How does Ray Tomasso create his remarkable cast paper works?
The following series of photographs shows Ray making pulp and
casting one of his
pieces in the studio yard.
The process begins in the beater room, where cotton rags and boards
are shredded and weighed.
The material undergoes an initial beating to begin to break the material down into fibers.
White pulp from cotton ragboard and blue pulp from cotton bluejeans is prepared.
The pulp undergoes a second and final beating in the Hollander.
The finished blue and white pulp, ready for casting.
A sheet casting table is set up in the studio yard, with paper vat, screens and deckles.
Ray sets framed screens on saw horses to support the paper casting.
He then creates a composition of found materials atop the screens.
Linear elements of the composition are created with weighted, taut string.
After the collage is completed,
Ray begins to apply wet sheets of white paper direct from the sheet mould.
A third layer of blue paper is applied over two layers of white.
The casting process takes a full day.
The
finished casting is then dried in place for up to two weeks, using towels to
draw off water and plastic to protect it from the elements.
The materials that formed the mold are then removed from the dry, cast paper.
The paper is glued to a wood frame and fiberglass is used to fill the gaps between
the paper and frame.
Ray then finishes the edge of the piece using a power sander.
The piece then moves onto the next phase, in which it is painted and finished.
final photo © Copyright 2011 Steve MacGregor Photography