Kookaburra – Bookmark Card or Print by Joanna Gair
$8.95 – $52.00
ARTIST / ARTISAN: JOANNA GAIR
This beautiful watercolour of a Kookaburra is by Joanna Gair and is available in your choice of a bookmark card or print.
The uniquely Australian bookmark cards are made from organic plant fibres blended with recycled textiles. Using first-century techniques and traditional equipment each bookmark is made entirely by hand with the utmost dedication to environmental principles.
Joanna’s digital prints are printed from her original artwork on limited edition archival-quality handmade paper of editions no more than 40. Each print will note on the back what the handmade paper was made from.
GREETING CARD:
Dimensions: 100mm (W) x 208mm (L).
Comes with recycled DL envelope 110mm (W) x 220mm (L)
Weight: 21g
MOUNTED PRINT:
Print Size: 150mm (W) x 220mm (L)
Mounted print is 265mm (W) x 340mm (L)
Weight: 140g
Description
PAPERMAKING
Papermaking, regardless of the scale on which it is done, involves making a dilute suspension of fibres in water, called “furnish”, and forcing this suspension to drain through a screen, to produce a layer of interwoven fibres.
The method of manual papermaking changed very little over time, despite advances in technologies. The process of manufacturing handmade paper can be generalized into five steps:
- Separating the useful fibre from the rest of raw materials. (e.g. cellulose from wood, cotton, etc.)
- Beating down the fibre into pulp
- Adjusting the colour and other properties of the paper
- Screening the resulting solution
- Pressing and drying to get the actual paper
Screening the fibre involves using a mesh made from non-corroding and inert material, such as brass, stainless steel or a synthetic fibre, which is stretched in a paper mould, a wooden frame similar to that of a window. The size of the paper is governed by the open area of the frame. The mould is then completely submerged in the furnish, then pulled, shaken and drained, forming a uniform coating on the screen. Excess water is then removed, the wet mat of fibre laid on top of a damp cloth or felt in a process called “couching”. The process is repeated for the required number of sheets.
The fairly damp fibre is then dried using a variety of methods, such as vacuum drying or simply air drying.
The wooden frame in papermaking is called a “deckle”. The deckle leaves the edges of the paper slightly irregular and wavy, called “deckle edges”, one of the indications that the paper was made by hand.
The impressions in paper caused by the wires in the screen that run sideways are called “laid lines” and the impressions made, usually from top to bottom, by the wires holding the sideways wires together are called “chain lines”.
In handmade papers a watermark is created by weaving a design into the wires in the mould.
Additional information
| Weight | N/A |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | N/A |
| Joanna Gair |
Bookmark Card ,Mounted Print |
About the Artist / Artisan
Ever since discovering papermaking while studying at the South Australian School of Art, Joanna has sought to elevate handmade paper as a fine art material and progress the medium as a sustainable, commercial product.
In 1999 she established Dark Fibres Paper Mill in Scotland, where she worked with the National Trust for Scotland, Highland Distilleries and the University of St Andrews amongst other clients, to create bold, new, intrinsically Scottish papers.
In 2004 Joanna and her family emigrated to Tasmania to manage Australia’s largest handmade paper mill, Creative Paper. It was during this time she invented several notable new papers including Roo Poo Paper and helped to establish the Makers’ Workshop in Burnie.
In 2008 Joanna re-established her studio in Devonport. It’s here that she produces exhibition pieces and commissioned work, as well as a commercial range of environmentally-sound greeting cards and fine art prints.
Joanna’s papers are archival and entirely handmade using time-honoured processes and minimal electricity. Made from Australian plant fibres combined with 100% post-consumer, recycled, textiles sourced with the help of the recycling team at St Vincent de Paul.
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