Lately, our open studios have been graced by many visitors and enthusiastic artists stopping by to make art and learn more about the handmade paper process. Kathy O'Connor (photo background) from New York City saw our pile of scraps destined for the Critter and suggested we reserve these lovely and luminesent paper scraps for making collages. She used a wooden picture frame ($1.00 from Michael's) which she collaged and finished with a picture of Mandarava or Goma Devi.
Kathy also helped us finish one of our orders for Japanese style wallets which we learned to make from Sheryl in our last workshop. These are extremely labor intensive with many steps such as making the paper from start to finish, dying pigments for pulp painting or stenciling, cutting the wallet out from our paper using a template, gluing, pressing, drying, scoring the final folds, and coatin with methyl cellulose. We listened over and over on her Mac Book Pro to Gurbani Kirtan singer, Hari Bhajan Kaur.
Margarita (photo foreground) from Ontario, at Tsegyalgar East for a retreat with her friend Yulia also from Ontario, revealed her extraordinary talent for precision in making us a variety of book and folder templates. She also had numerous ideas for product development.
Here she is measuring out a template for a folder to hold practice texts--something we all coveted when finished. We look forward to working with Margarita on developing some excellent products
to go into our Etsy store we are working on.
It's so great to work together with so many different people who bring their unique skills to the studio. Making art is fun but making together is even more fun especially in the context of our community.
On a volunteer note:
*Thank you Harold for your donation of overhead lighting and installing them. It's made a huge difference.
*Thanks Nary for routing our dehumidifier hose into a nearby drain pipe so we don't have to empty the five gallon bucket every other day.
*Thanks again to Nary for fixing the heating blower in our studio.
WISH LIST
** A used refridgerator with freezer
**Fantasy wish list: An etching or letter press for embossing papers
**Apple product boxes
**sacred substances (contact us what this means)
Stay tuned for our upcoming winter and spring workshop schedules that we are working on now. In the works-- a Beginning Tibetan Calligraphy class and more to come.....
In January Naomi and I will be taking a course at Dieu Donne Papermill in NYC to increase our knowledge of watermarks, pigment preparation and pulp painting.
And yes--one more thing --- the 2012 swatch book is completed. Khandroling Paper Coopertive will be one of 70 international papermakers presented in the hand-made book, a tradition that allows papermakers to share their work annually and, better yet, their recipes which is very educational. Our entry called "Plein Aire" is a hand beaten kozo paper made while on retreat at Khandroling.
Everyone have a great holiday!
Dear Jacqueline, I was so amazed by the ideas and the inspiration that I experienced on my visit with you. Thank you so much for your kindness.
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