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MESSAGE FROM THE EDITORS AND HPI NEWS
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In January of 1995, Hiromi Paper published our first issue of the World of Washi Newsletter and have continuously sent out an issue each quarter of every year since then. Even though we would love to continue doing so, present times have caused us to rethink our newsletter format. At the beginning, the printed newsletter was brought about as an idea for communicating to the customers and vice versa, but now we have become more and more reliant on e-mail and our website. Each quarter we send out newsletters, we are sure to get a batch sent back with returned addresses, as well as a decreasing number of responses from the newletter recipients. With the postage price hike coming up, we were strapped to really think of a solution.
Therefore, after this issue, we will discontinue printed newsletters indefinitely and send out e-mail notifications for when the website is updated with the e-newsletter version of World of Washi. In this case, it is imperative that we get all of your updated email addresses, so please contact us with this information. We’d like to thank you again for following us for over 14 years of printed newsletters, we plan to continue brining you updates and articles through our website for more years to come!
Be sure to update us with your current email address for notifications on World of Washi newsletter releases, workshops, and sales!
Contact us at washi@hiromipaper.com
Toll Free: 1-866-HP-WASHI
(1-866-479-2744)
Tel: 310-998-0098
Fax: 310-998-0028
Visit us on our new blog! Read our updates and comment directly to each post at:
blog.hiromipaper.com
COMING SOON
Magical Secrets About Chine Collé:
Pasting, Printing, Mounting, and Leafing
by Brian Shure. DVD included.
$55.00
Brian Sure has expanded and revised his popular Chine Collé: a Printer’s Handbook (Crown Point Press, 2000) to create the fourth book in the Magical Secrets series. Magical Secrets about Chine Collé gives step-by-step instructions for printing and pasting to a support sheet, and adapts chine colle techniques for working with collage and moutning paper, fabric, and other materials with or without a press. Illustrated with color step-by-step photographs, and the included DVD demonstrates the processes.
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NEW ITEMS AVAILABLE AT HPI!
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IJ ASUKA
Now in stock, the newest addition to our inkjet series. Made from the Fukui prefecture in Japan, the Asuka is coated on both sides and is our most economically friendly inkjet paper.
Sheets
IJ-75W&N 8.5” x 11” $6.80/10 sheet pack
75 g/m2 $54.50/100 sheet pack
IJ1319-75W&N 13” x 19” $1.58/ per sheet
75 g/m2 $126.00/ 100 sheet pack
IJ1722-75W&N 17” x 22” $2.10/ per sheet
75 g/m2 $168.00/ 100 sheet pack
IJ-48W&N 8.5” x 11” $5.00/10 sheet pack
48 g/m2 $40.00/100 sheet pack
IJ1319-48W&N 13” x 19” $1.13/ per sheet
48 g/m2 $90.40/ 100 sheet pack
IJ1722-48W&N 17” x 22” $1.50/ per sheet
48 g/m2 $120.00/ 100 sheet pack
IJ Sampler 20 sheets: 2 of each IJ series ........$20.00
Rolls
IJ-75G 44” x 20m 75 g/m2 $96.00 per roll
IJ-48G 44” x 20m 48 g/m2 $65.00 per roll
Yucatan
We have added to our Yucatan stock a larger size (17” x 24”) and the white patched color.
Mexican Yucatan Solid or Patched
color: White or Natural
size: 17” x 24” price: $8.00
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TOOLS USED IN MAKING WASHI
Handmade Japanese paper (washi) consists of the paper materials, tools, and papermaking techniques. This time, I will talk about the tools. To make washi is a very demanding task, moreover making the tools used for washi requires extraordinarily delicate skills. The principal tool in making washi is the su and the keta. Primarily made of bamboo, the su is used to thinly spread the pulp material on when making the paper. The inner layer of the bamboo is chipped off and then the skin is split to form bamboo splints, which are used to form into sheets. The nodes of the bamboo cannot be used for the bamboo splints, so only the length between the nodes is used. Bamboo splints that differ in thickness cannot be used in the same su, only the splints that are equal thickness are used. The length of a bamboo splint is generally up to 16-18 inches long and they are carefully braided together one at a time. The thickness of the bamboo splints differs depending on the paper being made. Heavier paper requires thicker splints, and lighter paper requires thinner splints. Even when making only one su, 3000 splints are generally needed, so it can take from one week to 10 days to complete.
