paper!

 i've been working with hemp
these sheets are hemp top that i processed
in Zone 4's valley beater
 using three pigments procured 
from melbourne etching
caput morte, raw sienna, terre vert.
learning to manage retention aid after too many years.
 and a sweet message arrived from seattle with the 
prospectus for Jim Koss's new book
 and these special needles,
thank you Kate!
 save pulp
 the beater/press room at Zone 4

 hemp sliver half beaten
yesterday's batch was a fine warm white hemp sliver
looking forward to seeing how the pigments work on this stuff.

 this beater and i have some history

 lovely stuff
 just before finishing.
just under 2 hours of beating.
my hannah sent me this lovely bone feather
that i can string and wear.
and so far the weekend is only half over!

working with a master

in 1997 i attended a wonderful workshop
given by asao shimura at carriage house
we worked with pina
so 
when aimee lee told me asao 
was coming to the u.s.
and I found that he would be teaching in syracuse
i asked holly greenberg about it 
and received a gracious invitation to
sit in on the class.
so i drove down yesterday
 asao creates magic: a table full of color
(pigments, dyes)
 placed  by asao shimura
master papermaker
 who is on his kon'nyaku tour
 so we ogled the dyes and pigments he prepared
and used them
asao wearing pina shifu
up close
asao clothed in shifu with dyed paper yarns
bengara (for jean)
holly and a sutra by asao
printing 
kon'nyaku thickened pigments and dyes
holly's papermaking students got to play
with the "paste"
genevieve nordmark
a lover of hand papermaking
and a friend 
who may find her way to my mill sometime soon
some of her lovely paper
working into her paper with kon'nyaku and pigment
coating sheets with kon'nyaku
the lime cook
a short immersion
rinse and dry
printing blocks
and a final note:
pina spun paper, colors to dye for.
i almost jumped over the table for these treasures.
it was a good day.
making marks, making friends.