Thursday, October 28, 2010

and now for a paper making studio!!

I'm puttering around in the studio basement getting the space ready for a hand papermaking workshop that I'm teaching. When I got the studio we put in a bunch of pot lights to make it brighter, but It's weird being down there and not knowing if it's light or dark out. This must be what it's like to work in an office building cubicle.

Checked out my beater and I guess I haven't used it since it was used in "The Time Traveller's Wife" movie. I have an extra pipe (I think it's theirs), my drain stop has a broken handle and my makeshift engine protector is missing. Ugh! Have to do some McGyver-ing!

My felts are all in one place, I have to clear the air dryer, and put the press on the floor by the drain... hmmm... better check to see if the pump has enough fluid to create pressure... and where are my boards?!?
The workshop starts this Sunday and the first thing we'll do is talk about types of paper, what the differences are, fibres, and ways to manipulate pulp. After that we'll start getting the dry stuffs ready for pulping. The five participants will be learning how to make paper from scratch. We're starting with cotton and linen fabrics for the pulp. Using linters will come later when we need a boat load of pulp to work with!

I love the fact that I can turn our old rags (t-shirts, pants, towels, etc.) into gorgeous pieces of coloured papers. That is what I call Up-cycling!

I've got the rags but I'm still waiting for the riches!

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