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Papermaking in the Ocean
Key West, FL
2009
Amani / My Culture
While visiting The Studios of Key West for a two-week artist residency, exhibit and community workshop in December 2009, we had a chance to try our hand at making a large sheet of paper in the ocean.
Using Marine veteran Donna Perdue's concept and giant silk screen, we poured a 4 x 6 foot piece of paper made from her military uniform worn while serving in East Africa. The silk screen was made from a photograph of an Iranian refugee Donna met while stationed in Ethiopia. The mould was made from a bed sheet stretched over a 2 x 2 wooden frame.
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Entering the ocean and pouring pulp into the partly submerged mould.
The trick is to let the mould float in the water; low enough to keep the pulp fibers suspended, high enough to keeep the waves from washing the pulp away.
Raising the mould from the water... heading to the beach
Leveling the sand and laying the mould and paper on a wool army blanket to drain
Pulp printing through the stencil. The red areas remain white, the white areas become black.
Gently rolling back the stencil to reveal the image underneath
Donna Perdue with the finished piece, drying on the beach
The finished piece is titled 'Amani', named for the Iranian refugee woman. It retains some of the beach sand and wind blown debris imbedded in the paper fibers, reminiscent of Donna's deployment to East Africa. It was hung with the Fibers of Reason exhibit at The Studios of Key West.
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