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| "Creativity
is really the structuring of magic." - Ann Kent
Rush |
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PAGE |
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n. 1. a thin sheet material made of cellulose pulp,
derived mainly from wood, rags, and certain grasses ... |
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| ARTIST'S STATEMENT - THE APPEAL OF PAPER |
My fascination with paper lies as much in the appeal
of its texture as in the contrast between its illusion of strength and the delicate
reality.
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x
I make paper from fibers of cotton, kozo, flax,
abaca; and from California plants: pampas grass, palm, corn, bamboo, and bird of paradise.Each type of fiber has properties that give the paper its own
texture, give it a specific character. |
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| sheets of cotton rag, with
palm fiber embedded xxx
Blending different fibers in varying proportions
and amounts can create distinct 'flavors' in the sheets. And adding pigment in the vat
stage gives a different quality than does coloring the paper after it's dried. |
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| modified Japanese-style
paper made of abaca, corn, and bird of paradise fiber, with red and green dye |
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Paper has an intensely tactile sense for me
- the sheets can be flexible, smooth, rough, or with an uneven surface. It can be nearly
as thick as a towel, or so thin you can see through them, and they can be almost any size
or shape. |
| the modified Japanese technique is able to produce a
nearly transparent paper - here, made of abaca and kozo; the dark sheet on the right is
bamboo |
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| The tactile qualities of paper extend
throughout the process of making the sheets - from the feel of raw fibers, to immersing my
hands and arms in the wet pulp as I pull the sheets, to watching the change in texture,
color, and sound of the finished sheets as they dry. |
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| western-style sheets of
abaca, corn, bird of paradise, and bamboo - the blue sheets have been dyed in the wet-pulp
stage |
| xx |
| As for the finished product - and while each
sheet can be complete as it is - my interest is in using them as parts of abstract
collaged works. I use the 'finished' sheets as a starting point ... they get painted,
torn, layered, wrapped, pierced, and transformed, becoming a component of my abstract
work, just like metal wire or paint. I use the
abstract to explore some intangible ideas - and this is always an evolving process in and
of itself - ideas and concepts such as memory .. independence ... belonging ... daring ...
and connectedness.
For more on the process of making
the paper itself, and to see some of the finished works,
click on the links here or on one of the rectangular buttons below. |
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NAVIGATION
website designed and maintained by ML Hart
original content © copyright
1999 and images/graphics © copyright 1997 ML Hart except where
noted
all photographs of papermaking on this page © copyright 1995 Michael Hart
no part of this page, site, or any
components may be borrowed, downloaded, acquired, or otherwise used by any person(s)
without the express written consent of ML Hart
what is copyright all about?
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