Quite a while ago, I came across a reel of really old film in a mill basement at Crane. Being the curious type, I wanted desperately to find out what might be shown. And I figured that whatever was on the film was worth preserving. I took it to the photo shop where I had done business (film) for many years and they were kind enough to transfer the film to VHS - oh yeah - cutting edge - that's me.
Little did I know that the advance of technology would be so fast-paced. Last week, I came across the VHS in a box in the archives and figured I needed to get current again. I was able to dust off our old VCR and, after many false starts, bit the bullet and got a machine to convert the tape to 1s and 0s.
So, to make a short story long, I hope you enjoy this film. It's about 10 minutes long. It's a little rough, but heck, it's old. It really is a fascinating look at how rag paper was made in the day at Crane's Bay State Mill. Much has changed in the intervening years, but those of us who know the company well will recognize some machinery that's still being used. In a while, I'll post the rest of the film, which shows paper being made into stationery.
Enjoy, fellow paper-lovers
Friday, February 5, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Call for Submissions: Wax and the Artist Book
Our Friend Catherine Nash sent along the following Call for Submissions:
Deadline March 1, 2010
WAX & the ARTIST BOOK lecture:
International call to book artists who incorporate wax/encaustic with innovative techniques and as a major component within their bookworks. Selected images will be presented in a lecture format by Catherine Nash, M.F.A. at the June, 2010 Fourth Annual Conference of Encaustic Painting at Montserrat College of Art in Brookline, Massachusetts and published in a downloadable e-format on papermakingresources.com.
Images : no less than 2 different works, no more than 5, (one detail per artwork OK)
Format : accepted in jpeg format, ~5" X 7" in size and at no less than 300dpi.
Deadline - CDs accepted (no email submissions) : postmarked by March 1, 2010.
Other Information Needed - sent on the CD as a pdf only...please note word maximums:
* Name
* work descriptions to correspond to entered images
* 85 word bio
* 150 word artist statement
* Postal mailing address
* Telephone number
* Email address required
* web site if possible
Incomplete Entries will not be considered.
Acceptance Notification : sent by email ~ April 1, 2010
Send by Post to : C. Nash, 1102 West Huron St., Tucson, AZ 85745 (USA) (no email entries accepted)
CDs will not be returned.
Download an e-publication of the Wax and the Artist Book 2009 artists: go to the articles page of www.papermakingresources.com and scroll to the Artists Books sections.
Learn about the upcoming Fourth Annual Conference of Encaustic Painting at Montserrat College of Art, in Beverly, MA, USA
Friday, December 18, 2009
Hanji Papermaking Videos from Aimee Lee
Aimee Lee sends along the following about her adventures with hanji papermaking. The videos are awesome!
The entire process of making hanji as taped in the south of Korea at the paper mill of master hanji maker Shin Hyun Seh.
Making bamboo screens for hanji production: Yoo Bae Gun is the only screen maker left in Korea.
Four different hanji makers using the traditional webal technique for sheet formation (a single screen on a mould with no additional frame or deckle on top).
My own journey apprenticing at a family-operated hanji mill.
Additionally, I found a short video about a paper mill in Jeonju that I had visited twice in Korea. They use a half-mechanized sheet formation technique that is related to the Japanese style of sheet formation, but the information in the video is still relevant.
As an aside, my trip to Miami during Art Basel to promote my hanji exhibit was a great success, and we got lots of good press, including this article. The gallery even managed to sell the biggest piece in the show (no easy task).
The entire process of making hanji as taped in the south of Korea at the paper mill of master hanji maker Shin Hyun Seh.
Making bamboo screens for hanji production: Yoo Bae Gun is the only screen maker left in Korea.
Four different hanji makers using the traditional webal technique for sheet formation (a single screen on a mould with no additional frame or deckle on top).
My own journey apprenticing at a family-operated hanji mill.
Additionally, I found a short video about a paper mill in Jeonju that I had visited twice in Korea. They use a half-mechanized sheet formation technique that is related to the Japanese style of sheet formation, but the information in the video is still relevant.
