Artist In Education 2012-2013

A student works with pen and ink on her light sculpture.

With the support from the Ontario Arts Council, I received an Artist in Education grant for the school year 2012-2013. This grant has allowed me to work with teachers in Ontario to provide a 5 day intensive light sculpture workshop to their students.

The students really enjoyed the workshop. The teachers told me their student's said the workshop has been their favourite project in their art education so far!

Japanese Papermaking

This year, I was very fortunate to receive a grant from the Ontario Arts Council to take a four day papermaking workshop at Kozo Studio taught by Akemi.

Before this workshop, I never knew there was a difference between Japanese style papermaking vs. Western style papermaking. Except for the mold and deckle, I thought the techniques involved are the same.

After Akemi saw my light sculptures, she recommended I take her Japanese style papermaking workshop. Japanese style papermaking are made from harvesting plant fibers (we used kozo fibers), resulting in a thin, strong, and translucent paper — much more suitable for my sculptures.

Here's a brief overview of my four day intensive workshop. All photos are courtesy of Kozo Studio.

After cooking kozo fibers in a soda ash solution for several hours, the fibers are rinsed and cleaned.

Bark is picked out by hand, the fibers are hand beaten with a wooden stick.












After hand beating the kozo fibers, we ran it through a machine called the Nagintat beater for a few minutes to "comb" the fibers.















Cover off showing the blades of the Nagintat beater. Very different from the Hollander beater.















First try at papermaking with a tiny mold and su.

















Carefully removing the su from the freshly made paper.















This time with a larger mold and su. The su is actually a bamboo place mat with a sheet of window netting sewn on top of it.














The su is remove from the mold and brought over to the couching table.
















Slowly removing the su from the freshly made paper.















After pressing all the water out with a car jack, the sheet of paper easily peels away from the cloth.














The paper is brushed onto drying board to dry overnight.
















In Japan, fibers are harvested from kozo, mitsumata, and gampi trees. Since these trees are not native in Canada, I'm going to experiment and harvest fibers from trees found within by backyard. So far I've made paper with forsythia and hollyhock. Currently my husband just chopped down our garden hedges and a few maple trees...I can't wait to see how these fibers will turn out (or if it's even possible)!

Handmade Forsythia Paper

This sculpture, Whisp, is decorated with forsythia fibers. The process took two days — and yields only 5 thin sheets of paper! I do like the whispy texture it gives, so I'll give this plant another try ... one day.

Below are the steps I took from harvesting the fibers, to making the paper.

Materials:

• Stainless steel stock pot
• Soda ash
• Stir stick
• Digital Scale
• Papermaking mold and deckle
• Large basin
• Cloths

Step 1
I went outside with garden snipers and began clipping off thick branches from my forsythia bush. Don't clip thin branches — they have less fibers. Look for branches that are about 1 inch thick.

I collected as enough branches to fit into my steamer.


Step 2
Cut at 45 degree angle (to help peeling easier in next step), and place into a steamer.





Here's a cross section of a branch — outer bark, fiber (light green), and the woody core. All we want is the fiber, and steaming will make it easier to strip off.






Step 3
Cover and steam for 30 minutes. Open windows for ventilation.






Step 4
After steaming, peel away the outer bark, and strip the fibers away from the woody core.






Left to right: bark, fiber, and woody core.









This basket of dry fibers weights about 4 oz, yields about 5 thin sheets.

If you wish to continue with papermaking, continue to step 4. Otherwise, dry the fibers and store in a dry/moisture free place. Dry fibers can be stored indefinitely. When you're ready to make paper, rehydrate the fibers by soaking it overnight

Step 5
Fill 2/3 of the pot with cold water — you don't want hot water to overflow when you add the stems. Measure out soda ash and add to the pot of water. For every 1 liter of water, use 15 grams (1/2 ounce) of soda ash.

When water is beginning to simmer, add fibers. Let it simmer for 2 hours.

Open windows and doors for ventilation. Every 1/2 hour or so, give it a stir.

Step 6:
After 2 hours, the water will be dark and thick. Drain and rinse the fibers until the water runs clear.





Step 7:
Begin to pound the fibers until it turns into pulp.







Step 8:
Set up your couching area by layering a pile of cloths.







Step 9:
Fill basin with water and add pulp. Agitate the water to distribute the pulp evenly.

Slide your mold and deckle into the basin, lift up, and let excess water drain.


Step 10:
Remove the deckle and bring the mold over to the couching area. Flip the mold over, paper side down, and sponge off excess water.




