Carmela Morales Reflectio

The first reading I read was Hunter’s article, where he proceeded to destroy my belief that papyrus was not actually a form of paper. The criteria for “true” paper since it is not “formed from macerated fibre” (6). It is in fact a product of the plant papyrus’ stalk being cut and made into boards in a similar fashion as a carpenter would sheets of wood. The result is a glossy material that is used like paper, also used in that slightly more expensive card store called Papyrus. The fact that most things I associate as a type of paper are in fact not, the definition paper was the biggest lesson learned. Another thing I learned from this reading was that leaves from trees at one point were used as a writing substance. It is merely shocking because of how delicate leaves tend to be that they were used as a writing substance.

The next reading was Leburve’s article, which focused mostly on the progress of paper within Europe. I originally assumed that water was an essential part of the paper making process, but I didn’t realize that the quality of water was all that important. The fact that there were strategically placed paper mills in order to have the best quality of water astounded me. Though the fact that rags were so essential to Europe’s paper-making process was far more surprising. This led to paper mills being in the centers of linen manufacturers since rags were an essential product in the process. So the mills were planned to be both upstream, near a town, and in the center of the linen manufactures. I hadn’t realize how the locations of these mills could make or break their business.

Finally I completed Bashanes’ article and I was drawn to how paper was used in Japanese Shintoism. The handmade paper of the Japanese paper is washi, which is a pure white paper. Purity is an essential part of Japanese culture, so it is not surprising that their paper is viewed in the same light. What I did not know was that these papers were not made purely white by chemicals. In fact the bleaching of the paper is a completely natural process. However, washi means more than just a tool in the culture, but an expression as well. The fact that paper charms are used to protect people against evil influences proves that you can’t just simplify washi as paper. It is sacred to them like the cross is in Christianity.

I chose to work on Holes by Louis Sachar as my first altered book. I chose this novel instead of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone because I would rather that book be altered with the different methods I learn by the end of the semester. After deciding what book I wanted to use I struggled with how I would alter the book. Originally I was simply going to do acts of random alterations. I decided to make some alterations that would reference the book itself and some important facts within it.

Of course that led to what would altercations I would make. Since this was a small paperback I didn’t want to mess with the cover too much other than physically marking it. Jerlyn was our little idea factory in the house and she had constant ideas for alterations. One of her ideas was to rub onions along the pages of the book, but I decided that I really didn’t want to cry while making this creative project. One of the first alterations I did decide on was to incorporate holes within the pages of the novel. At first I thought I would just incorporate numerous amongst the pages, but then I decided that was not as in tune with the book as I thought it would be.

I decided to create a cutout in the middle of the book to show the final quote within the novel. It took a lot longer to cut a hole through around one hundred pages then I thought, I ended up hacking through most of it. I ended up with a slightly less evenly cut hole than I wanted, however I did want to make it a cutout so I planned to glue the pages together. The gluing of this pages were a lesson in itself. Jerlyn suggested using one of my old paintbrushes to spread the glue on the pages. I at first attempted to glue every page slowly together, until I realized that this would be not only a timely process but a waste of paste. So I held the book closed with my left hand and glided the glue across the pages and left the book alone for one night.

While the book dried I moved on to making a treasure chest from some red cardboard in the townhouse. I cut out six small pieces of cardboard and glued them together to form a 3D cube and then I used marker to make it resemble a treasure chest. I had originally thought of simply painting the treasure chest at the bottom of the page, but I had wanted to build as a creative action, so I decided to make a treasure chest. I let the glue set for that and returned the next day to glue the treasure chest at the bottom of my little hole.

I decided to make a few more alterations with paint and a couple of drawings including one of the deadly yellow spotted lizards in the book. I decided to write “Beware” above it, to illustrate the warning the campers got when they were ordered to dig holes. A little red skull on the front illustrating the fate of most campers at Camp Green Lake. There are a couple of charcoal footprints because in the end I feel I made a small little treasure map within the book.