Artist Page Title
cast it, paint with it,
make books and stationary with it, make cards
Paper Samples
Paper can be made with flowers, threads,
plant fibres,hearts or other additives.
image of a sheet of paper made with floral
inclusions"></center><p> This paper has been made by
dipping the mould into two vats one after the other.First in a vat with
cream recycled mount board, then in a vat of blue recycled paper with
dried brown boronia and forget-me-not flowers added but it was only dipped
half way in and was scooped out with lots of flowers.
<p> Plain paper can be embossed with
lace or with initials for special occassions.</p>
<center><img src="emboss1.jpg"alt="image of
paper embossed with lace "></center><p> This paper was
made from recycled mount board and pressed with a fairly heavy lace. The
lace was left on until the paper dried.</p>
<p><h2>Workshops</h2></p>
basic papermaking
plant fibre papers
More Information
Directions for making paper from plants
Directions forrecycling paper
Books - includes pictures and binding notes
timeline of the history of papermaking
Links to other paper and bookbinding sites
INTRODUCTION TO PAPERMAKINGIn addition to basic sheet-forming
techniques, participants learn to make beautiful individual papers by
adding various materials to recycled paper pulp. Papers made in this
workshop may be used for cards & writing sets, for making boxes,
folders & gift wrappings or for artwork, collages, calligraphy and
stamping.
EXPLORING DECORATIVE SURFACES ON HANDMADE PAPER
Participants will explore a wide range of sheet-forming techniques which
add texture, colour & images to the paper. Use of coloured pulps,
shaped & alternative moulds, stencils, creative watermarks, string
pulls, lace and rain papers are just some of the exciting possibilities
you will experience.
Unique packaging for special gifts (or gifts in themselves, Just
as they are) Decorative papers will be handmade, shaped with mould
& deckle to form _ boxes cards, envelopes, bags & packets.
Recycling Paper
Selecting material for recycling and making pulp. Almost any paper can be
recycled. Avoid newsprint and plastic coated paper. Shiny junk mail
and magazines give a pleasant grey paper with coloured flecks.
Computer paper, photocopy paper and envelopes are good to make paper from.
The paper can be coloured with special paper dyes or pigments or
with coloured papers, eg tissue paper, wrapping paper and coloured copy
papers.Once you have selected paper for recycling, tear it into 3 - 5
cm squares and soak in warm water for between two hours and two
daysThe longer the paper is soaked the easier it is to break up. A loosely
packed bucket of torn paper will make about half a bucket of pulp.
The paper can be pulped with a metal paint
stirrer attached to a drill, with a blender or food processor
or in a non automatic washing machine. The paper is sufficiently pulped
when there are no large pieces of paper in the
mixture, the fineness of the pulp is a matter of personal choice.
MAKING THE PAPER
Equipment Required
Mould and Deckle (can be purchased from many craft shops, papermaking
suppliers or from individuals ; a vat, (a baby bath or large sink
could be used); a press, (2 boards held together
with
G-clamps work well as a press); a piece of sponge between 1 and 2 cm
thick and slightly larger than the mould and deckle; felts or
couching cloths - can be teatowels, chux cloths,
blanket, vylene or any fabric. The texture of the felts will be
transferred to the paper.
Method
Put warm water into your vat to a depth of about 8 cm. Add about 3 cups of
pulp and mix well. Hold the deckle onto the mould and lower into the vat
vertically, move to horizontal and slowly lift through the water shaking from side to side and back and forth. When most of
the water has drained through tilt to one comer to drain some
more then remove the deckle. Invert the mould onto a very wet felt
resting on the wet sponge. Rock back and forth and rock the mould
off the felt leaving the sheet of paper on the felt. Put another wet
felt on top of the paper and repeat the process. Ten to twelve
sheets can be made at one time by placing a felt between each sheet. The
sponge is then removed
and the paper is pressed between two boards for an hour or
overnight.
Once pressed the paper can be hung to dry on the felts. When it is dry the
paper will peel easily from the felt but should be pressed lightly between
dry boards or under books.Different shapes can be made by using different
deckles. Some mould
and deckle sets come with an envelope deckle which has the corners
blocked. An embroidery hoop can be used as a deckle to make circular
sheets of paper.
Making a Latex cast of a three -dimensional object
Attach item to be a base board with cornice plaster or blu tac. Seal base
to board to prevent latex seeping under base.Dab latex over item in thin
coats drying between coats (don't allow the latex to pool or bubbles will
form). Item can be heated before applying latex to speed up drying.
Apply about 10 coats, test with a fingernail, should be springy.
