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Notes From the World Washi Summit
Papermakers Hiroaki Imai, Shinji Hayashi & Hiroshi Tamura pictured with vat of paper pulp and screen
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.
Also Available from Japanese Paper Place: Kakishibu!
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Hahnemuhle WC
Pads
The Hahnemuhle paper mill represents more than 400 years of papermaking history & is recognized throughout the world as having the highest standards of quality & craftsmanship. This is an opportunity to try out some of their most interesting watercolor papers in pad & block form. Choose from Cezanne, Cornwall, Turner, Quattro, or the popular Aquarell sampler!
BUY NOW:
Aquarell Selection Pad 6.5x9.5
Aquarell Selection Pad 9.5x12.5
Cezanne CP 6.5x9.5
Cezanne CP 9.5x12.5
Cezanne R 6.5x9.5
Cezanne R
9.5x12.5
Cezanne R 12x16
Cornwall 7.5X19.5
Quattro 10x10
Quattro 12x12
Turner 6.5x9.5
Turner 9.5x12.5
Turner 12x16
Turner 16.5x22
ALL
SALE PRICES ON THIS PAGE VALID AUGUST 16TH THROUGH OCTOBER 15TH, 2008
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Notebooks for Back to School
 In addition to Wet Paint’s multiverse of pads, journals & sketchbooks specific to the artist, our store has become a primary source of pads & notebooks for those writers, students, note-takers & designers looking for a note paper quality or a pad format not often found in the general supplies section of other stores. As a result, our offerings of lined, gridded & blank notebooks has exploded in the last few years.
As always, customers turn to us for “The Big Three” that launched this explosion: Clairefontaine, Moleskine & Rhodia. While many stores now offer a small selection of these books & pads, Wet Paint, thanks to our long history with these companies, is one of the few area stores that offers a comprehensive selection of these popular lines.
  Our brand new lined notebooks include the nicely designed Myndology books featured above, Kokuyo’s popular inexpensive Black Ice notebooks, the portable Quattro journals from Global Art, Duet Journals from International Arrivals & beautiful new books with various postal & map design covers by Cavallini.
 Old favorites include Okina in various plain & metallic protective covers, Mirage Jumbo Journals, Composition Books & notepads by Knock Knock & notebooks by Exacompta.
Customers with an eye toward environmentally friendly products will want to try out Boku Books’ kenaf books, paper made with the sustainable kenaf plant, as well as the Canadian Mirage Books Ecojot Journals, which boast being composed of 100% recycled product.
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Quattro Drawing Books by Global Art
 NEW! When you check out the Quattro notebooks mentioned in the previous article, be sure to look at
the new 6x9” Quattro drawing books from Global Art.
Six beautiful styles!
BUY NOW:
Stack
Dog
Concentric
Dandelion
Stripes
Seurat
Fabriano
ECO Drawing Paper
Fabriano’s new ECOwhite acid-free drawing paper boasts a brighter white than most recycled papers on the market, but is sustainably made in Italy from 100% recycled post consumer waste & without the use of chlorine bleach.
BUY NOW:
8.5x11.7" Pad
11.7x16.5" Pad
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Canson FANBOY
Fanboys & Fangirls of
all ages & interest levels
will enjoy Canson Fanboy comic
& manga layout kits & sketchpads. Choose from among seven different varieties!
BUY NOW:
Create Your Own Comic Book
Comic Strip Artboards
Comic Book Layout
Manga Drawing Pad w/Stencils
Make Your Own Manga Book
Make Your Own Comic Book
Make Your Own Pocket Novel
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· Established 1976 · Creative Supplies for Creative People 
