Papermaking 101

This weekend I attended a papermaking workshop at Castle Hill. I was not sure how much I would enjoy the art of papermaking. I have always admired other artist's work involving hand made paper. I recently purchased handmade paper for collage and have painted with Sumi ink on handmade paper.

The first morning of the workshop was a cool 55 degrees. The process involves putting your

hands in and out of cold water to strain the pulp into the mold. I imagined my hands leaving shriveled and cracked. The Saving Grace would be my instructor. 

I had faith in Erin! 

Erin Woodbrey is a talented artist and wonderful teacher. After a few hours I was amazed at the whole process of papermaking from its rich history to the awesome process of bark to pulp to paper. 

We started out making simple sheets of paper from Kozo bark which comes from the bark of the paper mulberry tree. Adding to this process was when the fun began. I started to imbed items like lace, graphite dust and string by laying another sheet on top of the bottom layer. We used bleached Kozo as well. The pulp was bleached with Hydrogen Peroxide. 

The second day I returned to see the dry paper. It was beautiful! I was sold! I loved papermaking. Thank you Castle Hill and thank you Erin for all your knowledge and enthusiasm.