Paper / Luck/ Joy
As stinky as forgotten wet pulp can be in the heat of summer, paper itself is uniquely stable. Most creative endeavors have to manage the aging of their building materials or the uselessness of unused excess and/or abandon projects. Paper, on the other hand, can be endlessly recycled, re-invigorated, and incorporated in fresh new experiments.
My sole source of building blocks is no longer just cotton/ linen rags, rescued from would-be car-washing-piles. Easily available and partially processed cellulose fibers can be purchased even in categories like “blue-jean” and black.
Abaca half-stuff from the Philippines and Asian fibers are available thru Carriage House suppliers.
Wonderfully amazing, is the successful Kozo plantation project right here in Cleveland, Ohio at the Morgan Paper Conservatory.
Anyway, my point was that even my most current body of work is an amalgamation of paper made new and papers made a-new by their reintroduction and juxtaposition.
My personal way of developing an image is to begin with an idea, (of course) and selecting the size mould for the format I am intending.
With a base of strong fiber, (not necessarily thick because different cellulose fibers have different properties…) I arrange shapers, cut from thin synfelts onto the fresh layer of fiber and then mist pigmented, over-beaten cotton pulp onto my project.
Next I cover areas I want to remain that color with more shapers and continue misting with different colors. After many repeats, I begin to peal off the shapers to see whats developed. This is where the luck and joy show up.
The wild, irreverent combinations of shape and color reveal vibrant magic.
Leaving me in awe and thinking how to add the final touches to complete this composition.
As stinky as forgotten wet pulp can be in the heat of summer, paper itself is uniquely stable. Most creative endeavors have to manage the aging of their building materials or the uselessness of unused excess and/or abandon projects. Paper, on the other hand, can be endlessly recycled, re-invigorated, and incorporated in fresh new experiments.
My sole source of building blocks is no longer just cotton/ linen rags, rescued from would-be car-washing-piles. Easily available and partially processed cellulose fibers can be purchased even in categories like “blue-jean” and black.
Abaca half-stuff from the Philippines and Asian fibers are available thru Carriage House suppliers.
Wonderfully amazing, is the successful Kozo plantation project right here in Cleveland, Ohio at the Morgan Paper Conservatory.
Anyway, my point was that even my most current body of work is an amalgamation of paper made new and papers made a-new by their reintroduction and juxtaposition.
My personal way of developing an image is to begin with an idea, (of course) and selecting the size mould for the format I am intending.
With a base of strong fiber, (not necessarily thick because different cellulose fibers have different properties…) I arrange shapers, cut from thin synfelts onto the fresh layer of fiber and then mist pigmented, over-beaten cotton pulp onto my project.
Next I cover areas I want to remain that color with more shapers and continue misting with different colors. After many repeats, I begin to peal off the shapers to see whats developed. This is where the luck and joy show up.
The wild, irreverent combinations of shape and color reveal vibrant magic.
Leaving me in awe and thinking how to add the final touches to complete this composition.
MP Marion 2021
