"The Way It Is"

My first edition is hot off the press! Sandy Tilcock of lone goose press in Eugene printed an edition of 50 of a William Stafford poem on a handmade piece of translucent abaca with an embedded thread drawing. This project was quite involved, from making a jig to tie the knots and embedding them between the sheets; to 3 press runs with special taping to prevent the ends of the strings from getting inked. I'm delighted with the results.

From Farm to Paper

Hats off to Rogue Brewery for being creative and thinking that Hop Bines could be turned into paper (yes, that is the correct spelling, and they are just like vines). The flowers, which are used in beer making, are harvested in the summer and the rest of the plant is basically waste material. I received a delivery of bines straight from the farm in Independence, Oregon.

Now, I'll have to admit that stripping the plant material from the bines was a chore, and I'm guessing that is why I'd never heard of paper made from hops. Still, it was possible, and after cooking and beating, the patrons of Rogue Ale House in Portland had a chance to make their own paper coaster while they sipped a new brew last Wednesday night.

A New Lamp!

People who take lampmaking classes with me tell me all the time, "your house must be FULL of lamps that you make." I am embarrassed to say that this is NOT the case, but soon that will change. The lamp over our dining room table broke recently, and I'd made a makeshift replacement which looked nice, but didn't work in the space. Then the fixture broke and my husband replaced it and took the shade off. Now THAT was the incentive I needed. We couldn't have bare bulbs in the dining room! Well, we do at the moment, but not for long. I'm working on an octopus-like tentically wire and paper sculpture that will hang below the ceiling fixture and splay out onto the ceiling. Picture is coming in a few days.