Under The Hood

 

I feel like I learned a bunch during the workshop at Under the Hood this weekend. The weekend started with loading the studio into my car on Friday, then reloading it into my truck when the clutch went out on the car. Under the Hood is a place that I normally go to destress but I was anxious about the workshop as I tried to sleep Friday night. 

I had set up the studio some two hours before finish pulping some fibers I had prepared earlier in the week.  I was unsure exactly how long to wait for people to gather before getting started cutting rag. It was around this time that I realized that my sheets were not draining so I was worrying about this. At this point I really wished I had a partner at this workshop. I talked briefly on the history of paper making and Combat Paper for a moment before cutting began. I will have handouts in the future. I regret not being entirely present during this time. A partner wouod be great. I was trying to troubleshoot the issues I was having with draining. I hadn't had problems earlier in the week with other fibers. I think I focused to much on the problems I was having and not enough on the participants.  

Once I abandoned posting sheets on pelon and pressing them things got better. Two large sheets were poured onto wool army blankets and smaller sheets were poured onto burlap that I had used previously for interface. I was very drained but it seemed that the workshop came back together as the sheets were formed. The group hung out on the porch of Under the Hood after closing. 

The next day I went to the Belton Flea market with some of the Under the Hood crew. I got a few tins to turn into guitars an old Kodak Brownie an old book to restore and an awesome art bag. 

I think it is going to be very difficult to run these workshops alone but I am confident that with more practice it will become second nature. I am dedicated to doing this and it will get better thanks to Under the Hood for hosting and helping.