Maria to MJ (all emails edited to protect the innocent)

Remember a while ago I talked about the Nevada Arts Council Governor's Art Award Commission? Remember I said there probably was no chance since it was my first time applying? Remember that I said maybe there might be some big pieces of hand-made paper that I would need? Weeeeeeeell?
I GOT THE COMMISSION!!! Oh man, I'm dizzy (or is that ditzy?) with humble honor...yeah, and all that. But now I have to actually fabricate the things I said I would.

So! Here is the skinny on the project but first a disclaimer:
I am giving you what is called in the biznez "first right of refusal". I mean if I need hand made paper, the first person I naturally think about is MY paper-maker. But I realize these are sheets that you normally don't make so feel free to use your amazing charm and directness and tell me thanks-but-no-thanks.

The proposal was for 6 woodblock/print pairs that will represent Nevada trees. The 6 works will be displayed in the Nevada State Capitol Building for a while and then 5 of the works are given to recipients of the Governor's Art Awards 2005 and the other remains in the collection of the Nevada Arts Council. Anyhoot, the proposal called for 6 prints on 20" x 24" paper (approximate measures). These will be editions of 1 for each block, but I would like to exercise my artist's right to make 3 artist proofs of each block. So we're talking a total of 24 sheets of paper.
They all need to be different but things you have already done, probably in the mixed pulp realm. The six trees represented all will require different paper so, if you wish to accept the mission, I would need 4 sheets of this and 4 sheets of that and 4 sheets of the other, etc. I can let you know the gory details.
Oh yeah, the deadline for delivery of the blocks is March, so if I had the paper by first week in February that would be plenty of time for printing. Needless to say, this would take priority over my other orders. And, oh yeah, in addition to paying you top dollar I would give you full-credit everywhere the prints are mentioned and a set of the a.p.'s to keep forever more.

And MJ to Maria's reply:

Okay. About the paper. I'm willing to give it a shot. That size is reasonably doable...it's the 30"x24" or larger that would be a real big deal. Say...would it be possible to fudge an inch off the 24" side of the 20x24" to make it 23x20"? Does the governor have an exact ruler? Or would that mess up your block size? The reason I ask is that my press boards are 24"x24" and that would give me juuuuuust enough room, I think. If not, I can get a couple larger pieces of plywood for the press, no big deal - maybe I should do that anyway. Mr. B said he would cut some lumber for the mold and deckle when we get back from Thanksgiving travel and I have screen. A few bigger couching sheets and some larger cardboard for the dryer are easily obtained for that size and quantity.

The fact that you only need a few sheets of each type is the real kicker for me to do this. I think I'll be able to get 4 sheets easily out of a beater load, so that simplifies things: time for process, material quantities, and equipment. Let me know kinds of paper you are thinking about. Some plant fiber/ cotton/ hemp mixes? Colored cotton? I have quite a bit of hickory; enough day lily for a load, I think; hmmmm....I may still have some wheat straw, plus a bit of this and that. And of course, clay and a Goodwill with lots of colored cotton...

My specs to MJ in the next email

Since there are six prints, we can do the papers in pairs to simplify things. They are all going to different people anyway and they will show nicely. I think I would like all the papers to be mixed pulp, the cloudy swirly thing you do. All with regular deckles, you don't have to get wild. Variations will be fine. Texture I don't care, you can add some strange things in there. You have made all these before and I can send you samples of what I want if you like but, as usual, surprises are wonderful and I'm not real picky about matching past batches. So!

Bristlecone Pine and White Pine can both be on a light hickory/cotton beige cloudy/swirly mix. You can add a rusty touch here and there if you like and also some fibers of some kind. That would be 8 sheets of that.
Both trees are rugged and sort of dry looking, always found on rocky slopes with wind always blowing your face off. Both trees look half dead most of the time, but somehow survive the highest altitudes, ice and snow storms and often hang on to edges of cliffs. I don't know if this helps, but thought I'd throw it in.

Mohave Willow and Spanish Bayonet can both be on the boys-of-summer paper you made various times; there was pink, yellow, white and some touches of blue and rust in there if I'm not mistaken. 8 sheets.
Both of these are light colored happy trees (Spanish Bayonet is really a yucca/cactus thing). The willow has mauve/pink flowers with yellow centers and the leaves are willowy and light green. It has pods and spreads like a weed. Spanish Bayonet shoots out a bright yellow pod once a year out of blue/rust/green spiky leaves and lives in the most inhospitable climates. But both are sort of delicate and happy.

Pinyon Pine and Joshua can be on a variation of the above you sent once which was mostly green some blue and rust with some off whitish and perhaps a more fibrous mix also. 8 sheets.
These two are mostly green and rust colored rugged folk. The Joshua can survive the harshest climates and isn't exactly a tree tree, but a forest of these freaky things is something to see (and walk amongst!). Pinyons are reg'lar lookin' pines but the desert variety is closer to the ground and gnarlier and bushier because of the high winds it often has to endure.

MJ comments on the process of making the paper:
"Yesterday I started on Maria's big paper. You know, a 20x23" mold and deckle with enough pulp on it for a thickish sheet is heavy. Had a few false starts learning to handle the mold in a tight fit vat...the suction factor of mold to water in a mold that size is not insignificant. I finally piled up my floor mats so I could stand a few inches higher, that helped my leverage. It's a new mold and deckle with heat shrink screen, and for some reason it was draining very slowly at first. I had washed the screen, but it seemed like it had to "break in". Weird. At first I was thinking I had over shrunk it when I heated it after putting it in the mold. But it started working better....or I started getting better. Anyway, then the challenge was couching - that size sheet leaves only a quarter inch space on two side of my couching cloths. But after a couple sheets, I got the hang of it. Good thing wet pulp is recyclable. I discovered that a critter load makes a grand total of 5 sheets that size. There is still a fair amount of pulp in the vat, but not enough to make a sheet thick enough for Maria's needs.
Paper this size and in winter winter takes a while to dry. The sheets are close to the edges of the felts and cardboard pieces in the dryer so I wondered if the edges would dry too quickly and get all puckery, but so far it has come out of the dryer nice and flat. Since the paper took a couple days to dry, I had to change out the felts in the dryer a couple times...we don't want any mildew taking root - that's not the type of surface design Maria had in mind."

That was it, after that, she was off and running and came up with these, and frankly I cannot wait to print on these beauties! (click on the paper images to see the amazing details). MJ's papers are always thick and uniform, strong and ink-thirsty. They emboss just right and show amazing detail. Prints coming soon...

Copyright © Maria Arango, 1999-2999