Handmade Birding Journals

I keep a record of the birds that visit my gardens and feeders in a sketchbook journal. It becomes tedious to record the lists each day as the species of birds are quite consistent each season and especially day to day. Thinking it would be convenient to have a checklist, I created these small journals today.

 The covers are my own handmade gampi papers.

 

 The checklist was created in Microsoft Word, printed onto drawing paper, and sewn with single and double pamphlet style bindings.

 I plan to make additional journals as the seasons progress and will keep an eye out for a container in which these will fit. Or possibly construct a slipcase for them.

Colorful Cotton Paper

It was great to finally get into the papermaking studio and make a few batches of paper this week. Here is a synopsis.

In early spring I used some RIT dye I had purchased at a tag sale to transform estate sale white cotton sheets into an array of colorful cloth.

Not having the time to turn all of this fabric into pulp, I chose the bottom batch (labeled scarlet but turned out to be more of salmon) and another white sheet to turn into pulp.

First I made ten sheets of salmon colored paper and embedded a piece of fabric into each one. The fabric was originally the trim design on a cotton sheet I got from my grandmother's linen closet. These sheets will serve as covers to journals.

Next I made white paper for the pages. Then I mixed the two pulps to create a range of pinks. Some of the pink reminded me of cotton candy. (Look at that deckle edge!)

Lastly I added some yellow pulp I had on hand to shift the color to a peach.

Papermaking Services

Do you save favorite old shirts, jeans, sheets and the like because you love the color? Do you have a collection of vintage tablecloths but don't use them because they have stains or don't match your decor? Let me turn your cherished cotton and/or linen fabrics into one of kind paper that you can use in a variety of ways. Use this paper to back special photos in a frame or scrapbook, as stationery, to cover boxes to store memorabilia, in artwork. The uses are limited only to your imagination.

Paper can be made into 4x6, 5x7, 8.5x11, 9x12 and 11x17 size sheets. A half pound of fabric yields approximately 25 8.5x11 size sheets.

Requirements: a) fabric must be cotton or linen or a blend of the two
                        b) a minimum of a half pound of fabric is required
 
If you are interested or have questions, please email me at susanernst1@gmail.com.

This paper is made from a yellow cotton tablecloth which belonged to my grandmother. It was lovingly used and contained several gravy stains. I have used many of these papers in my artwork.

Top Three Posts

Blogger counts each time a post has been viewed and of my 80 posts, the Eco Bundling - OMG post has received the most by far - 102 views and climbing. This post has been viewed almost every day since I posted it! My post Papermaking Adventures: Water Retting is second with 87 views and Experimental Printmaking I (carving into Masonite) is third with 81 views. In general, most other posts get anywhere from 6 to 35 views. I suppose these three topics have very little written about them although India Flint and her eco-bundling technique is getting more popular every day. She has spent much time traveling and conducting workshops and posts on her blog regularly. The popularity of the technique has folks searching for more, I suppose.

To those who have searched for information on these topics, please leave a comment and let me know if you found what I wrote to be helpful and share something about your own experiments and experiences. Thanks!

Holiday Bazaar in Guilford, CT

I will have packages of handmade paper, journals, small and medium sized framed and unframed prints and collages for sale. Please come by!

An Attitude of Gratitude Journal - Strengths

Continuing along with the month long Attitude of Gratitude Journal challenge, here is Day 9:

Today's theme is strengths. Questions to answer are:
What do other people think are your strengths?
Do you agree with them?
Which of your strengths are you most thankful for?

The technique challenge is to incorporate fabric on the journal page.

This page was created by writing on a sheet of my handmade marigold dyed cotton paper to which I had embedded, at the sheet-forming stage, three pieces of eco-bundled fabric. I attached it to the journal page with double sided tape.

All Set Up at the CWOS Alternative Space

Bob and I finished setting up tonight. Looking forward to the weekend!

 

bowl holding business cards was hand cast with sheets of hmp

baskets were made by my husband. runner is eco- printed reclaimed cotton fabric

handmade paper and journals for sale. displayed on marigold-dyed reclaimed cotton fabric

Artist Statement and information on make paper

Before Photos in New Haven Register Building

Here are the "before" photos of the area where I will be exhibiting in the New Haven Register newspaper production building:
 

I've got the two cement walls and floor space out to the poles.

