Paper Making with Artist Debbie Ketchum Jircik!

Warehouse Four Seasons Center for the Arts will host a papermaking session from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm on Friday, October 5th in collaboration with Olson Memorial Library as part of Debbie Ketchum Jircik’s artist residency there.

Participants will learn about the process of hand papermaking and be able to use watermarks created by Debbie using the library’s Silhouette cutter. This is an intergenerational class. Pre-registration with a maximum of 12 participants (can we say ages 6 and up). Participants will also be making a paper quilt “square” that will become a part of a collaborative piece that will be assembled, naturally dyed and will hang at the library during an exhibit there in October. Participants can pre-register at Walter E. Olson Memorial Library.

A definition of a watermark from www.paperslurry.com –

Watermarks are designs set into a sheet of paper during the papermaking process when it is first formed and wet. The thickness and thinness of the sheet is manipulated, resulting in a hidden image only revealed when held up to a light source. Light shines through the thinner parts of the sheet, while the opacity of the thick areas block the light. The examples below are from www.watermarks.info, where you can browse hundreds of watermarks collected by G. Garcia.

Watermarks have an interesting medley of uses, from being signs of authenticity to being used as an artistic technique. You can find watermarks in American currency as a measure against forgery and counterfeiting, and paper manufacturers use watermarks as a sign of the sheet’s origin. When the light and shade (also known as shadowmark or chiaroscuro) watermark technique was developed in the mid-19th century, watermarks of much detail and complexity were created, such as these examples at the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum.