Handmade Paper and Little Weavings

Let me start off by saying how much I appreciated everybody's wonderful comments in regards to my last post. Forever restless and feeling like I am in some way flawed because I have a hard time staying on track with one thing for very long, (trust me this was a trait that met with much disapproval during my formative school years) your comments instead made me feel that this was a positive quality! That's a good thing, as I have once again moved onto something else to explore...


I awoke the other day with a sudden urge to make paper, something I haven't done in a good 15 years. Luckily, as the process is simple and the materials are easily accessible, it all came back to me very quickly, and I was off making paper in no time!


In order to make paper you first must make a pulp. To make my pulp I shredded old manila mailing envelopes and other unwanted mail and documents which I soaked in water and pulverized in a blender. After pulling some sheets of paper from this pulp mixture, I decided to add some more interest with bits of torn red tissue paper and dried grass clippings from the yard. (That's the great part of making paper, all the different things you can add to the mix!)


Once the paper was all dried, I selected a couple of pieces and did tiny little weavings directly into and on top of the paper.


For the first little weaving, I used a variegated blue perle cotton yarn. I strung the warp, (the vertical threads in a weaving) directly through the paper, then wove the weft, (that would be the horizontal threads) right on top of the surface.


A hand stitched boarder was added for the finishing touch. The piece was mounted on another piece of handmade paper the same size to give the back a nice clean look, (I never like a messy back on anything).


The next little weaving was done with a variegated sewing thread, (Sulky Cotton Blendables). I love all the different stripes created in this one.


Two hand stitched boarders were added to this piece, and then the work was mounted on a slightly larger piece of handmade paper.

Both of these works are now available in my shop...


here...


and here.

And if you would like to see some really wonderful examples of stitch work on paper, be sure to check out the work of both Contemporary Embroidery and Missouri Bend. Without a doubt they have both inspired me.