In The Studio
Buckets of fiber soaking . The white is
cotton linter, the sticks are bamboo and
the small bucket is okra
Next the pulp is  colored with pure
pigment. A retention agent called Percol is
added to bond the cotton fibers to the
pigment
A two part mould called a deckle box is
used to form the sheet of paper.Pulp is
poured into the mold then  whisked
around to separate the fibers.
The Deckle box is lifted out of the water
and a sheet of paper is formed.
The top of the mold or Deckle is removed,
the  couching cloth is put on top of the sheet
of paper, then a second screen and the
whole thing is vacuumed to remove water.
The paper is then  flipped over and
snapped off the screen.
Finally sheets of paper are drying on the
Muscadine grapevines outside my studio
Papercasting
Beating up the cotton linter in a
everyday household blender.
The screen is removed and the paper is
ready to dry.
Making a paper cast from a sweet
potato molding
Sweet potato castings.  Can you
guess which one is the real potato
Forelle Pears  also known as trout pears
for their distinctive speckled skin.
3 of these are cast and 3 are real!
Working with Bamboo
Bamboo makes a wonderful, eco-friendly "canvas" for my art work.
For more information click the link below
Bamboo Slat Paintings
Southeastern Bamboo Society at
Silverbrook Cemetary in Anderson SC.