Halfway through the sweat lodge

These buildings are old and other parts close by are under construction so the general feeling is that things are all over the place and in flux. But I like this little bit of text right next to the bathrooms.

The first (small) batch of paper! I always overestimate how much fiber students will use. They'd make so much more paper if they didn't have to cook, rinse, and beat the fiber by hand. We'll be lucky to get through two pounds by the end, though a third pound is still waiting to be rinsed and beaten.

One Karen followed my lead with the bark lace trapped between sheets. We get to play with both kozo and gampi in this workshop.

The other Karen followed my lead with amate variations. The rock that Donna gifted me makes it possible to teach this technique, though it also encourages a bit of laziness because it's easier to beat bark with a rock than to pick it out with an awl. But the effects are completely different. I also had lots of visitors today, old and new faces, very welcome. Tomorrow: more paper, twining, ink grinding, persimmon dye, and maybe a webal tteugi demo, if people are willing to hold up a crossbar for me.

p.s. - My bedheads finally have a place on my site!