Turn newsprint into true works of art. This is the hobby of Paco Rodríguez, a retired chicharrero who worked for more than 30 years in the Parliament of the Canary Islands.
“It is rare that a person who works in the Parliament of the Canary Islands do not have any work of mine craft». Paco Rodríguez, retired usher of the Canarian Chamber, spent many years watching how tongas and more tongas of newspapers were thrown away. I wanted to give another life to all that paper. That is why he began to enter the world of crafts with paper and cardboard. So much so that today he can be considered an artist.
Francisco Rodriguez Rodriguez worked for more than 30 years in the Parliament of the Canary Islands. He was born in Santa Úrsula in 1955, but at the age of 8 he moved to the chicharrero neighborhood of La Salud. Although he is an electrician by profession, he took some oppositions to take care of the maintenance of the Chamber. He got the first place. He carried out different tasks in Parliament – including writing bulletins and recording sessions – until he ended up as an usher. Now retired, he dedicates himself to his great hobby: handicrafts with newsprint.
One day he entered Youtube looking for information on how recycle waste paper. She watched several videos in which baskets and boxes were made from wicker, a natural fiber. It was the basketry. «Then it occurred to me to use the techniques of basketry but with newspaper. I took him to my land”, explains Paco. When he started, he had a great advantage: he had a lot of raw material in his work with all those newspapers that were thrown away. The other decisive element is the white tail.
From the newspapers take strips as long as possible. Once made, they are shaped into a tube thanks to a crochet needle. Everything else is to give shape to his designs: baskets, jewelry boxes, vases, dolls… “You have to be very delicate to give the shape,” he reveals. Then, with the white glue, he gives consistency to the paper so that it obtains rigidity and strength, and thus does not fall apart. “It’s done exactly the same as with wicker.”
Paco Rodriguez wears 6 years working on newsprint crafts. He took early retirement 3 years ago but still goes to Parliament to take old newspapers. He makes the figures and gives them to people. His initial idea was to make vases and jewelery boxes, but they asked him for specific things. So he began to make other types of objects. He has made coffee trays, owl-shaped clocks, lamps, butterflies, mobile holders…
Fold without using scissors
He mixes origami with his work. ANDOrigami consists of folding paper without using scissors. or glue to obtain figures of various shapes. For example, he makes bow ties with origami and the rest with newspaper and white glue. With experience, Paco looks for new challenges. For example, he has started to use, in addition to newsprint, another material for recycling: wrapping paper. Now, he makes it clear that as long as newsprint exists, he will not change the main component of crafting it.
The final manufacturing process is quite simple. The first step is assembly. This is done if it is a figure with various details, such as a butterfly, a clock, an owl or a doll. The second step is to paste it and complement it with the white glue to give it the final resistance. The last step, only on some occasions, is the paint-based decoration. “I don’t like to paint the works, but people like it better,” she says. Paco likes it to be appreciated that the work is done with newspaper. In addition to painting some figures, he can add different elements to complement them. For example, he puts decorations on the dolls to make them more colorful.
many hours of work
Each work has its process. There are many hours, in which you have to be very calm. “I do it because I like it. It is a simple hobby, like any other. If you do not have patience, it is impossible to enjoy the work. It has to be fun, not an obligation.”
Another key factor when executing a piece is the imagination. “You can do a lot of things with newsprint; you just have to adapt to the material.” The help of the internet is essential to be able to carry them out, since “no one is born learned”. “It has helped me a lot to escape from the world. It’s like any other hobby, “concludes the artist.
In the two images, Paco Rodríguez from Tenerife can be seen showing some of the handicrafts he makes from recycled newsprint.
