Back Coating

I used to do something called, "back coating" all the time, but times changed and I haven't done it in years.  It's nothing naughty (even though I know at least a portion of my three readers thought it most likely was); it has to do with paper.

I have done origami, or paper folding, since I was eight-years-old.  I met a friend in my twenties and we started going to the national origami convention in New York City.   Origami has been a life-long love of mine, even in times when I haven't done much folding.

I remember at one of the conventions we met a nice man who had some wonderful paper.   One of the things origamists spend time doing (other than folding models) is looking for the perfect papers with which to fold.   Our new friend told us he had back coated the paper.    We told him he was going to have to tell us more, because we wanted to be able to have soft, supple and resilient paper and we were willing to learn.

First, he helped us find the papers, which were long, fibrous tissue papers made from mulberry fibers, imported from Japan.  Then, he told us about methyl cellulose, that you use to adhere the two pieces of paper together with.

Methyl cellulose is a white powdery substance you add to water that turns into a pile of goo that looks just like the ectoplasm in Ghost Busters.  You put a large sheet of paper on a flat surface, paint it down with the goo, lay a second sheet on top of the first, add more goo and then wait for it to dry.

What you have when you're done is a beautiful sheet of crisp yet flexible paper that no longer resembles tissue paper, but has all the bendable properties of it.   It is a delight to fold with and is one of my favorite paper mediums of all time.

My friend wanted to make some back coated paper for an upcoming trip to Japan.  I hadn't made any in years, but when we got started it all came back, just like the proverbial riding a bike comparison.   There were tricks to aligning the paper, how much paste to use, how to dry the sheets quickly and how to best cut the papers to maximize the number of final squares cut.

We had a fun night.   Now, if only I could make a little time for making some truly complex and time-consuming origami models...

The Big Boy Update:  My son wanted to give daddy a, "fist buup" after we drove away this morning.  I know he's saying, "fist bump", but it comes out as "buup" with his tiny little guy voice.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  On the way to school this morning my daughter suddenly said, "once upon a time there was a robot who loved the woods..."   That was apparently the end of the story.

Fitness Update:   We got to chatting with our trainer at the gym and ended up with a fairly whimpy workout, but we got some good discussions in.