As an aside, my trip to Miami during Art Basel to promote my hanji exhibit was a great success, and we got lots of good press, including this article. The gallery even managed to sell the biggest piece in the show (no easy task).
Friday, December 11, 2009
Helen Hiebert's Mother Tree Project
Our Friend Helen Hiebert's always got something in the works, and now is no exception. Rather than try to boil it all down, I'll encourage you to go here to see what this is all about:
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Making Faces With Andrea Peterson et.al.
By Jill Littlewood
I am just winding down after 8 days of non-stop work. I’ve never worked so hard and I have fabulous pieces to show for it. My series of faces may be the best work I have ever done. Some of the things I worked hard on didn’t come off but I learned from them as well.
I’m kind of amazed that this all happened: I took a class with Andrea Peterson a year and a half ago and at the end I did some small works that I thought had real energy. They were faces, made in an almost panicky way because the three-day class was coming to an end. I was using up paper pulp that would have gone to waste, so I was kind of throwing it all about. The faces I made there, 8” by 10”, had power, and I asked Andrea if she would consider teaching me more. She said yes, and we planned a 10-day session for this fall.
It all seemed so remote, and I had no idea if my energy from that short session would translate into a long one. It turns out it got magnified, and that is largely because of Andrea. I’ve never had such perfect support: physically she makes all the pulps (very labor intensive), knows all the recipes, has huge forms for making large sheets, has been teaching for years, and lets me work long hours on whatever path I am on but seems to have a sixth sense about when to nudge me further and when to just leave me be. I feel like an Olympian athlete with the most perfect trainer.
All of this is taking place at Andrea’s farm/home in Indiana. She is set up for papermaking and printing; her husband, Jon, is a potter. Her two boys are wonderful, full of humor and curiosity. They have been homeschooling since I mentioned the possibility when I visited last year, and it has worked out very well for everyone. This is a wonderland for kids, full of plants, animals, and projects in various stages. Everyone spends their days problem-solving: while Andrea and I are trying to get black pigment particles to stick to cotton rag, Jon is working on his new fireplace for the house, based on a Finnish model. He is also designing pizza and bread ovens as a change from making kilns. The one he is testing this week was made by weaving a huge basket from grape vines, turning it over and filling the spaces with clay, and firing it. When you look inside, to see if your pizza is getting hot, you see the pattern of clay smooshed between the ghost of the grape branches. (I’ve been with them for several dinners, the pizza nights being the most memorable. How about goat, mozzarella, tomato, basil, onion, oregano pizza?)
Andrea and Jon, with Lu and Ry, grow much of what they eat - plant and animal. Ry, who is 11, is the farmer of the family and has 3 pigs, a goat, 22 chickens, 7 roosters, and a garden. His love is fixing old tractors with a neighbor nearby. Lu is more of an artist: his menagerie consists of 6 cats. There are two dogs that are just around, underfoot, happy to be part of the melee. A typical discussion at lunch will be about the perfect temperature for the yogurt Lu made, or whether the pickles Ry made could use a different spice. This will be followed by news that a neighbor’s chickens are sick and what they might do to help, and then a discussion of haying rotations and when Ry can go out again with neighbor Charles to drive the haying tractor. (I got to go on one of the big ones and do some turns in the field while it spit out bales from behind.)
Then Lu (9) will ask if he can make an ocarina this afternoon when Jon is in the clay studio, and he will show us the bag he sewed out of leather in the morning. We will discuss various ways to make a drawstring. Christon, who is visiting from Maine, will pass down a brew he made from Belgian hops: the one taste I had was the most memorable sip of beer I have ever had. (Small wonder he just won a national prize for micro-brewing.) A cat they call the Avon Lady will paw at the door and make mewing sounds, so someone will get up to let her in and that will start a discussion of where all the cats came from. (Later Lu and I will make him a cat family tree with illustrations, and I will get to know the naming of the cats. “Oolala” was a good story and is as beautiful as her name implies.)
