Does a bear you know what in the woods ?
Early this spring, ever mindful of locating vegetation for all stages of paper/book making, I went for a hike in upstate Downsville NY where my son just bought 11 acres of mountaintop land in the Catskills with a log cabin. I found a large stand of blackberry bushes intending to gather the canes to use for dye or possible fiber source for paper but thought better to leave this task to my next visit when we came upon this (pictured). The bears were out of hibernation with young and looking for food. We brusquely walked back to the cabin.
Little visitors, little hands, little pieces of banana skin paper.
Still trying to set up some children's classes for papermaking and have a list of neighbors who are waiting for cooler weather to bring the kids over.....the heat index has been as high as 121 with very high humidity ..impossible to stay outside where most of the beating and drying happens and almost impossible to dry anything. Again, why did I think i could make paper in the steamy South ????
Deck finished, water, sink, air conditioning installed !
Managing my space better...set up my favorite tool on the deck.......my portable press. This was made by an intern I had several years ago (Eileen Sackman- a wonderful artist) from scrap wood and plans I received at a Friends of Dard Hunter Conference generously handed out by Jana Pullman (http://aboutthebinding.blogspot.com/) who makes the most beautiful tools and books. This has become the most exciting feature of my class as each student gets a chance to operate the press...very exciting to watch the water flow using a 2 ton car jack !
"Emily and Me" Poems by Emily Dickinson and Faces by Ellen Beinhorn
http://www.portraitspoetryart.net/ I met Ellen at the inauguration meeting of the Emily Dickinson International Society meeting here in South Carolina and have been a dedicated fan of both Emily and Ellen ever since. I was able to attend the exhibit "Emily Dickinson's Garden, The Poetry of Flowers" at the NY Botanical Garden in the Bronx in June. Some of Emily's favorite flowers pictured above. I was inspired by Emily's herbarium (popular pastime in the mid 1800's) on exhibit at the Garden's library and thought how valuable a herbarium of plants currently used for papermaking would be !
So many ideas so little time .....................
I will also be working with Ellen to create and bind small little single signature books of handmade paper to resemble the 40 "Fascicles"...little gatherings bound with string... that Dickinson created for hundreds of her poems, hidden and found after her death by her sister. These will be used by Ellen's poetry students at her classes at the University of South Carolina Beaufort Branch in the fall.
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