Next is the keta, which is the wooden frame the su is inserted into. Making the keta requires even greater technique than making the su. The material for the keta comes from Hinoki Cypress that is no less than 400 years old. The keta has to be light because it will be filled with water and the soaked paper materials. It also has to be strong enough to withstand intense swinging actions during the paper making process as well as stay in tact despite all the water that seeps in. For these reasons, the Hinoki Cypress that is used has to be dehydrated for several years. This adds the degree in difficulty for the washi tool making technique and testing the materials is very important.
Other than the su and keta, there are the metal fixtures for the keta, the silk threads for braiding the su, and the brush used to dry the washi. All of these require advanced techniques and careful picking of the ingredients necessary to make them. Right now, there are approximately 30 people in Japan who are occupied with making the tools for washi, with the core of it advancing to 80 years in age. For the future of washi, Kochi prefecture holds an annual “Nationwide Preservation of Handmade Japanese Paper Tool Making Techniques” to train succeeding generations.
Tsuyoshi Ageta
Kochi Washi Coop
Washi Tools available at HPI:
Postcard Size Suketa
4"x6" $27.00
Replacement Su only $9.60
Two in One Suketa
7.5"x9" $80.00
Can also make 2 postcard sized 3.75"x6.25"
Shikishi Size Suketa
10.5"x11.5" $300.00
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As March draws closer in Mino, the sunlight and warmth can be felt. Even as we are drying paper, a lighter feeling to the body of the paper is felt. In the garden, lovely plum flowers (Ume no Hana) come in to bloom and there is the sense that spring is coming in the order of the course of one’s work. However, there are some troubles that come with this time. It is the time that the East Asian yellow dust from China and the Japanese cedar pollen comes. To start with the yellow dust season, the dust from the distant Chinese continent gets taken on an air current and the small Gobi Desert sand flies in. It is like a dim haze as far as the eye can see, giving a feeling of smothering. Just when it appears the yellow dust has paused, the pollen from Japanese cedar comes next. With mountains and forests surrounding the work area, seeing the dispersal of pollen feels as though you are shivering. As the springtime wind blows through the Japanese cedar woods, a band of amber is upsurges and it appears as if smoke has come from the whole mountain area. Since coming to Mino, I have been plagued by allergies to pollen, but will have to endure the time from February to May no matter what.
March to May marks the last stage of the season for making washi, but because the weather stabilizes, we can continue working relatively well. Making washi in the workroom mostly goes on uninterrupted, but endless sneezing and runny noses are to be had when drying the paper in the sunlight and sorting through the sun-dried paper. Sun drying paper is limited to outside the workroom, and during that time cedar and cypress pollen are certain to slip in. I often hear from various Japanese consumers who use the paper to repair their homes that they are always sneezing. Perhaps overseas users too have certainly felt this. If you sneeze when handling washi, do remember this article. It is spring’s washi.
SATOSHI HASEGAWA
Hasegawa Washi Coop
Mino Paper available at HPI include
HP-01 Hon Mino, HP-02 Usu Mino, HP-04 Usu Mino Thin, HP-05 Chochin
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LASTING BEAUTY AND UNIQUENESS OF HANJI
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HPI Note:
Hiromi Paper was estabished 20 years ago to keep the traditional Japanese handmade paper practice alive and accessible around the world. In continuing to do so, we have decided to also introduce traditional Korean handmade paper, so look out for more Hanji additions in the future!
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Hanji refers to Korean traditional handmade paper. ‘Han’ means Korea and ‘Ji’, paper. This term was coined in the early 20th century after Yang(western) Ji(paper) was introduced in Korea to distinguish traditional handmade papers from machine made western papers. In the course of 1,300 years of papermaking history, Korean papermakers refined Hanji with an original vision and handmade paper was an indispensable material of daily life, until lifestyle became widely westernized in Korea. Hanji was used not only for calligraphy, painting, and books, but also for doors, walls, windows, furniture, umbrellas, lanterns, boxes, baskets, fans, shoes, and clothes. Koreans used paper even in flooring, as part of Ondol, heated floor.
