BABE 2022

The first Artists Book Fair since late 2019. Everything stopped for the pandemic!!

BABE Bristol Artists Book Fair will be taking place this week end. 

New edition of 'Seen cannot be unseen' 

 

Papermaking experiments with red seaweed from Eastbourne!

 So.....this is a new direction - I hope this works!

After taking some photos of the seaweed found down on the pebbly beach under the cliffs west of the town of Eastbourne (back in June) i have decided to try and embedded some into paper making fibres.

Here are the two types of red seaweed that I am going to experiment with - thanks to the forager of the seaweed who brought me these specimens from Eastbourne to London for me!!!

Phyllophora crispa 

Palmaria palmata

Washed and dried - ready for cooking with soda ash!

Teaching again at last!

 Back in June I was so pleased with the amazing BA Consevation students, studying at City and Guilds London Art School, that attended my 5 day Hand Papermaking workshop. 

We covered everything from Western to Japanese styles of papermaking as well as recycling, watermarking, pigmentation and tons of experimenting.

Using the fibres

When I start a project, that will include plant material, I always photograph the plants and use 

those colours as a starting point.

When embedding plant material into handmade papers it's so important to 

remove as much of the organic stuff as possible - using the cellulose matter only. 

This is because that stuff will ruin the papers when it naturally breaks down and 

deteriorates the papers from the inside. 

So.... I pigment the abaca, gampi or kobo with pigments, referring back to the photos, 

to add colour!

Then - after the project is done - it's playtime!

 

Finishing up with the Bluebells

 Here is the card and papermaking manual/informative booklet...

all done and also sent out copies to those who collected the leaves for me!

Time to make: Bluebell leaf papers

As I don't have a garden since I moved to North London - I asked for donations of Bluebell leaves from friends gardens' (not wildly growing ones) and in return I will send them items made with the resulting papers.

Let the experimenting begin!

Drying : Cooking with soda ash

 

Hydrangeas (+ crocus)

 I have been making some new papers to add to my Etsy shop. 

Using a base of abaca and pigments gampi fibres I embedded, firstly,  processed crocus leaves and then the processed hydrangea petals.

 

As I was going to visit Columbia Flower Market I decided to take my proper camera and take some shots of hydrangea flowers. I took this one of the markets' characters 

holding a large bunch of the flowers.