Step 11:
Gently lift off mold, and allow the paper to dry flat.

How to Make Paper from Hollyhocks

Hollyhocks are annuals, growing as high as 6 feet. Very easy to grow, and self-seed year after year.

Unlike paper made from grass and leaf fibers, paper made hollyhock fibers are much stronger, smoother, and less brittle. That is because their fibers are much longer and stronger to begin with.

My sheets were very thin, like tissue paper, but strong. Partly because I don't have have enough fibers, but also because I like to make thinner sheets for my light sculptures. I like the way the delicate fibers show up against the light.

Before boiling the plant in a caustic solution, extra steps are needed to separate the fibers from its woody core and its outer bark. Below are the steps I took from gathering the fibers, to making the paper.


Materials:

• Stainless steel stock pot
• Soda ash
• Stir stick
• Digital Scale
  
• Papermaking mold and deckle
• Large basin
• Cloths

Step 1
Hollyhocks are gathered from my garden. Remove leaves and roots. Bundle and soak underwater for about a week. During this period, the plant will begin to rot, making the process of removing the fibers much easier. You can add a bit of soda ash solution to speed up the process. I have two kittens running around the house, so I rather wait.

Step 2
After about a week, drain and rinse the plant. Begin to strip the fibers. It should just "peel off". But some are more difficult than others. For the difficult ones, I snap the stems to make it easier.




Step 3
Scrap off the outer bark. Remove as much bark as possible for a "whiter" paper.







Left to right: bark, fiber, and woody core.

If you wish to continue with papermaking, continue to step 4. Otherwise, dry the fibers and store in a dry/moisture free place. Dry fibers can be store indefinitely. When you're ready to make paper, rehydrate the fibers by soaking it overnight.


Step 4
Fill 2/3 of the pot with cold water — you don't want hot water to overflow when you add the grass. Measure out soda ash and add to water. For every 1 liter of water, use 15 grams (1/2 ounce) of soda ash.

When water is beginning to simmer, add fibers. Let it simmer for 2 hours.

Open windows and doors for ventilation. Every 1/2 hour or so, give it a stir.

Step 5:
After 2 hours, the water will be dark and thick. Drain and rinse the fibers until the water runs clear.






Step 6:
Begin to pound the fibers...








...until it turns into pulp. I pound for about 45 mins to an hour.








Step 7:
Set up your couching area by layering a pile of cloths.







Step 8:
Fill basin with water and add pulp. Agitate the water to distribute the pulp evenly.

Slide your mold and deckle into the basin, lift up, and let excess water drain.




Step 9:
Remove the deckle and bring the mold over to the couching area. Flip the mold over, paper side down, and sponge off excess water.





Step 10:
Gently lift off mold, and allow the paper to dry flat.

How to Make Your Own Maple Leaf Paper

Materials:

• Stainless steel stock pot
• Soda ash
• Stir stick
• Digital scale
• Papermaking mold and deckle
• Large basin
• Cloths

Step 1:
Grap a bag. Go outside. Collect some leaves! A grocery bag full will yield about 5 thin sheets of paper.








Step 2:
Weigh leaves to determine the amount of soda ash needed. The amount of soda ash you need is 20% of the leaves' weight.








Step 3:
Calculate the amount of soda ash you will need.









Step 4:
Fill pot with water (enough so it won't overflow when you add leaves), and add soda ash to water. Bring to boil.








Step 5:
Add leaves. Poke the leaves into soda ash solution with the stir stick. Let leaves simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Open windows for ventilation.






Step 6:
After an hour of simmering, the water will be dark and thick. Drain and rinse. Rinse until water runs clear.








Step 7:
Put something good on TV. Start beating the leaves into pulp. It needs to be beaten to separate individual fibers. I've spent about an 1 hour beating. To test if pulp is ready, pinch off a bit of pulp and put it in a jar filled with water. Shake the jar. If fibers are not "clumping", your pulp is now ready for papermaking!





Step 8:
Set up your "drying area" by stacking up a pile of clothes. This is where you'll be removing excess water from your paper later.








Step 9:
Fill basin with water and add pulp. Agitate the water to spread the pulp evenly. Dip mold and deckle into vat, and slowly lift up. Let excess water drain.







Step 10:
Remove the deckle, bring the mold over to your "drying area", and flip it (paper side) to the cloths. Using cloths, sponge off excess water.







Step 11:
Gently lift the mold.









Step 12:
Take your paper (along with the first layer of cloth) to an area to dry.