Underground hanji making

I'm suspect about what is in my basement because it makes my eyes water and it better not be radon. I'm not convinced that this is the solution to my temporary problem of the slowest hanji studio to get off the ground, but it's something! Now I know I can do it. And I probably hold a world record for number of temporary hanji studios built.

Devie came all the way from Texas to spend nearly the whole week in snowy Ohio, after winning a Hand Papermaking auction this year to have a home studio experience with me. I had a sketch of the days that she would be here and checked everything off the list! We cooked two pounds of paper mulberry bark on Day 1 + thread making and a visit from museum folks. Day 2 was rinsing and beating fiber, setting up the vat and couching station, making hanji, pressing, parting, and boarding. Day 3 I had to run to my final jewelry class in the morning.

When I got back, Devie had already pulled, pressed, parted, and boarded her FIRST batch of hanji, and had started a new post by herself! We broke for lunch and then did more drop spindle work with paper thread and brought some boards upstairs to dry faster before she left. I finished up the vat as best I could (I was barely standing by then), pressed, and brought the post upstairs with more boards to part and board in a warmer and cozier setting. This morning, I woke up like xmas morning and rushed downstairs to peel away sheets. Instead of having her brave the annoying traffic to my place, I met her at the Verne Gallery to deliver her dry hanji and show her Yuko's beautiful work.

I underestimated how much this would take out of me, so I did a lot of crawling into bed early and laying there for a long time even if I didn't sleep. I'm glad I did it and my basement looks much nicer, but I don't want to spend long hours down there! I can't help it; my animal self recoils from underground time. This afternoon we had SUN and I napped. This weekend I'll rest so that I can get back to studio work before I fly to Boston in a week+.