Monday, July 16, 2012

Photos from Papermaking from Plants and Exotic Fibers


This past weekend was the second session in the four part papermaking series I'm doing with Rhiannon Alpers, focused on making paper directly from plants. Rhiannon and I both gathered a variety of fibers, and some students brought in plants from their gardens that we incorporated.

For larger images, please click on the photos.


We had samples of straight plant fiber and mixed with abaca, so students could explore the differences.

The class began with fiber preparation, focusing on some blender tricks for those that might not have a beater. One thing I learned from Rhiannon that day, when using a blender, to ensure that a large blender batch is evenly prepared, count the seconds, usually in units of ten. This way, all the pulp has been prepared the same, preventing lumps, clumps, and uneven sheet formation.




After the fiber was blended, we spent the rest of the afternoon making paper!










Our next workshop - Watermarks - is coming up in August - to register, visit here. Thought please note, due to unforeseen circumstances, the date has been changed to August 18. We will also be offering Sculptural Techniques in September. Finally, to see photos from our previous workshop, please visit here.

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