 Here's the plan:
1. wash the cement block walls, garage door and door to equipment room.
2. test the "damage-free" adhesive backed velcro strips made for hanging picture frames as well as printing labels to make sure they stick to the walls. If so, proceed with hanging framed pieces. If not, Bob will install masonry screws.
3. hang unframed prints with binder clips on cord or wire suspended below the vents on the garage door.
4. set up tables
5. install newspaper vending machine and use it to display my handmade papers
6. decorate poles with vining bittersweet if time allows.

2012 Handmade Papers

 

Here are the papers I made this year. Most were created this month. If the temperatures weren't cooling, I'd be making more! Now on to binding them into little journals or printing on them. 

I will be selling my papers during the City Wide Open Studios in New Haven, CT on the Alternative Space Weekend, October 20 & 21.

New Paper

I've taken a break from natural dye experiments to make some paper. The results of my labors of Wednesday and Thursday:

I like the way the colors from an eco-bundling experiment coordinate with the colors of the paper.

Queen Anne's Lace & Wildflowers

Continuing with where I left off with the post, Transitioning, here is what I've done so far with that initial drawing on the linoleum.

coloring in what is to be removed

the finished block

applying ink

I plan to overprint these with drawings of monarda, echinacea, goldenrod and other wildflowers.

2011 Papers

A sampling of the papers I made this summer

Some of the papers you see here are (bottom to top):
14x17 - kozo dyed with forest green Procion dye, Philippine gampi, sage dyed under-beaten cotton, flax, goldenrod dyed cotton
8.5x11 left -  pure cotton rag, cabbage dyed cotton, carrot top dyed cotton, bamboo sheaths, turmeric dyed cotton and abaca
5x7 left recycled paper
8.5x11 right- gampi dyed with colored tissue during pressing of sheets, gampi, purple-leaf plum bark dyed gampi, abaca dyed with dandelion leaves and flowers; sage dyed cotton, goldenrod dyed cotton, carrot top with copper modifier dyed cotton, flax

Cotton Rag Pulp Dyed with Red Cabbage Part 2

L to R: dye before adding mordanted fiber, after; half of each

After seeing some photos of different types of fabrics dyed with red cabbage leaves, I was smitten! The varying shades of purples, lavenders and violets had me hooked! Unfortunately for me, I was working with cotton pulp, not silk or wool fabric.*

I planted three red cabbages in the spring having read that they are good dye plants. I harvested them from the garden on Monday, removed the outer greenish blue leaves, then cut up both the head and outer leaves. I cooked them in separate batches hoping to get two different colors from the same plants. The outer leaves did not yield any color, even after simmering for an hour and a half. The purple heads did release their color in just 20 minutes.

I pre-mordanted the cotton pulp the same as I have been, as recommended for cotton cloth in Wild Color by Jenny Dean. The author suggests using alum and washing soda (as a neutralizer to the acidic alum) to mordant the cotton before dyeing.
I added the cotton to the strained dye bath, brought to a simmer and simmered for 20 minutes. The color of the dye bath seemed to change before my eyes! it went from lavender to a greyish blue to bright cotton candy blue!

I divided the pulp in half and added a small amount of white vinegar to one batch. This turned a magenta color.

On Tuesday I performed the very smelly job of rinsing these pulps. I was sad to see the color being washed out as I did so. I wonder if I had let the pulp sit in the dyebath overnight, rather than draining it right away, would the color have been darker?

blue pulp in vat

Today I made paper from the two batches of pulp. It is difficult to tell the difference between the two because the color is so light!

The finished sheets. Top - pure white cotton, center - red cabbage dye and acid modifier, bottom - red cabbage dyed cotton paper





*Rereading the recipe for red cabbage dye in The Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes by Sasha Duerr, I realized that those luscious fabrics were first treated with a tannin and then they were mordanted with alum! I will attempt this recipe again next year. I will pretreat cotton fabric, dye it, wash and dry it then cut it up and beat it into a pulp.

The Finished Papers

L to R: pure cotton; carrot-top dyed; carrot-top dyed with copper modifier; goldenrod dyed

Prints for a Print Exchange

I am organizing a Print Exchange. This session's theme is Black and White. The hardest part for me, usually, is settling on a design. I have so many ideas that it is hard to settle on just one! Was looking at old manuscripts of Persian gardens and saw one that had pomegranate trees in fruit. I love the shape of pomegranates, so decided to use this in my design. I am also working with traditional textile designs in my artwork, so incorporated some made up paisleys for this.

print on gampi paper that I made this summer















The lino block


The drawing



Printing on various papers








creating a layered design