Today Only - Washi Art Sale

Photo: "Rolls of Washi" by Alex Watson.

If you're anything like me, the thought of paper makes you drool. The different textures, patterns, weights, special inclusions, the simplicity of some and the amazing designs of others. (Oh, the possibilities.) And washi paper? It's in a league of its own.

Today, why not initiate (or reintroduce) yourself to this beautiful paper, be inspired...and knock off a few names on your holiday shopping list?

For today only, The Japanese Paper Place warehouse located at 77 Brock Avenue is hosting 'The Amazing, Dazzling, Unforgettable Washi Art Sale" from 11 - 5. It's a unique opportunity to purchase works of art that have been created on washi by talented artists such as bookbinder Sherri Moote and OCAD graduate Cybele Young.

For those of you that aren't familiar with washi, it is 'the Japanese word for the traditional papers made from the long inner fibres of three plants, wa meaning Japanese and shi meaning paper. As Japan rushes with the rest of the world into the 21st Century, and more modern technologies take over, machines produce similar-looking papers which have qualities very different from authentic washi. As of the fall of 2008, there remain fewer than 350 families still engaged in the production of paper by hand.' (Source: Japanese Paper Place) One of the more familiar examples of washi are Chiyogami papers which are pictured above.

Here are the details: