2010 Spring Sculptures

New wall relief sculptures for Spring 2010.

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How to make handmade paper paintings-an angled view

Another view of the painting surface with newly applied overbeaten abaca on the surface.

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How to make handmade paper paintings-applying abaca

Overbeaten abaca refers to a fiber harvested from the inner bark of the banana tree, that has been beaten for approximately 20 hours.  Abaca is a gorgeous fiber, ivory in color, that will not disintegrate when wet, which is why abaca is used to make tea bags.  I strain some of the water from the abaca (the abaca is beaten in a hollander beater, which uses approximately 20 gallons of water per beating), and mix it with pure pigment, which will not fade.  I apply the abaca to the surface of the painting, shown in the pevious blog, with spoons and an old turkey baster.  
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Other News

I am excited to attend my upcoming gallery opening at Cove Gallery (ww.covegallery.com).  The opening is Saturday, August 15 from 6:00-8:00 pm.  I will be showing new works including seascapes and floral paintings such as the Hydrangeas painting shown above.  Hope to see new and returning clients at the opening!  Meg

Handmade Paper Paintings: Process and Applications. The finished painting.

After the painting is completely dry, it can be tacked to a wall for closer viewing and inspection.  The painting can be worked on even in this stage.  I mark the areas with a colored grease pencil in which I want to make changes and then replace the painting back onto the flat work surface seen in previous blogs.  I add additional PVC glue to the pulp that I will now apply in order for it to adhere to the already dried pulp.

Handmade Paper Paintings: Process and Applications. A work in progress.

Let’s pause and view the in-progress painting for a moment.  The purple toned background is created largely with over-beaten abaca and treated with a mixture of water and paper sizing to prevent the surface from absorbing stained water that might leak from the addition of any new colored pulp that is applied.  In the case of this painting, that would refer to the green toned pulps in the foreground, which are a combination of cotton and abaca, beaten for 20 to 30 minutes in a hollander beater.  The sky area is created with the same cotton/abaca mix, and pigmented in blue tones.  At this stage, the painting will be allowed to dry under weights for several days, at which point another review of its completeness will be determined. 

Handmade Paper Paintings: Process and Applications. Squirting the oops away.

Another way to remove colored water before it stains the surface of the painting is to squirt it back into the desired location with water from a squirt bottle.  Notice that the pulp I am using is green for the foreground of the painting (the green will eventually represent trees).  To accentuate the rough outline that trees would naturally make, I leave the edges of the green pulp jagged, in order to mimic the trees in nature.

Handmade Paper Paintings: Process and Applications. Controlling the oops factor.

Despite my best efforts, the pulp doesn’t always land where I want it to; it spills out from the designated area. as illustrated in the above photo.  If left untreated, the surface of the painting will absorb the colored water, thus creating a permanent stain.  To avoid the stain (I’ll never be able to avoid the recalcitrant pulp spills!), I treat the surface of the in-progress painting with a mixture of water and liquid paper sizing.  I fill a squirt bottle about 3/4 full of water, and then add a 1/4 cup of liquid sizing.  I spray the surface of the painting with this mixture and allow it to dry thoroughly.  This procedure protects the surface from absorbing the colored water as the sizing creates a tension between the water and the surface.  I simply take a rag and apply it to the colored water, and soak it up into the rag.

Handmade Paper Paintings: Process and Applications. Using the turkey baster part two.

A closer look at the painting after the turkey baster has been used to apply pulp to designated areas.  See Monday July 20 blog for photo of application of pulp.

Handmade Paper Paintings: Process and Applications. Using the turkey baster.

The turkey baster is used to apply larger quantities of pulp to the painting surface.  I place approximately one cup of pigmented pulp into a plastic container (such as a yogurt container) and fill the rest of the container with water.  I then suck the pulp up into the baster and squirt onto the surface of the painting.  Old plastic cards (credit cards, hotel room cards) can be used at this stage to gather the pulp into the designated area (shown in the photo above by the red marking).

Handmade Paper Paintings: Process and Applications. Using a squeeze bottle

The squeeze bottle holds over-beaten pulp that can be used for detailed areas of the painting.  In the photo above, I am squeezing over-beaten pulp, which has been diluted in a cup of formation aid, onto the surface of the painting “Changing Seasons” shown here in completion.  

Handmade Paper Paintings: Process and Applications: The merits of using a screen

Re-working into a handmade paper painting is tricky.  The water used in the pulp that is applied to the surface of the in-progress painting warps it, and it can take a fair amount of labor to re-stretch the painting so that it lies flat again.  To off-set the negative affects of adding water to the surface and prevent the warping, I dry the base sheet (the sheet of paper that I will ultimately work on), onto a stretched screen (shown above).  The hairs of the fiber cling to the surface of the screen and grip to it, thus preventing the the paper from warping.  When the painting is complete, I simply remove it from the screen with my finger tips. 

Handmade Paper Paintings: Process and Applications: Painting with Over-beaten pulp

Painting with over beaten pulp can take a while to get comfortable with.  Before going into a lot of detail of how to work with over-beaten pulp, let’s answer the important question of  “What is over-beaten pulp?”  Over-beaten pulp refers to pulp that has been beaten in a hollander beater for approximately 8 hours and is therefore slippery and gelatin-like.  Most artists prefer to use abaca (which originates from the banana tree) or flax as over-beaten pulp.  The consistency of over-beaten pulp allows it to be used like paint as it spreads easily onto the work surface and retains, without bleeding or fading, whatever pigment the artist chooses to add.  The advantage of using over-beaten pulp over traditional paint is the textural surface and flexibility that the artist can achiever, giving the finished product a unique and personal look.  The photo above shows pigmented over-beaten pulp in small containers and newly applied over-beaten pulp on a formed sheet of handmade paper.  I’ll go into more specifics about how to use over-beaten pulp in my next blog. 

Handmade Paper Paintings: Process and Applications: Tilting the screen

To aid in excess water removal from the surface of the in-progress painting, I tilt the screen the painting is adhered to so that excess water will drip off the surface and onto the vacuum table.  I leave the screen in this position for approximately 30 minutes, while I work in other areas of the studio.

Using a squirt bottle

The squirt bottle is an invaluable tool.  I use any size commercial bottle filled with tap water and spray a fine mist of water over the surface of the wet in-progress painting during the course of the creative process.  In the photo above, I am squirting water in the area where I just removed the metal ruler.  This process forces any stray bits of wet pulp back into the desired area and ensures a straighter line of newly applied pulp onto the work surface.  Sometimes I mix a little acid free glue and/or paper sizing in with the water.  This addition allows the new pulp to bond more completely with the drier pulp. 

Handmade Paper Paintings: Process and Applications. Wet pulp that has been barricaded.

Photograph of wet pulp that was barricaded with the metal ruler once the ruler is removed.  To get rid of excess moisture, I tilt the screen the painting is resting on at an angle and allow the water to drain off the screen.  Applying a dry, absorbent cloth to the edge of the wet pulp (where the wet pulp rests against the drier pulp) and allowing the water to absorb into the cloth is another option to hurry drying.  The pulp cannot be re-worked until it is dry or nearly dry.

Handmade Paper Painting Process and Applications

During the painting process, the pulp painting rests on a sheet of egg crating.  This allows the water to drip from the painting onto the vacuum table, where it will eventually exit the table via the hole in the bottom of the table.  Small containers of pigmented pulp are available for painting, much like a traditional palette.  Two recent paintings, both 15 x 15 inch seascapes, are shown here.