Sunday, January 3, 2010

Banana Skins and Coffee Filters



Holiday cards are done and mailed, this year's wrapping gathered and stored, new projects and thoughts for a new book beginning to form .... saving coffee filters and banana skins for making a beautiful rich dark textured paper - several ideas for this as well... just need enough bananas for a vat full of pulp !! etc etc etc. My mind is racing and I'm looking forward to a very productive new year.



The word is out among my neighbors that a papermaker lives in the area and requests for visits and classes are trickling in. We commissioned our neighbor, Rob, to build my studio along with other neighbors in the construction field last year. I invited Rob and his family here to help make the first official sheets of paper in my "Moon Tide Paper Studio" (actually I should call it a cottage... it's so perfect) word spread from there. I guess I will have to be ready to "go public" in my new community of Bluffton. There are still some kinks in the studio layout – we're adding a deck and work table alongside the building for cooking and hand beating fiber out doors since I use the studio for bookbinding as well.... less mess inside and our beautiful weather pulls at me to work outside. I checked with town officials and there is no restriction on collecting sea grass (spartina) from the beaches here. So full speed ahead on MOON TIDE PAPER for the new year.

TIP: for those looking to teach classes - home schooled groups of children are always looking for something different - papermaking and studio visit is perfect for this setting.

My year long project with friend Pat Sahertian - "In The Trenches" a book about Hart Island Potter's Field is ready for its debut ... looking for artist's book shows to exhibit this amazing book. Pat has details of this book on her Studio PS blog. I will eventually have detail photos of the pages as well.

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