Graduate Symposium

As part of this year and getting ready for actually doing the thesis project, we are required to take this class.  It's main pupose is to help people get organized with and presenting our thesis proposal to our committee and if tcohort members have never had a "real" job before get a CV/Resume together among other items that will be important such as a teaching philiosphy, workshop proposal, etc.
Today was round one on the thesis proposals with just the cohort and professor.  I felt prepared and except for a few minor changes in schedule layout, it was thought to be good.  But the real test will be next Thurs. when we meet with the people who approve it.  I'll let  you know what happens next week.

Paper making in San Antonio

Back from a great week of making paper and teaching letterpress at The Southwest School of Art.  On Monday I beat the fiber I'd brought with me from Alabama and Tuesday was an all day event of paper making.  It took a total of 6 hours to beat all of the fiber and then all of the next day to make the paper. The paper turned out a nice oatmeal color with flecks of DCU/ABU in them.  In total I made 141 sheets of 9 x 14 paper.

All of the pulp blended together

Wet Sheets of paper couched (cooched) on a pellon

Drying system at SSA

This is the stack of paper made there!

Papermaking

Next week is Spring Break and I'm going to San Antonio to teach a letterpress class at the San Antonio School of Art.  I'm also going to take advantage of their fantastic paper making studio.  I started making paper for the thesis project over Christmas break and now I'm going to make more.  I figure that I'll need to make 980 pieces of 8 x 10 paper in order to make an edition of 45 books.  I'm using a mix of cotton rag, cotton linter, abaca and uniform.  It make a great beige paper.

                                                                    Paper studio at SSA

                                            J helping make thesis paper at school paper studio