Colt Bowden and Professor Linda Sullivan, Department of Visual Arts
To start off, this project is not yet finished. There are many reasons for a book not to be finished. So we will conclude at this point, that there are a few things left to be done before the publication process can begin…
I was hoping at this point that I would have all my illustrations done, all the research finalized and everything said and done, but alas, this book is a labor of love for the author, Rob Buchert, and myself. Needless to say, we have come very far since the proposal for an Orca Grant, and have made leaps and bounds in some areas, while we have been held back in others.
First, our plans were to visit a man in Michigan who made the kind of moulds (racks dipped in paper pulp used in traditional paper making). This didn’t quite pan out because he is no longer making them at the moment. An economical decision at least.. so we decided that we would make do with what we had in our personal research and mould making process and we decided to finish up the moulds that we started over the summer.
Second, we rerouted the funds we had planned to use for airfare and travel into getting a better camera to photograph the process of making the paper moulds, in order that I would be able to illustrate the technical drawings and procedures that are to be in the book. This we did, and we are actually still in the process of getting the points of reference that will go in to the book.
Third, a few revisions needed to be made to the books manuscript in order to allow for the technical references to be made, and it gave us a clearer idea of what would help someone reading this book to know that would help them understand it best. We even received an email from a gentleman in Holland who worked at a book conservation lab/school wanting to know when this book would be out as he could find none other like it anywhere! That was a good point of inspiration, as well as a little re-consideration as to the scale and distribution of this book, and what we wanted to do with the end results.
So at this point in time, we have modeled down our list of points of where we want to call out illustrations. We have decided to go through the process of making a mould once more to capture in photographs and video the entire process of making a mould, so that it will be easier to forward this on to a website version of the book, as well as use the new points of reference for the illustrations in the final draft and publication of the book. All with the hope of a finalized book, on the traditional process and procedures of making the moulds which are used to make paper.
A few pitfalls, a few reconsiderations, but all in all, we feel like we are going to be able to finalize this book as soon as we can get the illustrations made and the layout finalized. We are at a point now where we feel like this could be finished within the next 6 months.