2020 Essays

Molding Grasshoppers and Things Too Thin

Fu, Shiye; Zhang, Zhiqi; Smith, Pamela H.

The entry “Molding grasshoppers and things too thin” on fol. 142v describes one of the many processes of molding and casting in Ms. Fr. 640 that range from large, heavy weapons such as cannons, to small, delicate objects like flowers, insects, and even paper. This essay focuses on our close reading and hands-on reconstruction of casting “things too thin,” specifically, paper, pansies, and butterflies. We consider the properties of the various materials with which the author-practitioner experimented in order to add thickness to and strengthen delicate elements of these thin things. We also reflect on our own experience of learning to work with these materials according to their own dynamic characteristics.