winter paper intensive

the animals around here 

certainly have a sense of humor.

this black walnut is hidden in plain sight.

(hidden after the cushions were removed for the winter)

on the old, many times repaired glider on my porch.

there was a lot of milkweed prep & papermaking

 an almost empty pod

 finished stack

 a sense of translucency

 meanwhile, a little tour of Zone 4

 making paper with lee mcdonald moulds

(see the tiny one on upper left?)

 surface design

 further Z4 images

 i keep finding more

 sending this out to our pres

 thought crime

 and home curating milkweed

reading the recipes

winifred lutz, gin petty, lilian bell.

lilian bell's helpful book was a treat to re-read

and 

right there were my notes in the margins from ages ago.

 at Z4 i was going through a basket of paper offcuts

and leftovers

meant for recycling.

and there was a bit one of my first milkweed papers.

it was great to see this

and very informative because i keep learning.

left: milkweed circa 1986

right january 2017

 what changed?

fiber was cut to 1 inch in the old sheet, and formation aid was tororo aoi.

new paper i left fibers long, hand beaten until my hands hurt

 eventually i chopped and blendered a bit.

i also used prepped formation aid leftover from peace paper at Z4.

and then, 

finally,

 i got to the linen rag paper.

that pulp that clogged the hollander a month ago,

was set aside, fermented a bit, frozen on the porch 

(see the walnut above)

and thawed and beating completed.

the first little linen rag paper sample

 the levis after papermaking

linen paper with jasper beach stones

there are also some large 12 x 18 sheets.

(the largest here is 8.5 x 11

smallest is business card size)

 it was cold outside yesterday morning

frosty

and today it's snowing. 

we can use it, and if we get enough, 

the new snowshoes will get a workout!

 the woods was etched with rime.

 and 

 beautiful beyond belief.

~~~
and
this project i participated in
love trumps hate
shu-ju wang orchestrated this, made the print (in my case)
and just sent the whole bunch out to the 53 participants.
now i will make the prayer flag.

and i have an idea where it should hang.

2017

evening and night

 my meadow,

where i harvested all that milkweed

 we celebrated new years eve

listening to our local public radio, wslu,

and talking.

wakening to a lovely day.

we often drive from the place i call home

to cranberry lake

down tooley pond road.

i had ice cream for lunch

and then we went out for a walk in the woods

at home.

evidence of an old tree stand

and some amazing trees

that have grown in unusual ways. 

 this one holds two dead trees.

 this birch really really wanted to keep growing

after winter arched it down

 it continued on.

 this woods is very rich,

but actually the soil is thin

and galacial erratics pepper it.

 and so many 

rock ridges follow the same path,

of course there are sugar maples

red and striped maple, hickory, hemlock spruce, white pine

june berry...

 and here's another.

a stream makes an S 

 through this little bit of the

 great north woods.

at home

the barn continues to bend.

 isn't it crazy

that something so huge 

just melts away? 

i am so happy

that the days are a fraction of an inch longer.

i sense it, know it, and celebrate it. 

happy new year.

and thank you all for your attention, 

your caring.

and there's a new interview with me
over at zoneone arts.
seems that zones are currently in my world 
(zones one and four, that is).