Making & Baking

The Sunday Paper #303

This issue of The Sunday Paper is dedicated to my sweet father-in-law, Pete, who passed away this week at the age of 92.

March 15, 2020

Paper of the Week: Dare I mention TP?

My husband fell in love with Japanese toilets last fall and decided to get me one for Christmas. I wasn’t so sure what I thought of this gift at first, but it might come in handy now that I’ve been to two stores that were completely out of TP!

Here’s a preview of next month’s project in The Paper Year – Plantable Paper. This might be a fun project for your kids who are home from school for spring break and beyond due to COVID-19. All you need are 6 squares of TP (although once the kids make a sheet, they’ll probably want to make more).  Embed seeds in your paper, plant it, and watch it grow.

I showed some neighborhood girls how to make plantable paper last fall. They show you how you can make plantable paper in this adorable video.

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In the Studio: 

An artist friend came up to the studio with me on Friday, and we made this pop-up card that Jean-Paul LeConte generously shared over in The Paper Studio (scroll down on that page to find the Butterfly Pop-Up Card Tutorial). I’m sending this one to my mother-in-law in Indiana. Listen to my interview with Jean-Paul LeConte on Paper Talk – he creates a weekly pop-up to explore and perfect his paper engineering skills, and he and his girlfriend run the popular website BestPopUpBooks.com. 

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Papery Tidbits:  

Have you listened to this episode of Paper Talk featuring Robbin Silverberg?
Visit The Paper Library to find places to shop for paper, take workshops, some free paper video tutorials and a selection of how-to books about paper.

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Check this out: lack of funding bars production of this handheld paper device developed by biomedical engineers at Purdue University to test for COVID-19. I’ve heard of other tests being developed – and hopefully they’ll get where they need to soon! It turns out that lots of tests are paper based. ‘Tis a wonder material!

I’m a super fan of material-based artwork, and this exhibition in Chicago looks amazing. The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China encompasses 48 works from 26 contemporary Chinese artists. And this work by Shi Hui features handmade paper!

Shi Hui, “Float” (2000/2007/2013), wire mesh and xuan paper pulp. Installation view at China Academy of Art, Hangzhou

Don’t forget! If you are thinking of registering for Flexible Book Structures, the cut-off for ordering the supply kit is Weds, March 18th (AND you get a free copy of The Paper Year if you order the kit by that date). Join us and create a set of unique book structures in your own space at your own pace. Watch the video, learn more and register today! 

I love reading the All Things Paper newsletter and blog. Ann Martin has some lovely sentiments about beautiful images creating a sense of well-being, especially today. Take a peek.

Paper flowers by artist Kate Alarcon

Things are unsettling these days as we see what is happening around the world and in our own communities due to COVID-19. Both of my children are in the Chicago area in college: one of their schools is going online for the rest of the year; the other has an extended spring break. My mother lives in an assisted facility near me, but I am not allowed to visit.

What do you do in times like these? I try to stick to routines (like going to yoga, walking and swimming), and I continue to do things that make me happy: like making and baking. I have been baking these pumpkin muffins for several weeks now (this time I substituted coconut sugar, used coconut milk and because I live at altitude, I like to use 1 cup of white flour/the rest whole wheat). I also enjoy knitting (although I’m having a hard time finding a project at the moment), as well as creating my own art. My book deadline is in three weeks! Recent events are making it harder to concentrate, but I intend to be done with the manuscript by then, and some of the samples and steps for photography will be completed later, for the photo session next fall.

Since I work for myself, I don’t have to change my work habits, but I do have to worry about lost income – it looks like a teaching gig in April will be postponed for a year. Fingers crossed that events this summer in the studio will still go on.

I am so thankful to all of you in my virtual community! Please take care of yourself and help out where you can! I’ve seen The Quarantini (martini by yourself) mentioned a couple of times, and Pandemic Papermaking – one professor’s new class title for her hand papermaking that now has to meet online. Art and humor will tide us over. And, as my yoga instructor said this morning, we will weather the storm, as we always do.

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Featured this week in my Studio shop:

Flexible Book Structures online class, Alpha Beta, an alphabet book, The Paper Lovers Package, and Grid Paper.

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