I think I’ve always thought that having a creative practice is a serious thing. Not any more. I’ve learned some things in the past few months.
This year I have been focusing on doing things without waiting until I’ve exhaustively researched the subject – this means creating with imperfection. Amazingly, with this process projects get started and have a much better completion rate.
As well as being willing (and courageous) to be imperfect, I ask myself the “WHAT IF…” question. Such as, WHAT IF I made paper with only the materials and supplies I have on hand? Asking the “WHAT IF” question gives me a sense of exploration and experimentation. I’m pleased to discover a renewed appreciation of active curiosity, delighting my inner child.
So I did make paper. Turns out the screen (deckle for you papermakers that really know how to do this) my husband made for me was a tad large.
Undeterred I used one end of the screen and flipped the pulp to make a whole page.
I had no idea if the pulp would hold together as a whole page, let alone a portion of one.
It worked!
My “felt” came from an unused box of ShamWows. ShamWows really absorb water. I spread the wet and drying pages out to dry across flat surfaces covered with plastic sheets to protect the table.
I hung the dripping felts outside to speed up the drying process.
The dried pages were stiff and not quite flat after peeling them off the ShamWows.
They stack much better after ironing.
The texture is a bit rough for writing paper. I will paint them and incorporate them in mixed media pieces. It was a wonderful and satisfying experiment in what if….
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