Altered photos and favorite places

For this project I decided to try a new (to me) technique.  It's called Momigami which is a Japanese method of kneading paper into a fabric. This seemed like an interesting idea to experiment with, and used items I easily found around the house.

The videos I watch suggested several different options for medium (I believe traditional Momigami uses a type of starch). I used grapeseed oil as I had an expired bottle sitting around.

 I also let my Momigami pieces dye on a rack for over a week before using. Not all videos I watched mentioned this and I think it is really important. Below is a photo of my Momigami pieces dying.

 

Basically you dip your fingers in the oil and you work it on the the paper; rubbing, crumbling, folding. un-folding, etcetera. until the paper is soft and drapes like a fabric.

The new fabric will be darker and smaller than the original paper.

I experimented with several types of paper; gift wrapping paper, tissue paper, paper napkins, sheet music, pages from children's book and brown paper lunch bags.

Below is a picture comparing before and after applying the oil.  My personal photos were printed on a on an ink jet printer with basic home copy printer paper.

Below are details of Momigami photos on the project with embellishments added.

Yes, you can sew on the new fabric, but you must be gentle.

For me the Momigami was fun and nice results: 

The colors are great.  The paper really does drape like fabric, and I did sew on it.

The thing I found problematic is even after a week the Momigami pieces are still very greasy. I would say you need to use with caution as that grease will transfer to your work. I ended up putting a coat of glue over the Momigami to seal it in hopes of containing the oil residue. It's possible the starch used in traditional Momigami would not be as greasy but I have no personal experience about that to know for sure.

A better use for Momigami may be something like art journals.

I would suggest anyone interested on this technique should check out some of the many videos on the subject.  Caterina Giglio has a channel with some great information.

Hope you are inspired to experiment with a new technique. If you have had any experience using Momigami please let me know how it went in the comment section. I'd love to hear from you.

Have a great day.

MaryEllen