Papers for Printmaking Part 1

Paper is beautiful and magic. Over the years I have developed an appreciation of paper, not only as an medium for art but as an art itself. Having said that, these notes about paper will not tell you anything about sizing, paper making, fiber composition, weight and traditional size or definitions about paper terms. You can find all that in the first section below, About Paper Sources and Resources.
What I will discuss in these notes, however, are notes on how the paper feels and behaves under the attack of this artist. I say "attack" because often times we artists tend to abuse materials in many ways. As an experimental printmaker and lover of papers, I am guilty of paper use and abuse.

How to Get to Know Paper

Here is what I do to get to know my papers:
Buy paper samplers! For one thing they are so cute, little tiny squares of paper in a neat little book...
For another thing, no matter how much you look at a picture of a paper in a catalog or in the web, you cannot get to know a paper until you...
See the paper. Hold it up to the light, all kinds of light, natural, fluorescent, incandescent; heck take your papers out to the campfire on a still desert night and look at them there. Turn them over and do it again. Notice the fibers, the weave, the patterns of the molds, the hills and valleys, the watermarks, the little chunks of inserted material.

 

Feel the paper. Touch it on both sides, learn what size feels like, feel the difference between papers and the likeness. When papers "behave" the same under your baren or press or charcoal stick, chances are they will feel similarly when touched. Close your eyes when you feel them.

If you can afford it, of course, buy full sheets of paper and actually TRY the paper in your daily business of drawing or printmaking. Learn from the book sources above, all about sizing and uses for papers. Purchase the large (full-sheet) paper samplers, or buy one sheet every week and by the end of the year you will have tried 52 different kinds of paper. Start out by purchasing the papers made for whatever medium you happen to be "arting" in, then move on to...

Experiment! (my favorite word). Learn all the rules first, then break them. Print on pastel paper, draw on watercolor paper, paint on printmaking paper, wet the paper, use it dry, paste it to cloth, prime it with gesso... This is how you get to really know paper, because you will learn how paper "behaves" under different whimsical treatments.

It is this paper "behavior" that I am looking for when I use a paper. I can look up the sizing and recommended uses and light-fastness and weight information in a chart. I can make sure (please make sure) that the paper is actually acid-free and will hold my art dearly for centuries to come. I can listen to recommendations from others, I can look up the most suitable paper for a particular use.

Next blog post I will post about various papers I have tried and how they behaved for me. In the meantime, here are a selected few selected sources and suppliers.

Few Selected Paper Sources and Resources

Sylvie Turner's The Book of Fine Paper is an incredible resource for papermaking, history of paper, types of paper, and it even comes with a mini-sampler of fine papers from around the world. I highly recommend it if it's the only reference book on paper in your personal library.
The Book of Fine Paper: A Worldwide Guide to Contemporary Papers for Art, Design & Decoration

If you must have two books, the next that I recommend is the classic Jules Heller book Papermaking:
Papermaking: How to Make Handmade Paper for Printmaking, Drawing, Painting, Relief and Cast Forms, Book Arts, and Mixed Media

Shereen LaPlantz's Cover to Cover is a great source for bookmaking and I liked the book because of its respectful treatment of paper.

Cover To Cover: Creative Techniques For Making Beautiful Books, Journals & Albums

Faith Shannon's The Art and Craft of Paper is a beautifully illustrated book on papermaking that will leave you with a great appreciation for the craft.

The Art and Craft of Paper

Graphic Chemical & Ink Company has a great catalog with a paper chart. They are also one of the least expensive sources for Western papers, especially if you like to buy bulk. In fact their catalog will teach you more about tools than any other I know.           http://graphicchemical.com

Daniel Smith Art Supplies http://danielsmith.com publish a catalog that is worth getting even if you never order anything. Periodically they also publish a paper chart that lists a good quantity of papers with all the specifications (sizing, uses, sizes). Their printed catalog has thoughtful explanations of all their papers, with pictures.

McClain's Printmaking Supplies http://imcclains.com has a beautiful catalog that lists a wide variety of Japanese papers and their uses. If you request their paper sampler you also get a description of their papers in a neatly printed sheet.

Hiromi Paper http://hiromipaper.com has an astounding web site dedicated to Japanese papers, their making, history, much more. Do request their printed catalog even if you print out (like I did) their Adobe Acrobat version.

City blocks from big cities and small cities New York and Kansas

Sara Hauser from New York, New York USA contributes this block and wise words:
“Hare-Boy Looks for Godot”

The Story of Hare-Boy

In recent years, there has been scientific experimentation fusing human cells with bunny eggs, in hopes of speeding up the research processes.
A little-known fact is that several millennia ago, there was a sighting in a secluded area in the hills of England.  A creature which was part woman, part hare, whose name was Hortense, gave birth to the mythical creature now known as "Hare-Boy".  His father’s origin is not known, but Hortense and her mate were rumored to be the product of mysterious genetic experimentation, which often surfaces in ancient scriptures.
Hare-Boy's birth was especially noted because of the appearance of a bright orange carrot, which remained constantly floating above his head.
He went on to perform many miracles throughout his life.  He is depicted here in the midst of one of his miraculous missions as he looks for Godot.