The physical world of making and doing is a constant buzz, and making paper is just one element. Meanwhile, family, neighbors, visitors and customers to their small shop drop by in a constant stream. Much of the work I did was in the thoroughfare of the paper studio, with dogs and cats and kids and guests going back and forth.
I am just winding down after 8 days of non-stop work. I’ve never worked so hard and I have fabulous pieces to show for it. My series of faces may be the best work I have ever done. Some of the things I worked hard on didn’t come off but I learned from them as well.I’m kind of amazed that this all happened: I took a class with Andrea Peterson a year and a half ago and at the end I did some small works that I thought had real energy. They were faces, made in an almost panicky way because the three-day class was coming to an end. I was using up paper pulp that would have gone to waste, so I was kind of throwing it all about. The faces I made there, 8” by 10”, had power, and I asked Andrea if she would consider teaching me more. She said yes, and we planned a 10-day session for this fall.
It all seemed so remote, and I had no idea if my energy from that short session would translate into a long one. It turns out it got magnified, and that is largely because of Andrea. I’ve never had such perfect support: physically she makes all the pulps (very labor intensive), knows all the recipes, has huge forms for making large sheets, has been teaching for years, and lets me work long hours on whatever path I am on but seems to have a sixth sense about when to nudge me further and when to just leave me be. I feel like an Olympian athlete with the most perfect trainer.
All of this is taking place at Andrea’s farm/home in Indiana. She is set up for papermaking and printing; her husband, Jon, is a potter. Her two boys are wonderful, full of humor and curiosity. They have been homeschooling since I mentioned the possibility when I visited last year, and it has worked out very well for everyone. This is a wonderland for kids, full of plants, animals, and projects in various stages. Everyone spends their days problem-solving: while Andrea and I are trying to get black pigment particles to stick to cotton rag, Jon is working on his new fireplace for the house, based on a Finnish model. He is also designing pizza and bread ovens as a change from making kilns. The one he is testing this week was made by weaving a huge basket from grape vines, turning it over and filling the spaces with clay, and firing it. When you look inside, to see if your pizza is getting hot, you see the pattern of clay smooshed between the ghost of the grape branches. (I’ve been with them for several dinners, the pizza nights being the most memorable. How about goat, mozzarella, tomato, basil, onion, oregano pizza?)
Andrea and Jon, with Lu and Ry, grow much of what they eat - plant and animal. Ry, who is 11, is the farmer of the family and has 3 pigs, a goat, 22 chickens, 7 roosters, and a garden. His love is fixing old tractors with a neighbor nearby. Lu is more of an artist: his menagerie consists of 6 cats. There are two dogs that are just around, underfoot, happy to be part of the melee. A typical discussion at lunch will be about the perfect temperature for the yogurt Lu made, or whether the pickles Ry made could use a different spice. This will be followed by news that a neighbor’s chickens are sick and what they might do to help, and then a discussion of haying rotations and when Ry can go out again with neighbor Charles to drive the haying tractor. (I got to go on one of the big ones and do some turns in the field while it spit out bales from behind.)
Then Lu (9) will ask if he can make an ocarina this afternoon when Jon is in the clay studio, and he will show us the bag he sewed out of leather in the morning. We will discuss various ways to make a drawstring. Christon, who is visiting from Maine, will pass down a brew he made from Belgian hops: the one taste I had was the most memorable sip of beer I have ever had. (Small wonder he just won a national prize for micro-brewing.) A cat they call the Avon Lady will paw at the door and make mewing sounds, so someone will get up to let her in and that will start a discussion of where all the cats came from. (Later Lu and I will make him a cat family tree with illustrations, and I will get to know the naming of the cats. “Oolala” was a good story and is as beautiful as her name implies.)
