Page 22 - CA 2019 Final(3)

on art f paper making

by Johanna S Billings

Gigi Sarsfield is really good at two things that don’t usually
mix – computers and making paper. Gigi, owner of Handmade
Papers Gallery in Brooklin, worked professionally as a computer
coder for many years. “I was an entry level programmer for a
large insurance company for a short stint,” she said. In the late
1970s she worked for a small non-profit writing code for a state-
wide medical records database. Later, she served as data proces-
sing manager at Maine Maritime Academy and as a contract pro-
grammer for a variety of small businesses.
In the 1990s, she took a class on paper making at James
Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA., and her world changed.
She jumped into paper making full time. She started out making
calligraphy paper but changed her specialty. “I first started making
lampshades for artisans who made lamps,” she said, adding that Beating the kozo fibers to a pulp, making them
this grew into replacing worn out lampshades. easier to work with. Photo courtesy of
The paper making process begins with Asian fiber known as Handmade Papers Gallery.
kozo, which is the bark of the paper mulberry tree. The fiber is Gigi’s paper-making studio is located in a separate building
cooked in a solution of water and soda ash until it becomes pli- behind the one that serves as her home and gallery. It is there
able. The fiber is rinsed, then bleached, then rinsed again. Then that she houses her machinery and does most of the messy
it takes a beating – literally. work. “The beating process is noisy,” she said.
“The next thing you get to do is beat it to a pulp,” Gigi said. After the fiber is sufficiently beaten, it can be dyed. The
This can be done by hand but, because some fibers need to be
beaten for as long as eight hours, Gigi uses a machine. The idea next step is to soak it in a thickener. “Cellulose fibers don’t
like to bond with each other but they love water,” said Gigi.
behind beating the fibers is not to break or cut them but rather to
Once the water is gone, the fibers are stuck with each other.
chew them, making them easier to work with.
She takes the fiber out of the thickener and places it in a mold
and deckle which, to the untrained eye, looks a bit like a large,

flat strainer. The purpose of this step is to evenly distribute
the fibers.
Fibers are then “couched,” a process that involves putting
layers of what is actually going to be the paper between what
can best be described as blankets, and pressing them to remove
the excess moisture. Pressing takes a couple of hours.
The process of drying the paper actually serves to help
create its texture. If Gigi wants a smooth surface, she brushes
it against the studio windows. A less smooth texture can be
created by hanging the paper from a special tool that resembles
a rack for hanging wine glasses overhead. Drying takes any-
where from a couple of hours to a couple of days.
continued on next page

In the foreground, soaking kozo; behind, sheets are “couched” as part
20 of the drying process. Photo courtesy of Handmade Papers Gallery. Fresh sheets of paper hang to dry. Photo courtesy of Handmade Papers Gallery.