Papermaking

Yesterday, I went to a workshop at the lovely West Yorkshire Print Workshop to learn the art of Papermaking. It was really fun (and very stinky!) mushing up paper, getting very wet and making lots of lovely sheets of handmade paper.

It's really easy to make paper, you just tear up any old paper, add water, add some plant fibers and pulp it up with a kitchen blender. Next, take a large container such as a plastic box, fill with water and add the pulp and swirl.

Finally, get a mould and deckle, and scoop the pulp onto it to make beautiful sheets of paper.  The more pulp, the thicker the paper.

Here are some of my experimental sheets:

 

The whiter sheets were made by adding titanium oxide to the pulp. We also added Daphne to the pulp, a type of Nepalese plant paper. Can't wait to get tearing up and pulping more old paper now, what better way to recycle all that junk mail!