Washi is the Japanese word for traditional hand-crafted papers. Often mistaken as “rice paper”, true washi is actually made from the pulp of kozo, gampi & mitsumata plants. Washi has been an important part of every day life in Japan for centuries; used for writing, painting, decorating – even for doors, walls & clothing. But changing times & aesthetics have shrunk the market for washi; most families in Japan no longer live with shoji (paper screens) & few businesses keep records on paper tablets. Where once there were tens of thousands of families producing handmade paper, today there are just over 300 individuals carrying on the tradition.
Nancy Jacobi of the Japanese Paper Place, a washi importer in Toronto, is committed to keeping traditional paper-making alive in Japan. In order to do so, she’s worked hard to not only get washi into the hands of artists around the world, but also to show Japanese papermakers how Western artists are using washi today. This summer, Nancy & the staff at the Japanese Paper Place, with support from the Japan Foundation & many other generous supporters, put together the first ever World Washi Summit – an incredible gathering of washi makers, users, & enthusiasts from all over the world!
Painters, sculptors, bookmakers, box makers, printmakers & designers convened in Toronto for ten days of washi exhibits, workshops, & demonstrations, while over 30 Toronto galleries & museums exhibited works on washi by Canadian & international artists!
Most exciting of all, guest papermakers from Japan were on hand to create handmade sheets for enthusiastic observers. This was a rare opportunity for the attendees but an even rarer occasion for the papermakers themselves, as their work is typically solitary & somewhat secretive.
Each of the papermakers made the process appear incredibly quick & simple. It wasn’t until one poor volunteer from the audience got up & tried out the same process (the results were a screen full of lumpy pulp), that we realized just how much skill & patience (not to mention pure strength!) goes into each & every sheet of handmade paper.
At a special retailer education event hosted by Nancy & the staff at Japanese Paper Place, we were able to meet paper merchants from other parts of the US, as well as Sweden, South Africa, England & Belgium.
It was a great opportunity to share ideas & learn about the vast selection of Japanese papers as we tried out several washi crafts – paper folding, printing with hand-carved stamps, sewing a pair of wearable washi slippers (!) and, best of all, experimenting with Konnyaku – an amazing starch that can be worked into washi to add incredible strength & flexibility! Best known in Japan as a food, konnyaku (Devil’s Tongue Root starch) has also been used for centuries to make kamiko (paper clothing). Once treated with Konnyaku, papers become so durable & resilient to tearing that they can be stitched & dyed. Imagine creating pillows, book covers, bags, curtains & clothes out of your favorite chiyogami papers, or gorgeous hand dyed traditional washi!
The possibilities are endless, so we’ve enlisted artist, Wet Paint customer & Japanese paper enthusiast Mary Lee to explore the many applications of Konnyaku & demonstrate her exciting discoveries here at the store.
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