June 6, 2012

Adventures in Printmaking: Japanese Paper

 7 sheets of Japanese paper, rolled


In my first post on my cardboard print project, "Adventures in Printmaking", I explained that my next task was going to be finding papers that I liked. I was lucky enough to get to New York Central Supply when I was in NYC a couple of weeks ago. Walking into the store on 3rd Avenue was like stepping back in time: it looked just as it did the last time I was in there, over 20 years ago. Their remarkable paper department was still up the stairs, in a small room full of hundreds of paper samples from all over the world.


the papers, flat, a subtle range of color


I spent a happy hour looking through the Japanese paper, trying to find some that were like the ones I had so enjoyed printing on. The delicacy and translucence of these papers are qualities that I think are suited to my funky cardboard prints. I touched many papers, looking for a smooth surface similar to the paper I had at home. The variations in surface and texture and color were wonderful to see. I had to close my eyes to the really expensive hand made papers, but there was still plenty to choose from. 




I happened to come across an useful tidbit of technical information while looking up one of the papers online: if you make a line of water with a fine brush, you can simply pull this thin, translucent paper apart (don't look at my messy glob of water). It made tearing the paper to size a more interesting process than tearing it using a straight edge.




In order to get to know how each of these 7 papers printed, I used just one plate. You can see how the different colors of the paper, and their different surfaces, changed the blue of the ink in relation to them. I ended by liking 6 of the 7 papers; each had a quality of color or surface that I found very engaging. It's going to be hard moving forward to decide which paper to use for which project.


Gampi smooth


Here is a detail of the most textured of the papers, Gampi, which is made from the bark of the gampi bush and has quite a shiny surface. I thought I wouldn't like printing on this, that the texture would be distracting, but I liked it a lot. I believe it's machine made, but it still has a lot of character, as do all these papers. There is a conversation between the irregularity of the printed image and the surface of the paper, one that I'll enjoy listening in on as it develops.


7 comments:

  1. delicious papers! i wonder how long your printing cardboard will hold up - did you coat it with anything? does it start to get mushy when wet? sorry if you mentioned this already & I missed it.

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  2. aren't they, rappel! the cardboard is holding up super well. I coated all the plates with acrylic gloss medium, which protects the paper very well. This plate is made with double thick cardboard, and I'd love to find more of it. My other plates are single thick that I've backed with more cardboard. So, they should all hold up for the tiny editions I plan to make, not more than 5 or 6 of each.

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  3. The close-up of tearing paper with water is an engaging image. Think it embodies some of the abstract qualities you've been exploring in your painting ?

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    1. It probably does, Julie, since my eye influences all the work I do and there's cross fertilization everywhere.

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  4. I go to NY Central and love to spend time upstairs too. I like the range of shades of tan/beige!

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  5. i like this work so much!
    as well your mixture of garden and art on your blog!
    greetings from germany

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    1. Thanks, kjoto, I'm so glad you enjoy the blog!

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