Apply reinforced coats by adding sand, sawdust or squares of chopped up
pantyhose to the latex. Make sure to reinforce any edges and curves and
fill in any undercuts. Give the item between 3&5 coats of reinforced
latex, then 2 coats of plain latex.
Finally make a plaster support cast by coating the outside layer of latex
with about 2cm plaster.
Because the latex is flexible you can make casts of items with
undercuts.
Wash brushes out in a solution of the washing powder BioZet.
PLANT FIBRE PAPERS
Many plants are suitable for making paper but they must be treated to
remove the acid and lignans from the mass of cellulose which is the basis
of paper. This is done by boiling the plant material up with some form of
alkali, the mildest being wood ash followed by washing soda then caustic
soda.
Fibres for papermaking are classified on the basis of their source,
some of the best and longest fibres are those from the inner bark or bast
for example Kozo from Japan and daphne paper from Nepal . Stem fibres for
example abaca & ginger lily and leaf fibres like sisal and New Zealand
flax have comparativly shorter fibres than bast fibres and grasses have
shorter fibres still.
A way of telling if a particular plant is suitable for
papermaking
is to bend the leaf and if it bends without snapping it will probably be
suitable. Some plants require fermentation (retting) before cooking, this
can be done by soaking the plant material in milk, water or mild alkali
until it has rotted and bacteria has started to break down the fibre. Bast
fibre is prepared by stripping the bark off the plant and removing the
outer bark, sometimes steaming will make the removal of bark from the
stems easier.
METHOD: PREPARING THE FIBRE:
BAST FIBRES : Some plants whose bast fibresare suitable are hibiscus,
mulberry, wattle, elm, daphne. Many others are bound to be suitable it's
just a matter of experimenting. In order to harvest the fibre the stems
should be cut into 20cm lengths and the bark stripped off. If this is
difficult the stems can be steamed to make removal easier. The outer bark
is then scraped off and the bast is cut into lengths of 2-4 cm. then put
in a pot ( not aluminium) to be boiled up with alkali.
<p><b><h2>STEM FIBRES:-</h2></b>Some
suitable stems are ginger lily, agapanthus flower stems, red hot poker
flower stems,bluebell flower stems and papyrus. These are cut into
lengths and may need to be retted or beaten before
being put into the pot for boiling up.
LEAF FlBRES:-
Suitable leaf fibres include New Zealand flax,
cordyline, red hot poker and iris. To speed up processing these can
be stripped by pulling the leaf over a set of spikes so that they become
shredded then cut into lengths before boiling.
GRASS FIBRES:-many grasses are suitable for papermaking although their
fibres are shorter than the leaf and bast fibres.Many of the cereal
grasses are suitable, e.g. wheat, oats, barley etc. The grasses are cut
into lengths before boiling.</p>
BOILING THE FIBRES:-
The quickest way of breaking down the fibres is
to use caustic soda. There are several precautions which must
be noted when using caustic soda.
(A) ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES AND EYE PROTECTION
(B) ALWAYS ADD THE CAUSTIC SODA TO THE WATER NOT THE OTHER WAY
AROUND.
(C) ALWAYS USE STAINLESS STEEL OR ENAMEL COOKING POTS AS CAUSTIC
EATS ALUMINIUM.
(D) ALWAYS WORK IN A WELL VENTILLATED AREA, PREFERABLY OUTDOORS.
You should measure the volume of water you add to your fibre to just
cover the plant material then add caustic soda according to the volume of
water. One tablespoon per litre of water should be sufficientfor most
plants. Alternatively the fibre can be weighed and 10% caustic soda by
weight added.
Boil this mixture until the plant material is soft and slippery when
rubbed between gloved fingers. This can take anything from 30 minutes to 2
or more hours. Allow to cool slightly then pour through a sieve or a
square of fine curtain netting. Do this down a gully trap orover an
unimportant corner of your garden. Rinse well until the water runs clear
and the pH is approximately 7 i.e. neutral. This can be tested with litmus
or universal indicator paper. Sometimes the fibre is ready for use at this
stage but it becomes finer if it is beaten with a wooden mallet then
vitimised for a few seconds. You can tell howfine your fibre is by placing
a small amount in a glass jar full of water and shaking it so that you can
see the individual fibres.
MAKING THE PAPER:-
The paper is made in the same way as recycled paper except that some
papers require addition of a formation aid to slow down the drainage and
ensure that the fibres are evenly spread over the sheet. The green
vegetable okra makes an excellent formation aid when it is chopped and
soaked in water. It forms a gelatinous substance which is strained into
the vat. A synthetic formation aid is available from some papermaking
suppliers. It is called neri or synthetic tororo-aoi and should be mixed
with cold water using lg of powder to 1 litre of water. Size can also be
added to the vat to make the paper more water resistant.
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