Learned something important today, how to make the glue solution required to prime washi paper. Obviously, this is a very important step in the process. As I have discussed, improper preparation of materials can be very frustrating.
Not too hard, the nikiwa, or glue, comes in solid sticks that I purchased in the school store. After allowing this to soften in water for a few hours, I melted it over heat to create the primary glue solution. I use this liquid to create my paints, adding pigments and grinding it by hand in a little dish. To make the priming solution, I add more water and allow it to cool. I also add a scoop of chemical, aluminium potassium sulfate, as an additional stabilizing element.
It felt good to have this under my own control, I wonder about materials when I go back to Boston, if I can find the same type of pigments and papers. Nihonga is a slow process, somewhat demanding, but it is interesting. I look forward to continuing with these materials, as I gain a different type of satisfaction from their use than I do with a large-format charcoal drawings. Note, different does not mean greater or better, only different, and I feel myself struggling to combine newly-learned materials with past-developed methods.
No comments:
Post a Comment