotton smooths it out and makes it nicer for drawing or writing on and both lighten the willow color. But that reddish pinkish tan color is all from the willow!

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  6. looks delicious! Art=science=cooking.

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  7. I love your journals! I see that you have taught at John C. Campbell Folk School. My husband will be teaching basketry there in less than two weeks. I have never been and cannot wait. I plan on bringing my journal and sketch along their walking trails and document it on my blog. Not sure if I'll show any of my journal pages. They don't look as good as yours! You must get lots of inspiration thumbing through your own books!
    Lynne www.thebasketmakerswife.com

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  8. I saw this paper in person and it is gorgeous. Carol showed me what you had made. I love the flecks in the paper.

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  9. Thanks! The flecks are little bits of bark that we were unable to remove. I like the way they look, and they aren't very lumpy or hard to write on.

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