More About Making Paper

I’m learning a lot more about making paper. I decided that the slurry container was too small to get a good even distribution for the mold and deckle. I have found a new larger container that should be just right. Today I picked several golden leaves along Deer Woods Trail. I separated the leaf parts from the veins and stems and added the leaf parts to my paper slurry. I used left over white paper, with some black ink on them.

The paper is lovely. It is a pale gray with tiny pieces of deep yellow from the leaves throughout. I used couching paper to press down on the wet papers, after having sponged them. I read that ironing them while damp, between couching papers also works to make them smoother. I ordered a paper making book for more ideas. Paper making is so much fun, and it is so pretty! I give a sheet to my tea party guests.

Life is wonderful for country painters.....

Making Paper

I’m making progress in my paper making experiments. I tried using a red iron oxide dye in the water first. The results were mixed. Because the color of the paper I’ve been using tends to be a cool gray pulp, the dark brownish red is not really pretty, though it looks aged.

The next batch was with blue dye. It is really lovely! The color is a mixture of pale, medium, and dark blue. You can really see the texture in the paper. Yesterday I used alizarin crimson as a dye and today I’ll see it dried. I also made 3 bookmarks. I am using the border edges after I cut the paper as a ribbon under the wax seal on the back of the packaging. It is really pretty.

I ordered a silicone flower mold. When it arrives I’m going to make some wildflower seed bombs. These are really cool. The seeds and paper dry into a flower shape. They have enough weight to toss a distance into fields and as the paper erodes, the seeds plant themselves. A swell idea. This paper making process is so fun. My studio visitors really like getting a sheet of handmade paper as my little gift. 

Experiments are fun for country painters......

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/linda-blondheim-2789/artwork#/category=Works%20on%20Paper&mode=search&page=1

I’ll be back in naturalist school on January sixth. My next class is the study of wetlands. I have a small swamp behind my studio which will help me in my studies.

I will also have the park down the road just before Worthington Springs, owned by the Alachua Conservation Trust organization. Sweetwater wetlands park will also be excellent for field trips.

I’ll be studying with the same teachers via Zoom. They are terrific and lots of fun. I will enjoy being with them again. They are actually in Brevard County. I think it will be easier this time in that I figured out how to do zoom during the uplands class. I’ll be using my journal again and will share my pages with you all. I am hoping to do my last coastal class in Vero Beach next spring. I am hoping to have COVID behind us by then.

Country painters dream of becoming master naturalists.

I installed a new platform feeder to attract my crow friends. It has attracted my bee keeper neighbor’s bees. They are becoming pests about the feeder and territorial. They are scaring off the little blue birds, warblers, wrens, and gold finches. I watch the lovely little birds land near the feeder but they are afraid to land on the platform.

I read that bees don’t like cinnamon. So far that hasn’t worked. Next I will try garlic. I don’t want to hurt the precious bees. I just want them to go home. I never realized that cracked corn and unsalted peanuts would appeal so much to bees. The crows have not yet arrived for their turn.

Life is wonderful for country painters......