Some of my Latest Work

Working on some slightly dimensional pieces lately.  Still heavily nature-inspired, with leaves and flowers.  But also some nautical inspiration creeping in, as well as mapping.  

My Fancy Paper Studio

That's right.  It's fancy.
It's in my garage.  Very fancy.

This photo is actually before I got fancy.  Here I have my wet/dry vac, my black drip-pan vat, my Home Depot bucket, my drill with whiz mixer blade on it, my reused salsa jar of kozo fibers, my reused milk jug of okra slime water, and my foam core square deckles.  Note the vat is on a flipped over plastic storage bin, about 18" tall.  So pulling paper, as you would imagine, was a bit back breaking.  Oh, goodness, and don't let me forget the two tiny blue chairs that support my drying frame.  You can see the legs of one by the vac.  

Now here below, this is when the magic happened.  Do you see it?  The wonderful addition that made it all so fabulous?  That sweet green table there!  My vat is now on top of it.  Yeah!  Now I don't hurt my back pulling paper.  Of course, I still have the two mini size chairs supporting my drying screen, so I could probably use a few more freebie furniture finds.  Oh, and I got another bucket.  A blue one.   With a lid!  Pretty fancy, no?!  Everything else is still the same.  But boy does that second bucket help.  

And here we have my fancy drying set up.  Its complicated so I'll explain.  See, the screen leans against the wall, over the vent, by my dryer.  And there's a fan you can't see, providing the "drying" element.  That helps.

Okay, it all sounds very pathetic, but that is really just a sad attempt at humor.  The point here is that you don't need hundreds of dollars worth of equipment to create Art in your home.  Its not sad.  Or hard.  It actually all runs pretty smoothly and produces lovely, quality work. You can work with what you've got. And maybe splurge on a bucket if you're feeling fancy.  

The Breakdown:

• The wet/dry vac was a birthday gift years ago (I know, I know. I'm high maintenance.) 
• The drill, we had, the bucket, we had, and the chairs were left from a broken kids set that was actually hanging out in the garage to go out on trash day, until I discovered their second life.  
• All my containers (jars, jugs, etc.) are repurposed.  
• The black vat cost under $10 at the hardware store.  
• I do buy the foam core to cut deckles for specific shapes (like the small squares for garlands), but all other molds and deckles are made from old repurposed picture frames.  Even the big drying screen.  
• Old window screen remnants and cheap-o window sheer fabric make all the screening.  
• And I use 100% cotton thread for my garlands, which I purchase for about $6 for a spool that will last me nearly forever.
• Instead of expensive formation aid, I use frozen okra in water.  It gets nice and slimy, giving a great viscous quality to my pulp. Thats about $3.50 for a bag to last me quite a while.
• And, I purchased my whiz mixer blade online for about $35.
• I do buy my paper making supplies - the cotton linters, kozo fiber, and soda ash (usually from Twin Rocker).  They are not the cheapest up front, but not bad considering how much you can make from them.
• I am likely going to splurge on some heat shrink screen for a couple of molds some time soon.  I expect it will change my life, just like that bucket and table did.

 So that's that.  Perhaps some day I'll have real store bought supplies, but, honestly, I love using the things I have.  I can spend money on the important materials and feel good about repurposing all the rest.  It goes along with the paper making experience - natural, simple and calm.  Whole life living at its best.

Kozo and Cotton

I had gotten caught up in a heavy cotton/kozo mix in my vat, but recently ran low on cotton.
Blessing in disguise.
Kozo is really the reason I make paper in the first place - to see the fibers and all the natural beauty created with variations of fiber length and thickness.  Being forced to revert back to a mostly kozo vat brought me back to that.  I initially added all the cotton to get a heavier, more opaque paper for sturdier projects (like garlands and backdrops for layered pieces), but the natural quality of a variegated kozo pulp, balanced with minimal cotton, is just lovely.

Below is a grid made of a heavy cotton/light kozo pulp.  This is nice, flecked with the kozo.

But here are the squares and papers made with heavy kozo/light cotton.  The natural element is so nice.  Different look.  And a mix of different papers together highlights the beauty of them all.

 And, as you can see above as well, I am playing around with layering my papers with my watercolor and ink.  I'm really liking the possibilities so far.

Not Quite Ready Yet

Well, the site isn't quite ready yet.  Are you surprised?

While this site is under construction, please see the Union Studio website or facebook page for more information on how to reach me or see my work.  Thanks!  And please check back again soon.