Chapter 5: Recycled Papers
Activity 2.5.1: Make a collection of recycled papers
A review of my collection showed a couple of useful items:
- gift papers
- old maps and map printouts
- old envelopes
- red kite paper
- kneaded paper (I made this following the instruction of Cas Holmes in her book “The Found Object in Textile Art”, Batsford 2010)
- an old engineer’s scriptbook
- illustrated papers from fashion and outdoor magazines
- coloured papers from module 1
- wrapping papers
- old letters
- train tickets
- newspaper
- paper bags
- pages from old books
- cartridge paper with scribbles, paint and various marks
- cd cover
- copies made from knitted and woven textiles
When I bought flowers and new walking boots I was very pleased to get green and brown wrapping paper as well – the “collecting bug” has really got me.
Glue
I used cellulose paste, or wall paper paste, as I used mostly thin papers which I find difficult to handle with PVA glue. Another advantage is that the papers dry reasonably quickly (my impatience again). I had to take care though to moisten the papers thoroughly so that they do not come unstuck. To flatten the dried papers I put them under heavy books overnight.
Acrylic medium works nicely and dries almost too quickly, but for me it is too expensive for making a bunch of papers. I brushed it as a sort of varnish on some papers I would like to use later on, perhaps as covers for stitched books.
Activity 2.5.2: Using glue to make recycled papers
More papers using strips are in the boxes below, as I worked on them further with paint and stitch.
Activity 2.5.3: Using stitch to make recycled papers
Stitching the papers was very enjoyable. The more I stitched the more the paper changed and became heavier and more “textile” to touch.
I used machine stitching in no 102 to make a sort of cut-back appliqué and free machine stitching in no 100 to fuse two layers of kneaded paper.
In no 92 I wanted to prepare a ground for printing by just making the holes without a thread. I stitched with the wrong side up to make a texture and rubbed a wax crayon lightly over the paper.
No 104 (with the detail 105) does perhaps not really belong into this category, as the stitching was used as an addition to the glued strips, not as a means for joining the papers.
Activity 2.5.4 Adding to the surface
I used gesso and acrylics for painting. I was very interested in how the gesso would alter the crinkled surface of the kneaded and stitched papers (98 and 100), and found it greatly enhances the texture. I think that is why I kept to very muted colours.
 | I liked Wil Ashford’s work a lot (and also Tom Phillips, who I learned about alongside with his “Humument”), but only when I bought a newspaper with appealing layout and lettering I got going. The advertisement papers just did not work for me in this activity. |
The image of the apples was in a book magazine and too lovely to pass by.
The bits of leaves in the last image became unstuck under the transparent layer after drying. They seem to need another adhesive.
Chapter 6: Printing
Activity 2.6.1 Make your own letter printing blocks
 | This alphabet is from a font called Arkham. The letters in the fourth row were bought in a newly discovered craft shop. They work beautifully. |
 | I found this line in one of Alice Walker’s poems, called “We alone”, which deals with the value we put on rare things like gold and jewels. She suggests we put more value on other beautiful things and stop exploiting people and fighting over the rare ones. In an activity which deals so much with found and leftover material, |
recycling and low-tech solutions I found the quote very applicable. The letters are – ironically - from a font called “Henry Morgan Hand”. I was so taken with the act of printing that I repeated a word by mistake.
Funky foam worked very well for making the blocks. The curves and details were easy to cut, and the edges are well defined. I glued all the letters to a heavy cardboard backing to make handling easier.
Activity 2.6.2 Use home made printing blocks to make patterns
I used acrylics for printing and applied them with a brush or by stubbing the letters on a coated surface. After misprinting the S in no 110 – therefore the change of direction - I wrote the letters on the backing to avoid mistakes.
Printing on the kneaded papers was much fun. Adding water to the acrylics made a difference in the way the letters show on the paper. With a drier colour the texture of the letter is more broken (no 114, 115, 128).
The paper for no 129 (the last image) was done last. I wanted to explore the different textures of plain and kneaded paper in one sheet and made a woven sheet. Gluing the weave at the edges required a more sticky adhesive than the wallpaper paste.
When I had paint left over I brushed it on heavy copy paper or in my sketchbook and continued to work on this surface. No 133 and 134 have been printed against each other when wet a couple of times during the process. I like the way the negative spaces show up with light colours against a darker background as in no 132 and 136, should have explored this further.
I pressed an M into a thick layer of leftover colour to create texture. After drying I rubbed this with red using a paper towel to bring out the textured letters, but I am not pleased with the result. Blue would perhaps have been a better choice, or I should have scraped the red colour with an edgy tool rather than use something soft. I finally printed blue M’s over to take up the texture. .
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