The Sunday Paper #64

Featured Paper of the Week: Akatosashi from Paper Connection International

In the early 1990’s, I had the opportunity to see a Japanese papermaking exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where I met Lauren Pearlman, proprietor of  the soon to be Paper Connection International, which is now celebrating 20 years in business and is run by a lovely  group of paperwomen. That exhibition featured 20 papermakers from Kochi Pref. (whom Lauren hosted) and they brought all of their papermaking equipment along. It was a treat to see them performing all aspects of Japanese papermaking in the museum!

Akatosashi is a kozo, or Japanese mulberry paper, hailing from the Southwest of Japan. This handmade paper measures 24.8 x 38.6 inches, has a warm hue and is approximately 30 g/m². Printmakers, both novice and experienced, love working with this paper for its strength, durability, and sophisticated finish. Many book conservators like it, especially for its tone. Try some yourself! Please note there may be slight variations due to the handmade nature of the paper; the current batch is slightly heavier, now weighing closer to 30-35 g/M² *.

Paper Connection International is offering a 10% discount on Akatosashi paper at their web shop through August 1, 2015. Just enter the code AKA10 at checkout. This discount only applies to Akatosashi, and shipping and handling are not included.

* A note about paper weights (that g/M² reference above): papers come in a variety of weights and are most commonly referred to as text weight (normal office copier paper) or cover weight (cardstock and heavier). The thickness of commercial papers are often measured with calipers and is typically given in thousandths of an inch. The weight of a paper is described using a complex system in pounds in the US and grams per square meter (g/M²) in Europe and Asia.

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In the Studio: I’m back from my travels, and it feels so good to be back in my own studio. Here’s one last post from the road though. I had a terrific workshop at the Oregon College of Art & Craft last weekend. We did some dry projects as well as experimenting with abaca. This image features four participant’s lamps. Ooh la la!

Participants in my Playing With Paper Workshop at Oregon College of Art & Craft created these lamps.

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The paper cuts of Maude White made it onto This is Colossal this week. Aren’t they incredible?

Check out this paper piece by Mark Bradford at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Boston. Bradford and assistants pasted layers and layers of the colored papers Bradford had brought with him from his Los Angeles studio, fixing each layer with varnish. Bradford then performed his signature subtracting operations — a kind of excavation of the built-up layers performed by sanding, peeling, and stripping away fragments of paper. I like how the writer of this article compares Bradford’s work to Sol Lewitt’s (one of my all time favorite artists) wall drawings. 

Mark Bradford, Pull Painting 1

The artist Elena del Rivero does some interesting work that originated years ago in handmade paper. Her giant dish cloths (painted with dirt) survived destruction and restoration since they were originally shown: the falling towers on September 11, 2001, broke the windows of del Rivero’s studio — just across the street from the World Trade Center — and covered all of her work with a layer of dust and debris. Click the link to read more about her ongoing work.

Elena del Rivero, “[Sw:t] Home dishcloth” (2001), stitches and mending on handmade and dirtied abaca paper with watermark, 77 x 117 inches

You still have a couple of weeks to catch the show Paper Transformed at the Northwind Arts Center in Port Townsend, WA. This is an exhibition of the work of eight Western Washington artists who transform machine and handmade paper into a myriad of structures including artist books, sculpture, jewelry, baskets and other visual objects.

Mary Ashton, 4 Seasons, Winter Lit

Remember Aimee Lee, whom I featured a couple of weeks ago in The Sunday Paper? Here’s a lovely photo essay by The Plain Dealer photographer Gus Chan, who visited the Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland to cover the hanji making process.

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Thank you to those who have pledged your support, and enjoy your Sunday!

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About Our Paper of the Week Sponsor

Paper Connection International, LLC is your premier resource for fine art and specialty papers made by skilled crafts people in the East to suit the paper needs of artists and institutions around the globe. In 2015, Paper Connection is celebrating its 20th anniversary providing great paper and great paper information to the art and craft world. Discover all of their papers in their web shop, follow them on Pinterest and discover their fabulous FaceBook posts.

Special thanks to Paper Connection International for sponsoring this post and for their contribution to the world of handmade paper!