CHAPTER 5: MAKING PATTERNED PAPERS
1. INK MARKS
Images 1 to 4, show ink marks representing various aspects of animal patterns (budgie, tiger and frilled neck lizard). The technique used to make each one is noted on the page. The ones I liked best were achieved with corrugated cardboard, dabbing with bubble wrap, a cotton bud, and stamping with a cardboard egg carton.

























2. BLEACH MARKS
Images 5 to 7 show various effects achieved by applying bleach to ink covered paper.
Image 5 shows effects achieved with various mark-making materials. Clockwise from the top: a kitchen sponge cut into hexagonal shapes, a peg, string dipped in bleach and arranged into loops, corrugated cardboard dragged across the page, card cut with a serrated edge dragged across the page.

The top left of image 6 shows the imprint from the base of a cardboard egg carton dipped in bleach (E). After that, I became interested in the idea of soaking braids and laces with bleach because their patterns reminded me of some of the animal patterns. The other two patterns in this image were produced using two different braids (F & G).


The next photo shows patterns created with bleach soaked lacy fabrics (H). The two clearest images top and bottom left were obtained with cottons (broderie anglaise types of fabric). The one on the bottom right was a semi-synthetic meshier fabric. I found the effects of imprinting these fabrics were quite intriguing and I explored them further in later exercises with paint.












3. GLASS PRINTS
Images 8, 9 and 10 show experiments with paint on glass and then printing onto paper. I tried various ways of masking the plate to reproduce some of the animal shapes I was interested in. Image 8, which was the least successful, shows effects with a cardboard cut out (W & X). I also tried cardboard hexagons for image 9 (T,U,V), and these were easier to control because they were smaller.







Eventually, after some reading (Colour on Paper and Fabric by Ruth Issett, Batsford, 1998) I came up with the idea of using flexible plastic sheets (made from document holders from a stationery shop) cut into various shapes. This was quite successful and image 10 (on left) shows some examples of the tiger head mark created with positive and negative shapes cut from the plastic.

I also tried some more effects by pressing painted laces and braids onto the paper. Images 11 to 14 show some examples of this with black paint on white paper and white paint on black.





Image 12 (L) was made with the same lacy mesh as I used in one of the bleached samples. Image 13 was a composite of cut out lace circles laid over a plain mesh (I & J). Image 14, which I particularly liked as it was reminscent of the tiger head mark, was an impression made from a piece of lace curtain (M). I think this technique could be explored even further in the future and could form a good base for a background suitable for embellishment with embroidery.













4. RUBBINGS
Images 15 to 17 show some examples of rubbings using crayon on tissue paper.The items used for the rubbings included cut glass bowls, a woven basket and a metal peacock ornament, as shown in Image 18.





Image 15 shows rubbings from a glass bowl (R & S), Image 16(P & Q)shows a rubbing from the peacock's tail at the top and another glass surface at the bottom. Image 17 shows rubbings from a woven cane bowl (N & O). The criss-cross pattern in 15 and the semicircular pattern in 17 are my favourites.
The final image shows the items used for the rubbings.