Hanji is beautiful to look at and touch, but its true value lies in what is not readily recognizable on the surface. Main material for Hanji is simple: Dak (paper mulberry), Hwang Chok Kyu (natural formation aid), and clean water. There are no fillers or additives. Compared to paper mulberry found in warmer regions of Asia, Korean Dak is known for its long, flexible, and strong fiber. Hanji is naturally PH neutral and has incomparable longevity. Excellent example of Hanji’s longevity is Mugujeonggwang Daedaranigyeong (Pure Light Dharani Sutra, circa 751 C.E., National Treasure 126), which was discovered inside a pagoda of Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju, Korea in 1966. Believed to be the oldest woodblock print in the world, this scroll, printed on Dak, was intact except for small areas of moth damage on the backside at the time of discovery.
Korea’s paper formation technique is distinct. Often referred to as Webal, this unique technique allows the fibers to accumulate in crisscross formation without a dominant grain direction. Each Yin Yang Ji is composed of two sub-layers, yin and yang, dried as one, which attributes to its name. Yin Yang Ji is strong, dimensionally stable and does not tear easily in either direction. It maintains even expansion and contraction rates in both directions and does not change final dimensions after drying, which could be particularly useful for certain conservation treatments and printmaking. Even the lightest Yin Yang Ji is much stronger than other papers with same thickness. Another characteristic that distinguishes Yin Yang Ji is the chain lines. Chain lines in Korean Bal (screen) do not run the entire length of the screen, but end in the middle and shift alignment for the other half. This prevents chain lines from overlapping and weakening that area of the paper. Fiber formation in multiple direction, yin and yang layers in one sheet, and alternating chain lines are all special attributes of Yin Yang Ji.
Some Hanji are treated with an extra finishing process called Dochim, during which the sheets are pounded repeatedly to make a compact and smooth surface. Dochim results in added strength and subtle sheen. It is an extra step for the highest quality Hanji which requires an amazing amount of care, physical effort, and most importantly, intuition.
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This year, HPI staff members set up booths at two conferences so far: Codex and CAA. For more detailed reports and pictures from our experiences, go to our new blog:
Jennifer and Yona participated in the Codex Bookfair in Berkeley for four days from February 8-11. Showcasing limited edition books and arts from printmakers and artists, Codex packed much to look at for attendees in three days. We were not only able to exhibit our products at the fair, but also to visit some HPI friends and studios around the area.
Back in Los Angeles after ten years, the College Art Association took place at the LA convention center. It was also our own return to CAA as a vendor in 10 years! The CAA annual conference is the “world’s largest international forum for professionals in the visual arts”. Most of our staff members were able to attend and experience the conference for themselves and meet many new faces as well as some acquaintances. Samples of our latest paper creation “Toyo” came in just in time, so we passed them along in hopes of getting feedback for our store. It was surely a busy three days!
Upcoming Conferences
Hiromi Paper will have booths at the following conferences.
Southern Graphics Council Conference
SGC - March 27 - 28 Chicago, IL
The American Institution For Conservation Conference
AIC - May 20 - 21 Los Angeles, CA
If you are planning on attending any of the above conferences, please stop by our booth! Also, if you plan on attending the conferences in Los Angeles, don’t forget to come and see us at our store in Santa Monica!
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Art Kite Workshop
With Artist Christine Yuengling and Ali Fujino
A collaboration of art and aerodynamics brings Christine and Ali to HPI. In this 3hour session, you will be introduced to the beauty of handmade papers, bamboo and three processes of art: mono printing, stenciling and stamp/block printing! Roll up your sleeves and join Christine as she introduces new approaches to the kite sail. Ali will direct you to flying perfection, showing you the beauty, strength and practicality of bamboo in flight.
Christine Yuengling is a professional
commercial production artist for TBWA/CHIAT/DAY Los Angeles as well as an accomplished studio artist in bookmaking, construction and illustration.
Ali Fujino is the director of tethered flight, Drachen Foundation, Seattle, Washington www.drachen.org
Date: Sunday, May 3rd
Time: 1-4 pm
Place: HPI/Bergamont Station
Price: $60.00
Space will be limited to 12 people
To reserve your spot:
call: 310-998-0098
email: washi@hiromipaper.com
or
reserve at our store
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