[Aquanet] tea staining paper

[NitaLeland]

Here is an excerpt from a post on Book_arts-L concerning coffee and tea as colorants: 

<<I held my nose and read while coffee and tea were suggested as
coloring media for ?aging? paper. Oldfashioned restorers used coffee
and tea freely for trying to match old paper, in ignorance of the
serious questions of acidity involved; but today a binder caught
using either would immediately ruin his credibility with conservators
and, even more, with preservation administrators, unless he was
willing to put up a spirited defense and had an impeccable scientific
background. Coffee and tea do not cause radical complete destruction
the way oil does, but considering how much effort now goes into
keeping various acids out of paper there should hardly be any
question of whether coffee and tea are a conservationally sound
colorants. There are serious issues here, and while there may be a
case to be made for using coffee and tea, the decision should not be
made without knowledgeable debate in light of scientific knowledge
and long experience. But on a common-sense level: ever had acid
stomach from too much coffee? Do you know how resistant the stomach
lining is to acids? Do you really need to ask if coffee is good for
paper? In any case, experience with coffee and tea stains shows that
the color cannot be removed but also changes over time; and they do
not really look the color of old paper.>>

The full post is very interesting concerning other questionable practices by artists: http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/bookarts/2004/04/msg00212.html

Nita

Nita Leland
nita at nitaleland.com
www.nitaleland.com
http://nitaleland.blogspot.com
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: RMGesford at aol.com 
  To: peedee at nucleus.com 
  Cc: Aquanet at thedigitalbraintrust.net 
  Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 11:20 AM
  Subject: Re: [Aquanet] tea staining paper



  He explained that he soaked the paper for 4 hours in coffee first (cool color) for 4 hrs...then in tea (warm color) for 4 hrs...then deckled the edges by tearing the ends away while it was wet. I failed to ask if it would be acid free...sorry...too many customers admiring his work. He was MOST generous explaining his techniques...very nice and personable. 
   Rosemary



  In a message dated 4/1/2009 10:11:56 A.M. Central Daylight Time, peedee at nucleus.com writes:



    RMGesford at aol.com wrote:
    > Hi Miriam
    > I met an Artist at an outdoor Art show a few weeks ago and he worked 
    > on tea stained AND coffee stained paper.
    > It was gorgeous work.  The watercolors were of butterflies, 
    > dragonflies, and other wildlife.
    >  
    > I didn't get a chance to ask him very many questions...only how he got 
    > the results.  I picked up his card and found his web site.  He said he 
    > would welcome any questions via email. His card read 'Artist of Nature'.
    > His name is Bill Scott (San Antonio, Tx).
    If anyone is interested further, he has a web site:

    http://bill-scott.com//origin.php

    FWLIW
    pat
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