I Want to Talk about Paper

I have been visiting with some other like minded artist and we all LOVE paper. Following is a couple of pages that I have been writing in my journal. A little serious and a little humor...but all so true.

PAPER

Let me share some thoughts I have about paper. Sometimes the thoughts are more like feelings. Thoughts are in my head and they spurn feelings that consume by entire body. Paper has been a huge part of my life as long as I can remember.

I love all kinds of paper: brown paper bags, wrapping paper (whether it is around a new pair of shoes in a box or around a wonderful surprise wrapped for Christmas, birthdays or an anniversary gift), hand made paper which I have made or machine made paper with beautiful fragrant flowers pressed into it, slick magazine papers, textured or smooth drawing paper, news print still on the roll brought home by my father who worked for a newspaper, water color paper, thick or thin (40lb or 300lb)hot pressed or cold pressed. The yellow paper used in the telephone book, crepe paper, plain copy paper, card stock, wall paper, and any kind of paper made from natural fibers or man made fibers.

Paper is the most versatile art medium there is to use. It can be used as a tool to apply paint or glue. It can be used as a tool to correct and error. Not that artist make errors...lol. It can be used to clean up a mess and then smooth it out and use it as part of a college. I just love paper...I know I said that before.

Paper can be made into a hat (like pressmen wear to keep the ink out of their hair) a pair of shoes, a purse or even a dress (One time, in 1968, the Yellow Pages had an advertising campaign, they gave away dresses made out of the yellow pages and my friends Mary and Alene and I got these dresses and wore them to a party, as soon as we began to perspire the paper began to fall apart, we were really glad we wore "appropriate" underwear).

Window shades can be made from paper. Furniture can be made from paper: when I was in collage in 1959, my room mates at North Texas State University, who were twins from Nacogdoches, Texas, they had some pressed cardboard paper tables that were really strong.

Of course don't forget something that is black and white and red all over....the newspaper...lol....ok, old joke. They say that newspapers are one of the "cleanest" things to use when delivering a baby. WHAT? I am not sure what that means but in the movies they would always say: "Cover the table with newspaper and boil some water." I had 3 babies and I never heard any thing about boiling water or newspapers. It's a wonder my babies survived.

We wrap our food and flowers in paper. We wrap our garbage in it and throw it away. We write on paper, we praise paper, we waste paper, we draw on paper, we fold paper into shapes (Origami), we roll tobacco in paper, we roll paper into beads to make jewelry and embellishments. We decorate with paper. We cover the walls and the ceiling with paper. We mail paper, we weave paper, we use paper to wipe everything from the floor to the ceiling. From the time we are born we use paper to wipe our bottoms and our tops and everything in between. I have heard that if everyone would recycle just their Sunday newpapers that would be enough paper that not another tree would have to be cut down to make paper....WOW! that sounds like a "Texas Whopper"...but what if it is true?

Paper is stiff, paper is soft, paper is transparent, paper is thick and thin, paper can last for centuries or it can disintegrate with the drop of a water monocule or the heat of an iron. Paper can burn, or be used to start a fire. Paper can be made into the most beautiful book you could imagine, and then that book could be altered into an awesome work of art.

Paper is a wondrous thing that we all seem to take for granted! I am sure there is something that paper can't do, but for the life of me I can't think of it now.