How to Infuse Your Paper Craft and Art Projects with a Profound Look and Sense of Antiquity

Inspiration often rushes in through the most unlikely of avenues. Although I have been creating and selling various art items for nearly 20 years, it was not until a visit to the Titanic Artifact Exhibit, that I can say my creations truly took on a quality of deep finesse that I had always struggled to obtain.

Although the 'meaning' of the Titanic exhibit did not elude me, I have to admit that I was struck most deeply by the aesthetics and beauty of the salvaged objects. Their submersion had lent a sense of ancient-ness and preciousness that was almost unfathomable. There were bottles, menus, letters, jewelry, and hundreds of small belongings. But a little Victorian-type calling card, entirely legible, but tattered, with plumped edges, creases, and so-slightly blurred ink, conveyed perfectly the sense and energy of unimaginable destruction. It was holographic and almost ineffably oxymoronic in nature; the sweet little personal items juxtaposed with the absolute reality of the terror and icy, black depths.

The items actually seemed to "hold" the experience, and there was a sense of hyper reality present-the same hyper reality that I have felt in the presence of births and deaths and other extreme moments. For me, it was impossible to separate the emotional pull I felt, from the pleasing aesthetic qualities of the objects; the sense of Art was intense. This was IT--the quality missing from my collages, my cards--asense of authentic alteration: with experience, time, weathering of the depths, of loss, finality.

Soaking papers in water based solutions is a technique that will impart a sense of alteration and effect into your projects that is easy, and yields amazing, satisfying results. Soaking is a technique that is both highly experiment-able, yet controllable, and the varying outcomes are endless. The results range from subtle to drastic, and are indicated for all types of projects.

What to soak and why

Any type of papers can be soaked. Soaking changes the paper's texture and qualities. Images from magazines will lose some of their shine factor, and lend a more appealing surface. Likewise with wrapping paper. Plain, cheap copier and construction papers can be turned into something very unique and special. Photographs and scanned or printed images of photos can take on a surreal look. The ink 'bleeds' through the back side of the paper (use copier or very thin paper), and creates a washed and dreamy, haunting image.

One huge benefit of this technique, is that it can blur pixels. I have noticed recently that many craft items that use vintage and 'found' images, are actually not the originals, but are scanned and printed. That is an excellent idea-it means that any perfect image or design you find can forever be used. But the downside is that the copying has taken the sense of authenticity away. I have seen otherwise great projects essentially ruined because of image pixilation. Soaking blurs the image just enough, so that the pixels disappear. This is true too, of images that are produced on copiers. Soaking takes away the Xerox look.

Things to add to the water

Plain water is good to impart a sense of simple texture alteration, or to make pixels diappear. However, part of the creative power of soaking comes with adding color to the water. Instant tea or coffee can be added, to antique an item. Papers can be virtually changed to any color, by the addition of Rit Dye powders to the water. Only a very small amount (start with about 1/16 of a tsp., and add accordingly) of powder is needed, as it is very condensed. The amount will vary, depending on the size of your water container. Food colorings do not seem to be strong enough.

How to dry your papers

Simply lay the wet papers flat, on a hand towel, or other appropriately sized towel. Depending on the paper's thickness, it will take between 10 minutes and a couple hours for the papers to dry completely. If you would like to flatten the papers out, and decrease crumpling effects, you can squeegee them on a flat surface before allowing them to dry. Some inks may smear when squeeged, though. You can also flatten them under something very weighted, such as a large stack of heavy books, once they are dried.

Tips

The container used should be fairly flat. Using bowls and smaller containers can bend the paper, imparting small creases. Creases also weaken the paper, and cheaper or thinner papers are easily torn when removed. If you are using a coloring agent, the dye will gravitate to the creases. A larger, Tupperware-type flat-bottomed container is a good choice. The Tupperwarre container (with a lid) is a good idea, especially if you have small children or pets. It will not spill, and there is a decreased chance of it being accidentally consumed. Set the container aside specifically for soaking papers, especially if you will be using Rit Dyes.

How long to soak the paper? The longer the paper is soaked, the more profound the effect. It will certainly be a matter of experiementation. There are indications both of flash soaking (in which you would merely dip it in the water) and soaking papers overnight. If you want a very subtle effect, try flash soaking, or soaking up to 1 minute.

You may want to experiment with soaking effects by using different papers in different solutions, and different soaking times. Part of the appeal of this technique is that it is very open-ended, and highly experimental-based. Yet, fairly controllable, once you get the hang of using certain types of papers, times, etc. I hope it brings a sense of finesse to your crafts as it has mine!