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.

walnut dye, milkweed paper, car accident

 dyeing with walnut on tiny papers and one milkweed sheet.

 the dye and the brush

 an old blanket to become a felt

 dry milkweed paper, and the newly dyed

 first dyed milkweed

 a partial stack of milkweed sheets and the edge of my work table. i love this table. my nephew rich resurfaced it long ago, then gave it to me.

 the reverse patch

 milkweed almost dry

 i love this paper

 erratic deckle

 lovely

can't help it, it's lovely 

 closer

 it makes you want to inhale

slowly.

after i left the mill, i was in the house, looked out the window to see if the mail had come. we are having big snow. 

up from my house a few yards, in my ditch, was a newly overturned suv.

i called 911, and they already had the call, i went out, the young guy was walking around and taking calls! and that was the beginning of all the traffic, state police, and within a little while the car is rightsideup.

and it's gone, all within an hour. 

this is at least the seventh accident in front of my house, one other occurred in exactly the same spot, two years or so ago. 

 in the mail, two checks, one a book sale, one for dental work.

and a christmas card.