Andrea Peterson Workshop

The Handmade Paper Guild typically brings in one or two artists each year for a workshop.  Sometimes we focus on surface design, other times bookbinding, papier mache, or another paper-related technique.  But this year it was back to our roots:  handmade paper.  We enjoyed the company and knowledge of papermaker Andrea Peterson of LaPorte, IN.  She is amazing!  I'm very happy to have met her and benefit from her expertise.  The workshop, with 13 Guild members, was held at the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center.

The workshop was all about pulp painting.  I'm not talking about just squirting overbeaten pulp from a ketchup bottle onto a freshly pulled sheet of paper (although we did that).  She talked about the chemistry of it all (and made it interesting).  She demonstrated how to color the pulp with pigments and retention aid so that the pulp was really highly saturated.  We then each had to try to match a paint chip so that not only was the color correct but it didn't bleed either (sounds easy, it's not).  Then big fun:  using stencils, paint brushes, titanium white, dental syringes, spoons, cups, ketchup bottles, spray misters and other tools, we experimented.  Into the press and then voila, finished masterpieces.  Ok, I'm getting carried away.  No masterpieces maybe, but all good tries anyway. 

Here are sample colors.  I mixed the orange.  You can see how the bottom left blob is bleeding so more retention aid was added until the bleeding stopped.

The cups of colored pulp that became our pallete.  We used white, buff and gray sheets as our base.

Sally, Lauren, Judy, Alice and Sally working away...

Pouring pulp and using a brush to paint the pulp on the surface.

Preparing to use a stencil.

Barb and MaryJo pulling sheets out of the press.

An experimental group project where each person made a mark of some kind with the color that they had mixed.

At the end of a long, productive day...

Andrea Peterson, instructor

Eve Reid, founder of Handmade Paper Guild and Andrea's hostess 

Sally Rose, professor at Central Michigan University

Lorrie Grainger Abdo, workshop coordinator

Can you tell that it was more than a full day and we all went home exhausted?  Many, many thanks to Andrea for a great day. I'll show you my results from the experience in the next post...

Lorrie

Handmade Paper Guild Show at the Kalamazoo Civic Theater

Welcome to the annual exhibition of the Handmade Paper Guild of Southwest Michigan! This year the theme of the show corresponds to the list of plays that the Kalamazoo Civic Theater will be performing during their 2009/2010 season. Each artist was to choose a play and use it as an inspiration for their piece of art. Just some of the many plays on the schedule are: Fiddler on the Roof, Twelve Angry Men, It's a Wonderful Life, Twelfth Night, The Dixie Swim Club, Jekyll and Hyde.

Here is the Kalamazoo Civic Theater in downtown Kalamazoo. It is a spectacular community theater venue and the show is up in the reception room.

(As a side note, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts is right across the street. Aren't we lucky?)

Ok, first my piece. You know the one: Being Brave or also called Covering-Handmade-Paper-with-Acrylic-Paint-and-Tar. If you've read my previous posts, you saw how I made this piece and why I just made that crazy reference. But, what you don't know is the inspiration for it. My piece is called Bailey Park in honor of George Bailey of It's a Wonderful Life fame. George always did what was right for others and only realized the value of his life and his contributions to his little town when he found out he was in some serious trouble. My piece, featuring the homes that he helped build, pays homage to those that work hard for their families, their homes and their town. The textural background represents the light and dark periods in our lives.

Bailey Park by Lorrie Grainger Abdo

Inspired by It's a Wonderful Life
Mixed Media: Artist-made paper, acrylic paint, bitumen, 2' x 4', $350

Mr. Martini's by Lorrie Grainger Abdo

Inspired by It's a Wonderful Life
Mixed Media: Artist-made paper, acrylic paint, bitumen

This large piece was a collaborative effort by Guild members. Many contributions were made at the conceptual stage. Then in the execution stage, some members dyed the paper, some cut out the figures or made other design choices, and some engineered the final piece. The inspiration for this was the play Twelve Angry Men.

Shots of a variety of member's work. (Sorry about the pictures. Lighting and glare problems.)

Each piece was created by an individual artist in the Guild. Some members are teachers, some are full-time artists/papermakers, some are part-time artists, and all are good people with wonderful creative talents. Techniques represented in the show are: sheet pulling, pulp pouring, pulp painting, collage, stencilling, painting, paper engineering, bookbinding, paper casting, printmaking, papier mache and several others that I'm not sure what to name.

Artists for the pieces shown below are: Dale Menz, Alice Breese, Rose Mary Wood, Liz Faust and Judy Finnegan. Other artists participating in the show, and to whom I apoligize for not having close up photographs of your work are: Tom Hirsh, MaryJo Peterson, Joan Khaled, Eve Reid, Sally Padley, and Lauren Matacio.

What I love about our annual show is the variety of styles and techniques. Every one of us is a papermaker. But, what we each do with that paper... Wow! If you're in the area, please stop by during business hours to see the show. Or, better yet, go see one of the amazing performances and visit the show during intermission or the reception. This show is just one of the many ways our community celebrates the wonderful marriage of visual and performance arts.

Lorrie

PS. All work is for sale and at very reasonable prices, I might add.