Making And Decorating Your Own Paper: Innovative Techniques & Original Projects

Fine art papermaking has enjoyed a surge of interest in the past ten years. These two recent additions to the growing body of instructional guides have much in common. Both volumes are filled with low-cost techniques aimed at the individual artist who needs basic recipes and methods of papermaking, from raw fiber to the completion of a high-quality product. Both describe how to decorate finished paper surfaces through the use of dyes, printing, stencils, and marbling. Both cover book making, and both are visually appealing works. Thereafter, these two guides begin to diverge. Shannon includes a broader range of three-dimensional projects such as lamp shades, window screens, and papier mache jewelry, while Blake and Milne focus more on stationery, albums, and decorative picture frames. Shannon offers diagrams that are a bit easier to understand and more text, but with no words wasted; the level of her writing is sophisticated enough to be interesting without being overly technical. For these reasons, her book is the more highly recommended, though both books would be popular in public library collections.
Sue Olcott, Columbus Metro-politan Lib., Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.