Field+Work+Day+-+October+22+-+Women

Check out some [|photos] from our amazing morning.

This morning we went to [|WomanCraft] in the 4100 block of W. Ogden in the North Lawndale neighborhood. There we worked with five amazing artisans making paper.

We took the 22 Clark Street bus to the Pink Line at Clark and State. We took the pink line out to Pulaski and walked the last few blocks to WomanCraft. The signage is subtle but very classy. We were greeted by Annie (an [|Amate House] volunteer) and Nancy the manager at the site. Annie gave us a tour and we got to work with Cyd, Irene, Donna, (one other) "pulling paper" and Terry at dry production.

The paper is pulped recycled office paper from the offices at [|Deborah's Place]. It's 100% post consumer content, and they add natural pigments and botanicals (flower petals, leaves, grasses) to the pulp. Forms are placed on screens and the screens are pulled through the pulp. Excess pulp is brushed away, the forms pulled back and the paper pressed on a pellon fabric where the water is squeezed out of it.

We pulled hearts and trees plus two colors of envelopes. It was not as easy as it looked, and each process has a lot of ways to mess up.

After pulling paper we worked on dry production: folding, punching, tying, and bagging gift cards at one table and folding envelopes at another table.

We brought back two bags of their fabulous product to sell at our third party fund-raiser. We will sell these and delicious baked goods here at Parker on November 12 & 13 at the same time as the holiday book fair.