The physical world of making and doing is a constant buzz, and making paper is just one element. Meanwhile, family, neighbors, visitors and customers to their small shop drop by in a constant stream. Much of the work I did was in the thoroughfare of the paper studio, with dogs and cats and kids and guests going back and forth.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Crane Seeks Artists for New Studio Collection
Greetings and Happy Summer to all!
Here's a very cool opportunity. I encourage you to submit.
Peter Hopkins
Crane & Co., Inc., the premier maker of fine stationery since 1801, is seeking artists, illustrators and designers who can create sophisticated, cutting-edge art for our new STUDIO collection. Known as a leader in the stationery category, Crane is an iconic brand that delivers uncompromising quality and classic designs. For the new collection, we’re looking for a fresh, modern aesthetic targeted at consumers who are artistic, design-savvy and stylish.
A partnership with Crane & Co. offers designers:
* Crane’s unequaled brand recognition
* Crane’s uncompromising quality and craftsmanship
* Crane’s state of the art manufacturing and production
* Crane’s powerful distribution capabilities
* Crane's on-line and in-store electronic ordering system
* Crane’s influential marketing and collateral support
Each product category will feature several different designers. Selected designers may have products in one, or several product lines.
Crane’s STUDIO collection will showcase a group of designers, each with their own unique look. Independent creatives and small stationery studios have the opportunity to combine their design talents with the unparalleled strength of the Crane brand.
Crane’s STUDIO will include boxed and custom printed products in the following categories:
* Boxed Stationery
o Personal Correspondence
o Thank You Notes
o Holiday Cards
* Custom Printed Stationery
o Wedding Invitations
o Holiday Cards
o Social Invitations
o Personal Correspondence
Artists, illustrators, and graphic designers interested in being considered for STUDIO are invited to submit examples of their work using the guidelines provided. We are looking for each artist’s style as it applies to stationery. Ideally, we’d like to see three samples of your work for each product category you are interested in. The samples may have the same style, or showcase different design styles. They may be newly created or samples of your previous work.
Feel free to blog/tweet/share this opportunity with your friends and colleagues. We welcome submissions in a wide range of design aesthetics.
Deadline for submissions is August 1.
For further information about submissions, please click right here.
Here's a very cool opportunity. I encourage you to submit.
Peter Hopkins
Crane & Co., Inc., the premier maker of fine stationery since 1801, is seeking artists, illustrators and designers who can create sophisticated, cutting-edge art for our new STUDIO collection. Known as a leader in the stationery category, Crane is an iconic brand that delivers uncompromising quality and classic designs. For the new collection, we’re looking for a fresh, modern aesthetic targeted at consumers who are artistic, design-savvy and stylish.
A partnership with Crane & Co. offers designers:
* Crane’s unequaled brand recognition
* Crane’s uncompromising quality and craftsmanship
* Crane’s state of the art manufacturing and production
* Crane’s powerful distribution capabilities
* Crane's on-line and in-store electronic ordering system
* Crane’s influential marketing and collateral support
Each product category will feature several different designers. Selected designers may have products in one, or several product lines.
Crane’s STUDIO collection will showcase a group of designers, each with their own unique look. Independent creatives and small stationery studios have the opportunity to combine their design talents with the unparalleled strength of the Crane brand.
Crane’s STUDIO will include boxed and custom printed products in the following categories:
* Boxed Stationery
o Personal Correspondence
o Thank You Notes
o Holiday Cards
* Custom Printed Stationery
o Wedding Invitations
o Holiday Cards
o Social Invitations
o Personal Correspondence
Artists, illustrators, and graphic designers interested in being considered for STUDIO are invited to submit examples of their work using the guidelines provided. We are looking for each artist’s style as it applies to stationery. Ideally, we’d like to see three samples of your work for each product category you are interested in. The samples may have the same style, or showcase different design styles. They may be newly created or samples of your previous work.
Feel free to blog/tweet/share this opportunity with your friends and colleagues. We welcome submissions in a wide range of design aesthetics.
Deadline for submissions is August 1.
For further information about submissions, please click right here.
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