Slow prep

I know this is how I'll feel over the next few days (including today): spent! I got to work early, caught up with Mason, and started rinsing fiber. This took all morning.

For the first time since I've built the studio, I finally took the time to sit and pull apart the kozo that was no good for beating/sheet formation. I was amazed by how strongly the sun bleached the stuff I worked on out in the garden this afternoon (rather than the ones I dried inside with less direct sun). Makes me wonder about future sun bleaching.

I always scrub pots after cooking. Got all but that speck up there on the lid cleaned.

Red: gampi. Blue: kozo. One more garbage pail not in the frame with the last bit of kozo. I lost count of how many batches I beat but I started after lunch and was done before 3. Maybe even before 2:30pm. Lots of labor, but not as much as if I hand beat.

I love this little workhorse. The folks here don't use it often, and the paint inside is chipping (plus you can see the one blade with the mangled corner), but I was very grateful for it. Checked PMP from last fall's Watermarks conference: it's STILL gooey! So I just mixed up one pail of PEO in case it all goes bad by tomorrow, straightened out threads, and half-heartedly prepped for tomorrow. By the late afternoon, my feet get cranky on all the concrete.

Tomorrow: fill the big vat, get to the real work.