Arashi-Shibori Paper

Arashi-Shibori (pronounced ah-rah-she she-boar-ee) is named for the beautiful yet natural occurrence that we witness in the sky when, particularly after a storm, the wind and rain dance together and create intersecting linear patterns of color. It is believed that this random imagery can only be captured using a pole-like structure on fabric, and it is this image that we will adapt to handmade paper using versatile dyes, easy-to-find supplies, and lots of creative energy!

Materials:

handmade paper w/soft crimped texture
heavy duty coated water-resistant poly twine*
ARTE COLORES Versatile Dye Colors
pole or similar (i.e. PVC pipe, sanded bamboo, wood dowel, liter soda bottle, etc.)
spray bottle of water
bowl of water
baby powder
clear plastic wrap

*found in most fishing & home supply stores

Note: We used a soft fabric-like crimped paper. Its soft crinkled texture has a wonderful yet muted translucency that makes it perfect for showing shimmers of light when used for illumination projects.

1. Tear paper into strips of any size. Ours were 5" x 30".

2. Sprinkle a small amount of baby powder inside a piece of clear plastic wrap that's large enough to wrap around the pole. (The baby powder provides a 'faux' lubrication that makes later steps much easier.) Wrap the plastic around the pole, leaving about a half-inch at the top and bottom to make scrunching easier later (figure A).

3. Dip paper gently into a bowl of water. Gently squeeze excess water from paper and carefully fold into accordion pleats (figure B). The number of V-pattern intersections you end up with later depends upon the number of accordion pleats folded into each strip. Experiment with this method, adjusting your strip width to accommodate additional folds if necessary.

4. Cut a piece of twine at least three times the length of your "pole" and tie it into a double knot on top of the plastic wrap. Do not tie the twine directly onto the pole (figure C).

5. Working on top of the plastic wrap, wind your pleated paper around the pole at a diagonal angle (figure D). When completely wrapped, gently squeeze the paper around the pole. This will make the paper stick to the wrap as you prepare to secure the diagonal bind with the twine.

6. Using a piece of poly twine, begin to coil the bind around the paper. Do not coil too tightly; the tension on the twine should create soft grooves in the paper (figure E).

7. When you get to the end of the paper, tie the string into a doubleknot (as in step 4). When tying the knot, be sure to retain the tension that was created when you coiled the twine around the paper. You should still be able to slide the paper along the pole. Practice makes perfect!

8. Using your spray bottle, spray the paper lightly with water.

9. Here's the fun part! Place your pole in an upright position atop a hard surface (the floor or craft table works well) and SCRUNCH. Scrunch the top portion to the middle. Turn the pole over and scrunch the now-top (former bottom) portion to the middle (figure F). For good measure, after you have scrunched as tightly as possible, spray the paper with water again.

10. Using the spouted tip of your dye, apply dye generously along the raised scrunch-pattern of the coil. Twirl the pole as you apply the dye (figure G).

11. Vary your colors as you work. To widen your areas of resist (the non-dyed portions), simply leave certain portions of the paper as-is.

12. Place your wet pole outside to dry. Bobbi often lays hers atop a piece of cardboard and against the side of her house. Dry time varies between 16 and 24 hours, depending on the climate.

13. Being very careful, gently clip the end knot of the string and unwind the tie very slowly. Find the end of your paper and gently uncurl the paper from the pole (figure H). The handmade paper that we used contains a unique blend of cotton rags. As such, you can iron this paper on a low temperature setting if you wish to have a flatter surface. Your Arashi-Shibori pattern will maintain its three-dimensional look.

Voila! Your piece of "Arashi" Shibori is complete. The signature series dyes contain a fixative so your final art piece, when stored properly (out of direct sunlight), will last for years.