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Interview with paper maker and book artist, Geraldine Pomeroy continued.Do you think that when your craft became a business you stopped enjoying it as much? And why? Not at all. Now I need no excuse for be covered in pulp from morning to night. I wish I didn't have to eat as lunch interrupts me everyday. Are there any business problems that you consider are unique to a craft business? It doesn't hold up well to sticky fingers, bad weather and rain. So outdoor Markets are always challenging. Putting my pieces in store isn't cost effective for the shopper as the store place from 100- 200% on my prices which in effect means they receive more from a sale than I do. It is hard for some buyers to understand the time that goes into producing it. Specially the handbound books. Where do you sell your work? At present I am re-building stock ready for the Summer Markets locally with an eye on several interstate events coming up in the new year. Also on-line. What are some of the tools that you use? Paper making requires very little but over time I have gathered a collection of different Moulds & Deckles for pulling the sheets of paper, a Hollander beater for large volumes of pulp from plants and fabrics and assorted binding tools, presses etc.
Have there been any technological advances that have greatly changed the way you do things? The method I use is essentially the same as that taught to the Arab invaders of China over 1000 years ago. Likewise the binding techniques are the same. Electricity instead of man power to reduce the fibres to pulp is a technical as it gets. It's very hands on. How long would it take to make a book like the ones on the front page of your website? A softcover leather book about 2 inches thick for example would take about 2-3 days to prepare the pulp and pull the sheets. 24 hours pressing whilst wet, drying time up to a week in winter, re-pressing when dry for 24 hours, curing for 4 weeks to ensure the paper has bonded and settled. Then folding the sheets and pressing for 24 hours, sewing the signature to form the block then 24 hours pressing, adding endpages and gluing spine and pressing for 24 hours, cutting, paring and preparing the leather cover and design then pasting in or sewing in the block and the last 24 hours of pressing. A mere 36 days later it is ready. Where do you buy supplies? A local store or do you order them? I have few supplies that I need to buy, but when I do it is overseas for specialist items and locally for wheat paste, cardboard, thread etc. I noticed that you use natural plant fibres in some of your work. Do you go out collecting those and what types of plants are they? Yes I collect as much as possible myself which helps keep costs of buying imported fibres to a minimum. I collect waste paper, garden cuttings like - corn, hemp, sunflower, vines, stalks and local weeds like Cumbungi, Watsonia, Wild Radish, Lavanderia, Pampas Grass, Agave, Capeweed, wheat straw etc. Do you travel much for your work? If so what places have you visited in relation to your craft? I have traveled overseas visiting mills and traveled nationally with Markets and Workshops. This coming year I am planning to do more travel taking me further afield with both Markets and Workshops whilst I visit papermakers & mills. I'm saving my penny's for a trip to the Amalfi Coast in Italy to visit the Valley of Mills, many of which are still operating today.
We would like to thank Geraldine
Pomeroy for taking the time to do this interview for Aussie Crafts,
please visit her site below to see more of her fantastic work.
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