Spring Haiku — an artist book I made in spring 1997. Covers of handmade paper with turnip greens inclusions, over matboard; Arches Text Wove for text. Oriental paper hinges, painted, cut into 3x-wide strips. Handmade paints — pure pigments plus gum arabic plus (in the case of Alizarin Violet) titanium-coated mica flakes for sparkle. The washes brushed with methyl cellulose — to improve the surface for fine (that is to say, small) lettering. The lettering was done with a #5 Mitchell dip pen.
Size: 2 1/2″ x 2 5/8″.
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2 Replies to “Spring Haiku — 1997”
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Could you please explain how you use methyl cellulose in such cases? Thanx!
I used the methyl cellulose as sizing for the paper, which is Arches Text Wove which is rather nubbly in texture. I brushed it on rather carefully to minimize the smudging of the wash. It provided a smoother surface for writing, but not by a lot. That was in 1997; these days I’d be more likely to rub down the surface with a bone folder if I wanted a smoother surface. Of course, that would cause the paper itself to be and look smoother, whereas the methyl cellulose doesn’t actually flatten the paper itself.