Kolene Dietz in Lawrence Kansas USA, home of the first Barenforum.org archives, has this to contribute:

Billowing, layered clouds are often a part of the landscape in Kansas. The thunderstorms that sometimes follow are comforting; and the rains a welcome sight for city dwellers and farmers alike.

I really like the clouds!

On another note, I have only 3 blocks to replace!!! Waaaaaaahoooooo!!! I will get them done this weekend. I am planning a great big puzzle assembling party for myself this weekend. This will require that I clear out my studio desk first, a month long task...just kidding.
For those looking for studio tips, I purchased a couple of very old sturdy desks, one is oak and the other is walnut. I think I paid $100 for one and got the other for free. These massive and awesome pieces of furniture form the base for my studio tables.
I placed them back to back in the center of the converted garage, then purchased two boards made of particle wood and covered in white melanine, each measures 3 by 7 feet.
The boards cover the desks and make my working area HUGE! If I need the space around the desks, the boards can be just taken off and set to the side vertically against a wall, then placed back when I need to work.

Cheap trick to make a very large working surface that can be easily removed. You're welcome.

I'm licking my chops at the thought of assembling all the pieces! Photos to come.
Oh gosh, I almost forgot! I spent a bit less than $1K on six 100-packs of Rising Stonehenge Warm White. I got some quotes last week and picked the yummiest. Paper on the way!

North East in USA and South West in Canada, it's all relative

Occurs to me that I have been placing everyone according to my own geographical-centrism. I suppose we all have ourselves and where we live as "the" point of reference for the rest of the world, otherwise we would get hopelessly lost as we travel. But be assured I mean no ego-centrism when I refer to Canada as North and Brazil as South, it's just that I'm smack in the middle...always in the middle, it's all relative!

Wow, that was deep...
Anyhow, here are the latest two arrivals.

AEleen Frisch from Wallingford Connecticut, USA sends this little window into her world. The block is actually resting on a borrowed newspaper but it's all good.

And Randie Feil, from Victoria British Columbia in Canada sends this contribution. Randie did write a smart little ditty on paper about the crows and I will be updating all those as I type them:

*******

I am very happy to report that I have now heard several "wait for meeeee!" from almost all the participants and looks like all but two at most will be making the extended extended deadline of February 29th.

That is a big relief because I have very few blocks to replace and, depending on where they are located, I can just carve a few lines to coincide with the outline.

As I reported a few days back, my paper sampler is here and I'm still deciding between the contenders:

-Daniel Smith Lenox

-Canson Warm White

-Stonehenge Warm White

All are equally yummy with the Stonehenge and Canson having two deckled edges and the Lenox (or is it Lennox?) having four cut edges. Time to ring up the suppliers and see what they have on hand. Plenty of time yet but I want to make sure there is leeway for backorders and also would like to lock in a price before all the carriers decide to double their shipping rates in tandem with the price of fuel.

Yikes, good thing I ride a bike!

As you were, carry on...

The beauty and mystery of printmaking paper

Okay, not that much mystery but I thought I'd make the title interesting.

I started to mull over paper choices this past week and have been doing some research online and off about what to use.
Puzzle #1, the Web was printed on Graphic Chemical Heavyweight paper which is 250 gsm, fairly smooth but with some tooth (rhymes!) and very white. Block and left print shown below.

Puzzle #2 The Great Baren Cairn, was printed on Stonehenge Cream because the design was more "organic" and because I like the way Stonehenge paper is more forgiving when printing.

Printing a conglomerate of pieces, as my good friend and helper Barbara Mason can attest, is a tedious problem. Some blocks have invariably and mysteriously shrunk, some are delicately carved and placed directly next to one that is not. Some require more ink than others but alas! all must be printed together.

In any case, I found Rising Stonehenge to have the right amount of tooth, softness, smoothness and ink "thirst" to be able to accommodate all the various blocks. In addition, it is fairly inexpensive and readily available.

Fast forward three years to Puzzle #3, the City of the World. Participant count nearly doubled at 114 and in order to make the pieces a a reasonable size, I expanded the design to five blocks. Each block will print on one 22 x 30 inch sheet of paper so each participant will receive a massive print spread over five full sheets. Quick multiplication...that's 570 sheets of paper plus some additional for sloppy printing, exhibitions, the Museum of Modern Art...(kidding, kidding).

Also fast forward in prices, Stonehenge is now a bit more expensive so I spent last week researching alternatives. I don't want to print on "cheap" student paper so I'm sticking to the 250 gsm weight as one guideline.
Another guideline was to go back to a whiter white but not pure white so somewhere along the warm white or natural designation. We don't want our City to be too cold.

My final candidates:
-Rising Stonehenge Natural @ $1.75 per sheet when bought in 100 packs
-Rising Stonehenge Warm White, same
-Graphic Heavyweight @ $1.54 per sheet when buying 500 or more
-Daniel Smith Lenox Warm White @ $1.45 per sheet when bought in 100 packs

I just bought some full sheets and when they get here I'm confident one of them will grab me and say "pick me! pick me!". Also I'm planning to call on the phone the various vendors and hunt for a good price on about 650 sheets.

Anyhow, just thought I would share some of the behind the scenes fun that I'm having while waiting for the last few stragglers. I'm finishing the photo taking this week and I will be all caught up on recording the arrivals.

More to come!