#Lockdown Love

The Sunday Paper #310
April 26, 2020

Paper of the Week: String Drawing in Abaca

As many of you know, I have a thing for string, and one of my passions is the way untied knots look. You know those books of drawings of how to tie a knot require showing them untied? Well, I’ve taken this a step further by tying multiple knots (among other things). This string drawing would become macramé if it were tied tight. Can you see that? Melanie Brauner is a Washington state artist who has taken her love of abaca and metalwork into the realm of jewelry, among other things (see below), and during the pandemic she has launched a project called #lockdownlove – a community building and fundraising opportunity for artists, makers and their supporters. I am joining Melanie this week by offering three copies of Macramé Knot on a sliding scale. I will donate 25% of each sale to my local Salvation Army that works hard to feed those in need.

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In the Studio:

I also have a thing for watermarks, which are so unique to paper. This is the watermark that is currently on my mould, and so far I’ve made sheets in cotton (above left) and abaca (above right). I am always humbled when I pull watermarked sheets – it is really hard to get a watermark that looks good. I had about a 60% success rate with this design, mostly due to the fact that some areas of the watermark are a bit wide, causing the pulp to slip off and create holes.

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Paper Tidbits:

I love watermarks, because they involve Paper + Light. My next online class (of the same title) will be a fun and creative version of summer school! Two sessions will be offered, one in July and another in August. Fill out this form to be the first to be notified + receive a coupon code when registration opens.

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Melanie Brauner (who was on Paper Talk) is the brain power behind #lockdownlove. She wanted started the project for several reasons: to create more income for artists who are struggling; to empower those artists to donate to covid-19 charities; to build community amongst artists; and to make handmade things and art more accessible to people who have experienced loss of income, but still need some hope and beauty in their lives and want to support artists. Anyone can make a #lockdownlove collection or body of work. The rules are: 1. All work must be priced on a sliding scale, and 2. A portion of each sale must go to a covid-19 charity.

Check out Melanie’s lovely jewelry and support #lockdownlove! (Pssst. Mother’s Day is next Sunday)!

Thanks to several readers for sharing these Paper Cities with me. Foster + Partners has found a way to keep children entertained during the lockdown. They have released a series of paper building templates that kids can print out, color and use to build their own paper cities to keep themselves busy. I would have LOVED doing this as a kid when I dreamt of becoming an architect!
This is a fantastic musing on some of Michelangelo’s works on paper that are/were on view at The Getty. “The exhibition is titled “Michelangelo: Mind of the Master,” and the reference to “mind” is key. Drawing is the most direct record of an artist’s evolving thought, brain-to-hand-to-paper. You can feel it unfolding throughout the show.” This article was written pre-covid-19. I’m guessing the museum is not open, but the article is so worth a read!

Michelangelo Buonarroti, “Studies of the Back and Left Arm of a Male Nude,” 1523-24, black chalk.(Teylers Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands.)

Here’s another great article about text (usually on paper) used in conceptual art. “A long black pen is suspended by an invisible thread over a table. It dances over a sheet of white paper, making tiny black marks. Underneath, the table vibrates like a drum, responding to what is coming out of a speaker mounted to its side.”

A photo provided by the Kröller-Müller Museum shows part of the exhibition “Not in So Many Words,” focuses on art that employs text and undermines the notion that art is a primarily visual medium. (Kröller-Müller Museum via The New York Times)

I love this! A 9-year old in Colorado wanted to show her appreciation for medical workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, so she rallied her classmates and ultimately delivered 2,000 origami paper hearts with “thank you” messages on them to the hospital staff at Swedish Medical Center.

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The News from Here:
Our son decided he was too isolated living in the basement apartment of a relative in Chicago, so he flew home yesterday and will finish his spring quarter online. The flight cost less than his bag check (for realz) and it was 95% full, so he thought it was a joke when they came over the loudspeaker to say they wouldn’t be serving drinks to keep with the social distancing protocol. He wore a mask.
Our daughter went to Portland, OR to visit her boyfriend for spring break back in March when her college still thought they were just telling students they had an extended spring break. That changed after she left, so her belongings are still in Rock Island, IL, while she stays in Portland to finish out the spring semester.
Anyone can get an coronavirus antibody test in our town now, but when I had my annual check-up with my doctor yesterday, she said that many people who swear they had the virus and get tested end up not having the antibody (my husband is included in this group). The line I saw at 9am yesterday had about 10 people in it. I had a very brief illness a couple of weeks ago, and since I have to have other blood work done, I’m going to see if I have the antibody at that time.
I found out this week that I did not get the emergency grant for artists that I applied for, but I did qualify for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance to replace lost income. If you need help, the application process was not difficult, and the assistance has already begun.
Stay well my friends.

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Featured this week in my Studio shop: Macramé Knot, The Paper Year (now 1/2 price), The Papermaker’s Companion and The Papermaker’s Studio Guide.

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