Papermaking Workshop

Last weekend, I went out and did something on my own for the first time since Afton was born (work doesn't count), and it has probably been a lot longer than that if I think about it. I took a papermaking workshop at Pyramid Atlantic, the papermaking, printmaking, and book arts center in Silver Spring. I learned to use the hollander beater, form sheets with a mould and deckle, build a post (pile o paper) and squeeze the water out with a press (I think it was a hydraulic press, but I'm not sure). I thought this would just be something fun to do for a day, but I loved it and could see myself really getting into papermaking and pulp painting. Here's what we made:



Paper made from cut up blue jeans, a light yellow t-shirt, and some tan cotton fabric. Apparently, anything that's nearly all cotton can become paper! We also added cotton linter. We didn't add any pigment, so with all the fabric colors, it ended up a pale blue-gray. I put inclusions in some of the sheets. You can see the top sheet here has a piece of cheesecloth in it.

Abaca. It's a warm beige.

Abaca. Made with a circular mould and deckle. I think the ripples are from shrinking as it dries. Not sure.

Pulp painting! This was so much fun, I cannot wait to do some more. It's a lot like monoprinting. I used stencils here, just like I do in my monotypes. First, you form the sheet, then put the stencil down, and squirt pigmented pulp around the stencil for the shapes. It feels like something between painting and printmaking. I also pulp-painted some pieces as backgrounds for printing on later.

I do have one more step to do, which is calendaring the paper. I will run it through the etching press with a plate on top to make the surface a bit smoother. I can't wait to see what it will be like to print on paper I made myself. I hope it will work well--it could open up lots of options, like pigmenting my paper the specific color I want, forming sheets to the right size, rather than having to tear down, registering shapes with pulp paint and printing woodcuts on top later. So many possibilities...

Have a lovely weekend!