2. A Brief History of Papermaking
According to Dard Hunter, the great paper historian, the progress of the human
race may be divided into three fundamental stages of development: Speaking,
Drawing, and Printing.
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3. A Brief History of Papermaking
Paper is defined by Noah Webster as "a
substance made in the form of thin sheets or
leaves from rags, straw, bark, wood, or other
fibrous material, for various uses."
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4. The date usually given for the actual
invention of paper is 105 AD, but
experiments in papermaking from
disintegrated fibre probably extended
over a long period before the process was
brought to any degree of perfection and
publicly announced. In that year the
invention was officially reported to the
Emperor by the eunuch Ts'ai Lun, and
his name is associated with the
invention, although he may have been a
court official who became the patron of
the discovery. In any case, the Chinese
were able to keep a monopoly on the
fabrication of paper for over 500 years.
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5. While papermaking went on throughout
the Chinese Empire, including Korea, the
secret eventually spread to Japan, and later
spread slowly across central Asia and
Persia by way of the caravan routes,
reaching Samarkand about 750 AD.
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6. Handmade paper
The finest handmade papers are made from
pure rag pulp, usually linen and cotton, which
are washed, boiled and beaten to macerate the
fibres.
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7. The first papermaking machine was invented in
France in the late 1700s by Nicholas Louis Robert
and later developed in England by Henry Fourdrinier
in the early 1800s
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8. Paper in its wet state can be cast or moulded to
record a surface: it can be torn, cut and reassembled
or embedded with other papers or objects. During its
formation, it can take on any texture, thickness,
shape, size, color, porosity; it can be opaque or
translucent, soft or hard, smooth or rough.
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9. The process of working with paper can be simple or
complex but the basic operation of forming paper
from fibers, which as separate elements come
together into a structure, is fundamental to the artist
working in this medium. The process allows for
manipulation and control but also surprise at all
stages. Most importantly it invites change and
transformation
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16. 'paperworks' are created with hand made papers, painted and waxed. The
medium creates an almost sculptural quality, tactile and textural, whilst
her color flows across the pieces, or series of pieces, sometimes intense,
merging and diffusing into softer tones and hues."
Paper in its wet state can be cast or moulded to record a surface: it can be
torn, cut and reassembled or embedded with other papers or objects.
During its formation, it can take on any texture, thickness, shape, size,
color, porosity; it can be opaque or translucent, soft or hard, smooth or
rough.
The process of working with paper can be simple or complex but the
basic operation of forming paper from fibers, which as separate elements
come together into a structure, is fundamental to the artist working in
this medium. The process allows for manipulation and control but also
surprise at all stages. Most importantly it invites change and
transformation
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