This was another one of those COVID-time projects when I had time to experiment and an idea that sounded perfectly reasonable until I actually tried it. I wanted to make a piece of handmade paper in the shape of the United States. Not cut a map out of a finished sheet, but actually pour the pulp into a map-shaped mould and create the shape as part of the papermaking process.
I will admit, my mould could have been better. Trying to get wet pulp into all those curves, corners and narrow little spaces was much more difficult than I expected. Keeping enough pulp in some areas without having too much in others was a challenge, and getting anything resembling the shape of the country took a fair amount of patience. At several points I probably wondered why I had decided this was such a good idea. But eventually there it was, sitting on the screen. Not perfect, definitely handmade, but unmistakably a map of the United States.
Because the piece was fairly thick, I gave it two full days to dry. Once it was completely dry, I decided it needed more than just being a white paper map. This was during COVID, but it was also a politically unsettling time in the country. There was so much happening around us, and perhaps that had something to do with wanting to turn this particular piece into something red, white and blue.
For the painting, I called in a little help from one of my granddaughters. Together we added the flag, working the stars and stripes across the very uneven surface of the handmade paper. The texture meant the paint didn’t go on perfectly, but I didn’t want it to. You can still see the paper beneath the paint, the rough edges and all the evidence of how it was made.
Looking at it now, I remember much more than the finished piece. I remember struggling with that mould. I remember waiting impatiently for it to dry. And most of all, I remember sitting with my granddaughter and finishing something together during a very strange time in all our lives.
Would I make a better mould if I did it again? Absolutely.
But somehow, this one worked.
