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Wednesday 6 November 2013

CLAS Regional Day 2013, Cheltenham

On 20th October, Suzanne and Jane from Pegasus Art shop attended the CLAS Regional Day in Cheltenham hosted by Gloucestershire Letter Arts. It was an enjoyable and busy day meeting with interesting calligraphers, embossers, lettering artists, poets, painters and gilders showcasing Pegasus’ wide range of papers.

The theme of the day was ‘Works on Paper’ with over 200 delegates attending. The first lecture was by the renowned calligraphy artist Nancy Ouchida-Howells, author of Calligraphy (Easel Does It). Her tips and advice on calligraphy papers can be found on our How to… article here.

The afternoon lecture was given by Clifford Burt from RK Burt & Company who have been London paper suppliers since 1892. He was congratulated at the end of his talk for making a ‘dry’ story so interesting and full of humour.

Clifford based his talk on explaining the manufacture and history of paper making, both fine art papers through to newsprint. His talk was full of the facts and myths of paper making.

15 facts on papers and paper making

1. Paper Making: Start of process there is 97% water 3% material, by the finish the transformation is complete and there is 3% water and 97% material. 

2. Differences between the hand mould and cylinder mould methods are in the procedure and the speed of production.  

3. Handmade papers made on a wooden or bamboo frame (Hand mould) by traditional methods result in papers with attractive uneven (deckle) edges and vary often with the imprint of the mesh on the paper giving a ‘laid’ pattern. 

4. Cylinder Mould: the density of pulp and speed of the machines rotating cylinders affects the weight of the final paper product. The paper is pulled off the wires to felts and the drying section. The use of naturally woven felts affects the final surface of the fine art papers. 

5. Drying the papers: steam is pumped through rotating cylinders to evaporate moisture from the paper. The rate of rotation vary and alter the rough or smoothness of the paper. The rate of rotation plus no heat in the process results in the medium textured surface Cold Pressed (or NOT, as in Not Hot Pressed).  

6. Artist quality papers which are 100% Cotton forms less than 10,000 tons annually of the entire paper industry but this high quality paper loved by artists keeps the industry alive.  

7. Cotton Linters: the shorter fibres from the seeds of the cotton plant are too short for the clothes industry but these short fibres translate to long fibres in beautiful papers. Rags, linen, old clothing were used to make 100% Rag paper, but these can no longer be used due to the introduction of man-made fibres in clothing.  

8. Wood Free Pulp does contain wood! The term is used to show that it has been chemically treated to take out the lignin.  

9. Mechanical pulp contains lignin and will yellow and deteriorate over a short time. You only have to look at old newspapers to see the process.  

10. Additives to Paper: papers absorb atmosphere and additives are used to help to protect them. Calcium Carbonate (chalk) is added to watercolour paper; papers are buffered to protect the surface; Titanium Dioxide is sometimes added to create whiteness and Optical Brightening agents - Persilicates (origin of Persil washing powder!) are used for whiteness.  

11. Sizing: is critical to how paper works. Gelatine or starch is used to repel/control water. It is used internally, externally or sometimes both depending upon the type of paper use: watercolour, printmaking, embossing etc.  

12. Watermarks were invented by Fabriano in 1296 by using embroidery fixed to wire mesh which resulted in a recognisable embossed mark.  

13. Coloured paper: Light fastness of coloured paper. Coloured paper will generally fade over time but those papers made with pigments (Canson Mi Tientes) rather than dyes are more light fast.  

14. Paper storage tips for artists: plastic bags or plastic portfolios protect paper from the atmosphere. For example if you live in Cornwall your atmosphere pH will be easy on your paper. The closer to London you live the more acidic the atmosphere and the more dirty your papers will become if left to absorb this atmosphere.  

15. How to stretch paper: many artists put paper in the bath before taping their paper to a board.  Remember that any detergent residue destroys the sizing of your paper so that it will be damaged and react differently to paint. The best method is to hold your paper under tap, avoid fingers and keep conditions as sterile as possible.  

Clifford finished his fact filled talk with a question and answer session which participants enjoyed, he was asked several memorable questions but his one word retort to the following caused good humoured amusement and brought the session to its end.

"I use wallpaper roll for my rough work - what sort of paper is that?" artist.
"Rubbish", replied Clifford.

CLAS Regional day in Cheltenham was a resounding success for everyone involved and Pegasus Art would like to thank everyone for allowing us to attend, we learnt a lot!

How to... match the right paper to the Calligraphy job?

Renowned calligraphy artist and author of Calligraphy (Easel Does It), Nancy Ouchida-Howells discusses how to match the requirements for the piece of work you plan to do to the right paper. If you get it wrong and use unsuitable paper it is possible that over time the work may deteriorate to become brown, brittle or split.

Paper weight explained

When a number and ‘gsm’ is quoted such as 185gsm, this means that One Square Metre equals 185 grams - a relatively lightweight paper. Other common weights 300gsm, 425gsm, 525gsm, 640gsm have more grams per square metre and are heavier. You must therefore choose the paper weight to fit the project you have in mind. 

Nancy had a number of different products she recommends:- 
  • Arches (paper sheets): strong 100% Cotton, recommended for gold, decoration, watercolours, resist, haiku. These papers are available in Arches HP (hot pressed) and Arches NOT.
  • Fabriano Artistico: another paper that can take gold, available in both Traditional White and Extra White. 
  • Canson Mi Tientes: coloured papers with one textured side and one smooth, both can be written on.

The importance of paper texture

On discussing the texture of papers: Not, Rough and Hot Pressed (HP), Nancy specified how rough paper successfully picks up the granular surface when working with an automatic pen but is not good for fine writing. She recommends:
Khadi paper review

Started in the 1980s, Khadi papers have a number of different products. KHADI rag papers are made from 100% cotton rag. These have longer fibres than linters which are the shorter fluffy fibres of the cotton seed generally used in paper making. KHADI’s Himalayan papers are made from the bark fibre of lokta (daphne bholua) or mitsumata (edgewothia papyrefera).

Handmade PaperThese papers are wonderful but due to their handmade nature can vary from batch to batch, The Khadi papers which includes flowers such as Cornflowers are useful for a variety of projects, an example of Khadi handmade flower paper. The rougher textured surface of Khadi accepts dry paint with great effect. Nancy highlighted the use of acrylic inks on Khadi papers for achieving glorious results from the extensive colours.

Nancy Ouchida-Howells must-have Calligraphy tool…
·       The Schmincke Tro-Col gold powder which when mixed with water to make a paint can be added on top of calligraphy to achieve a stunning gilded effect.

Nancy’s Calligraphy (Easel Does It) book can be bought on Amazon. The text covers all materials, equipment and techniques needed, a includes a gallery by professional artists. It contains ten creative step-by-step projects, including a menu greeting card, wrapping paper, gift tag and family tree!

If you have any further questions on Calligraphy or what paper to choose for what purpose please add them to the comments below and one of our experienced artist’s will answer your query as soon as possible.