Paste papers

B Dock

Netsel Marina

Marmaris, Turkey

Iyi Geceler,

     Jill Wolfe on Two Oars taught art for many years and is happy to share her knowledge with our Wednesday morning group.  This past session saw folks making ‘paste papers.’  I missed the Wednesday session but was lucky to catch the following Thursday morning follow-up. 

Ru

DoraMac

“Paste paper is one of the oldest decorated papers used by bookbinders, and can be found in books that are centuries old. Going back hundreds of years (and continuing today), sometimes bookbinders would use up their leftover bookbinding paste by throwing some pigment into the paste and brushing it out on some paper to make decorative papers to then use in bookbinding. They would then make strokes or stipple patterns with a brush in the paste, or use a tools to draw or comb designs in the paper and let it dry. One of the distinctive qualities of paste paper is the rich 3-dimensional patterns and designs. This is achieved because when the paste is first applied to the paper and a pattern made in the paste, it is thick, with peaks and valleys. As the paper dries, the paste is sucked flat into the paper, leaving a 3-dimensional pattern on a 2-dimensional surface. “

https://lilbookbinder.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/paste-paper-tutorial/

https://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/bookarts/documents/cbac_pastepaper.pdf  is a good ‘how-to’

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Jill had made up some of the ‘paste paint.’  You mix paste and color.

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Green paper was thoroughly wet down to pre-shrink the paper.

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While still wet, paste paint was applied; a design squeegeed,  and then allowed to dry

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The paper was re-wet and then a second color was applied : This was Jill’s work  You can keep adding layers as long as the paste paint doesn’t dry out in the container. 

You can see why this process was used to make the decorative end pages in books

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My first attempt where the hand is quicker than the eye of the camera.

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I chose a blue paste paint

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I wanted to avoid straight lines for some reason so did ‘finger painting.’  Actually you remove some of the paint to make the design.

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Definitely no straight lines….  Sort of Kokopelli-ish

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This one is Hannah’s I believe

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Jill had cut the design into the squeegee to make the lines in the paste paint

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Also Hannah’s

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Hannah and Jill laying them out to dry. 

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Jill working

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I made a second one, guess which one it is. 

Wednesday,  while we were ‘sea trialing’ DoraMac,  was the first paste paper session.  Thursday was a short follow-up which I went to though had to race away as our friend Wyn Jones was arriving and I’d promised to be back to the boat for his arrival.  I’ll have to collect the dry pieces another time.  Jill heroically got everything ready and organized the cleaning up too.  So fun to have an art teacher among us!

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Walking back to B-Dock on Thursday after the paste paper class.

We have had the ‘winter rains’ here for several days but Thursday night’s sunset was beautiful!

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