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Paper Making Series with Katy Dement


  • Contemporary Craft 5645 Butler Street Pittsburgh, PA, 15201 United States (map)

This workshop series will cover all aspects making paper, from building moulds to embellishing with color texture and collage.

6-Week Workshop

Date: Tuesdays, September 10-October 15, 2024

Time: 5:30pm-8:30pm

Description: This workshop series will cover all aspects making paper, from building moulds to embellishing with color texture and collage. We will wrapping up with beginners 3D forms and book binding.

Week 1: Sheet Forming

Hone your skills in basic sheet forming. You will learn how to successfully create sheets of handmade paper from recycled cotton fibers in the “western style” and how to prepare recycled cotton fibers in our beater. Participants will create various sheets of handmade paper: thick, thin, blank, and smooth while using CC’s collection of papermaking moulds as we discuss equipment you might make at home. Each week you will learn more about the fascinating history of communication and discuss of intended uses of our handmade paper.

Week 2: Sheet Making with Color

We will add elements of color with dyed paper pulps to make a dynamic collection of handmade paper sheets, while we continue to learning how to use the Holland beater.

Week 3: Texture and Random Inclusions

Tonight we will add unique surfaces to our paper sheets and play with variations of fiber type embellished with random inclusions in the pulp including seeds!

Week 4: Paper Making from Plants

Plant fibers can be collected from around our home, garden, kitchen and the conservatory. Mucilage will be made from plants and science, creating a viscous liquid that will suspend fibers and drain slowly. We will cover processes for producing pulp from both dry and green fibers and identify what plants and plant parts can become papers. This workshop will introduce Eastern style sheet forming techniques.

Week 5: Paper Book Structures

We will be creating book structures from wet and dry handmade papers. Wet books require no sewing or measuring! We can use the paper we have made to craft sewn, folded and playful art book structures will be explored with storytelling potential.

Week 6: Collage and Inclusions

This class will focus on rules of collage composition, and” wet on wet” techniques unique to hand papermaking. We will be illustrating with natural and found materials, as well as vintage ephemera while covering archival collage making and adhesives. 

Tuition: $240 + $40 materials fee

Materials: All materials will be provided

Location: Contemporary Craft (5645 Butler St., Pittsburgh, PA 15201)

Cancellations and Refunds: Workshop cancellations are decided three business days before the start date. If workshops must be cancelled due to insufficient enrollment, the entire class fee will be refunded through Eventbrite, or you may leave your workshop fee in your Contemporary Craft account for future workshops.

ANY WORKSHOP OR INDIVIDUAL SESSION CANCELLATIONS WILL BE COMMUNICATED VIA EMAIL.

Refund Policy: Student refund requests must be made at least three business days before a class begins. There will be a $25 cancellation fee. No refunds will be given without three-business days notice. Processing of refunds takes approximately three weeks.

If you require accessibility accommodations, please let us know by calling 412.261.7003 and we are happy to assist you.

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Exhibition: From Blueprints to Buildings

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Whiskey Wednesdays