Saturday, February 18, 2017

paper weekend

 this old fabric was a dress.
my dress, actually a jumper. 
i wore it my first year back to work full time in 1994.
that year i worked at st lawrence university bookstore,
 staying until i realized i needed
a somewhat larger income.
so i went to grad school to become a teacher.
this dress was a favorite, simple, cotton, comfortable.
i once slid down a very steep stairwell at the bookstore.
it had a wooden slatted slide rigged for the days that boxes needed 
to be stored in the basement,
pushed down the slide to storage and
where the framing room was (my job).
jenny challenged me to slide, and i did. in this dress. she still tells the story.
this weekend it became a nice edition of paper.
 it was an expensive garment for me
 the tag says c p shades
it's quite blue after beating, 
but this sheet doesn't show up the color well.
the blue is like the blue below
and the pale yellow paper is milkweed fluff-seed fiber
another gift from gin petty.
a few precious sheets.
there looks to be severe cockling, but it's not that bad
the bright sun brings out the ripples.
the gold is more like this,
rich, buttery, with a wonderful rattle.
the blue edition is still drying,
a nice, soft cotton rag paper.
 thursday morning it was snowing hard
snowed all day, too.
 quite beautiful, cold,
but today it's in the 40's and the snow is melting away
 i didn't realize that porcupine has been eating red pine

 this winter, 
leaving a small urine spot
 and a happy trail
behind the paper mill and into the woods.
 at zone 4 the print studio next door has this posted
 i like it alot.
and i'm still messing with this image
and i ran a piece of linen paper through the printer with it.
it's not a success at all, but i really like it,
even in the bright sunlight early this morning.
~~~ 
sunday morning paper results:
three stages of paper
1. very thready with a soft hand
2. pulp beaten longer (15 minutes more) with a bit of the old pulp mixed in
3. full beaten, soft hand, but more paperish



14 comments:

  1. I'd call really liking something a success ... even if it isn't what one imagined it would be

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  2. Fantastic paper - especially the blue one with all the embedded memories of sliding bravely.

    And I am so glad to read that message in the paper posted in the window.

    Have a great day xo

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  3. mo, it's so washed out in this photo but i wanted to push it a bit. i really like that the place where the word was stenciled has probably never had a linen linen in it.
    liz, thanks for the reminder! you're right.
    judy, that statement went up on the print studio window/wall. i hope (but don't know for sure) if these particular students wrote it, but i know it rings true for me. working as a guest in a university studio has been such a treat for me.

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  4. snow! I you you love it but we have bulbs up everywhere. the ultimate re-cycling, would love to have seen you disappear down the slide. The mission statement is perfect, if only more people felt that way.

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  5. I love the transition Velma converting it and then still holding it...and yay the students and yay the Linen - what great fun experimenting is!

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  6. jean, we often have bulbs and snow, simultaneously, but not for many more weeks! the slide!!!
    fiona, i'm loving these deeper, richer meanings as i push my work deeper.

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  7. Wonderful! From dress to paper...reminds me that I once wore a paper dress, back in the day. I hated it!

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  8. nancy, i remember hearing about those dresses! have you seen aimee's paper garments?

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  9. No, Velma, I don't believe I have seen those!

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  10. nancy, check out aimee lee's current blog post!

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  11. Wow! Those works ARE amazing Velma!!

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  12. nancy, aren't they wonderful? i have one small dress here that makes me very happy.

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  13. Yes, they are! Nice to feel such a happiness from the hands and heart of another :)

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