Day one of our Beautiful Papers class. We learned three techniques today: Paste Paper, Katazome & Batik. It was amazing the watch the creativity in the room and the inventive ideas that were executed.
Paste Paper is created by cooking rice flour then mixing it with clear liquid dish soap and glycerin. One the base is prepared you mix in the color, then apply it to paper. Sounds simple and yet the possibilities are endless. We spent our morning learning how to navigate the paste, the colors, and then creating patterns of anything we could imagine.
Katazome is the process of folding rice paper into small shapes – squares, triangles, etc – then dipping the folded paper into Rit fabric dye. The more the paper soaks in the dye the darker the color. The shapes and combinations then repeat or collide and are revealed once the paper is unfolded. It is a traditional Japanese technique that is also used to dye fabrics.
Batik is the process of painting hot wax on paper, then dying the paper with Rit fabric dye. Once the wax dries, more layers of wax are applied and more dye is applied. Layer upon layer until the paper is covered or the design complete. Cold is applied from lighter shades to darker shades, and at last the wax is ironed off to reveal the final design. This is also a tradition method used to dye fabric.
My fingers turned shades of blue and orange, and my mind went a little wonky as it thought through all the layers and elements of my ideas. I forgot my watch, and didn’t care. I didn’t check my phone all day, and I didn’t remember to think about being hungry. I was so absorbed in learning new things, playing with color, and figuring out how to make the dyes, inks and papers do what my head imagined that the rest of the world disappeared.
When was the last time you were so absorbed in learning something new that time stood still and wizzed by at the same time? When was the last time you forgot all your troubles and were immersed in your own imagination and ideas? When as the last time you invented new things and had no worry about whether they were right or wrong? Learning is imperative if we want to grow, develop, and improve ourselves and our skills. It means leaving behind the world we know and daring to believe that we can become something new. It means allowing someone’s else to teach us, guide us, and help us move beyond our limitations.
How open are you to daring to learn and become more than you are today?
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