Handmade Paper Love

I used to make paper, had moulds and an old Cuisinart dedicated to the process, learned from Don Farnsworth years ago. But in an attempt to streamline my art possessions and not having made any paper for several years, I donated everything to CCA. At this point, I have a rule of "Don't buy unless you know what you are going to make." It's fun to collect paper, and the anticipation of using it is exciting, but I've found I almost never do use it.

Today, I bought ten small sheets of letter-sized handmade paper from The Mobile Mill, "a traveling paper studio focused on arts ed[u]cation and community engagement," who had a booth at the San Francisco Center for the Book's annual Roadworks event, a book arts and printmaking street fair.

Jillian Bruschera, who runs The Mobile Mill, according to a past indiegogo project is an MFA graduate in Interdisciplinary Studies who studied at Columbia College Chicago's Center for Book and Paper Arts in Illinois. A recent transplant to California, she has been bringing art to communities much the way food trucks bring refreshment. Watch her tumblr to find out where she will be next.

There are a few limitations. In many of the sheets, Bruschera included bits of newsprint and magazines, so if I include those, the project may turn yellow or become brown-spotted over time. I won't be able to print metal or wood type on these papers, either, but I could print polymer plates or linoleum cuts without fear of the inclusions damaging the plate or block. It's a pretty even thickness for recycled paper, very tactile, and certainly eco-friendly.

I could also sew into the sheets  I just saw some interesting images sewn on interoffice envelopes by Angie Reed Garner in Lime Hawk Literary Magazine.

Ten sheets. The papers'  colors look nice together. A very small visual book. Ephemera. Perhaps.

I'm putting the paper out where I can keep an eye on it. A reminder.
Maybe I should have bought two packs.


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Comments

Anonymous said…
Never heard or seen any paper like this. So this is interesting to read but still in the dark.

It must be me.


Happy Sunday!
Alisa said…
Hi carolann,
Thanks for writing. I'm not sure what you are still in the dark about.
If you can tell me what is still unclear, I'd be happy to try to explain.