The Sunday Paper #132, November 6, 2016
Paper of the Week: Eric Gjerde’s Bio Paper

Mmmm…. slime! Check out this amazing new bio-paper that Eric Gjerde has been working with for the past few years. Specimens is the first of its kind: a book created with a new bio-paper medium made entirely from bacterial cellulose. Its pages were once alive. The quality of this new paper is its unparalleled strength and transparency. Each sheet is grown in a vat and harvested after several weeks. After processing, many layers – five or more – are laid on top of one another with the text block carefully placed within. Then the entire stack is pressed. The act of pressing these sheets is what gives them their strength. You can see the results online here and in person at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts November 11, 2016 – February 19, 2017.
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In the Studio:
Election Day SALE! Save $30 on the following packages:

• Two Calendars for the price of one: $30
• Deluxe Calendar Package: 2 Calendars + 1 Paper Pack: $65
• Deluxe Calendar Package: 1 Calendar + 2 Paper Packs: $70

Click here to read all about it, and order soon to take advantage of the savings. Offer ends November 8th at midnight MST!

Papery Tidbits

• There’s a new podcast episode on Paper Talk featuring Mark Hark of Hark! Handmade Paper. Listen to our conversation about her work in St. Paul, Madison and Ghana!

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This Guatamalan Día de Todos los Santos kite festival looks amazing! I think I see some paper on those uniquely shaped kites, although the primary material seems to be fabric.

In light of the current election and the fact that we’re living in the computer age, this article about the discovery of an ancient piece of papyrus is fascinating and makes me wonder if people in the future will have these sorts of common documents to discover, research, ponder and argue about!

This is why I got hooked on paper… by stumbling across a paper shop in Japan in the late 1980’s. They didn’t exist in America at that time. This photo is of Ozu Washi, and I have no idea whether this is the store I was in, but it doesn’t really matter anymore. I’m still hooked on paper!

This is a fun story in The New Yorker about paper doll expert Tom Tierney, who created more than 400 paper-dolls books, most issued by Dover Publications.

Here’s a lovely video about the work of artist Sandro Tiberi who works with handmade paper, watermarks and lighting. Sorry, it’s in Italian, but it sounds and looks wonderful!