It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times...

Coalbrookdale by Night, 1801, Philipp Jakob Loutherbourg the Younger

...but it certainly wasn't rag paper time!

Boy oh boy, did I have a Dickens of a time trying to turn my old Esprits into paper. Sorry about that cheesy line, but I seriously utilized every kitchen appliance I own in an attempt to get the cotton fibres to "fluff up" as per numerous blogs and industry experts advised via YouTube.

Cooking them to bits.

I sport an impressive swelling on my ring finger that could serve as a 6th digit simply from the pre-processing processing of hacking two pants legs into 1/4" squares with kitchen scissors. I have already cooked them for six hours in a solution of baking soda and water that would "break down the fibres" and make them paper-able.  I then whipped them with my electric egg beaters. I whirred them with my Oster but the blender began this odd dance across the counter top so I stopped doing that. I employed a small sledge hammer (at the expense of a rather nice sheet of board) to pound the jean bits into submission. No dice; the only thing about to break down is me. Miserable, I am about to toss the whole darn thing out the door, when I spy the Braun juicer on the bottom shelf in the kitchen pantry. Dare to dream??

Soggy post-cooking glop. Hasn't broken down one bit. :(

Oy. I am now standing in front of the stove in a puddle of blue water that has dripped from my elbows for the last eight hours as I process, process, PROCESS!! what amounts to about 5 pounds of wet jean material, through the juicer, over and over and OVER!! again, in the hopes that it will become cloudy puffs of voluminous fibre destined for reincarnated greatness as 100% cotton rag paper. Esprit jeans and cockroaches, that's all that will survive global catastrophe, apparently.

I am blue. Literally indigo blue. In the back of my mind I am worried about what colour Kricket's next poop is going to be, if indeed she did swallow that mouthful of denim doggy delights I left unattended on the kitchen floor from the last run in with the dancing blender. There is nothing but defeat here; the only picture worth posting is this one:

Kricket, The Denim Eater

It is past midnight and everything in my kitchen is wet or blue or blue and wet. Bleary eyed, I stagger through tears to the bedroom and throw myself onto the incredibly silky, get-better-everytime-I-wash-'em 400 plus thread count cotton sheets; they feel wonderful. I will burn them tomorrow.

Post Script:

I did attempt to sieve a sheet of fibre the next day, despite being very unhappy with the slurry, and I was unhappy with the result, too. However, I WILL try this again. Someday.

Gah....! Not as envisioned.

Cardboard Bike

Cardboard bike? Yes, a cardboard bike.

This guy puts 'up-cycling' into high gear :)

First Sheets

Swans, Indeed!

Well, I am quite happy; the "paper towel" did transform under pressure and overnight where it lay beneath approximately 125 lbs of clay :) The weight helped to flatten out the waffle pattern left by the frame screen, and it no longer looks like paper towel! I am quite happy with the results, even if they are a bit more "crafty" than I anticipated. The next test will be to use ink on them (Angus!). Right now, however, I am enjoying their mere existence.

I thought I was done for the night, but as I was cleaning up, I came across a bowl of cardboard packing material that I had torn up and soaked in water. Inspired, I threw a handful in to the blender with some water and some left over flower petals and added this mix to the slurry.... this is the result! More Swans :)

Augmented slurry with cardboard and petal mixture.

Petal Paper!

I am pleased with the overall quality of the sheets, but Angus' comments about making paper that is "writeable" is stuck in my mind. I don't see this type of paper being particularly user friendly in this regard, so what to do?? Why make a bowl of course!

Wet paper moulded into bowl.

I am using one of my own bowls made in my glaze testing class for the mould. It was reasonably simple to pat it into shape and any little tears were easily patched as the paper was still quite wet. 

Bowl o'rice.

I filled the bowl with rice for two reasons: to absorb moisture and to help the paper retain its shape as it dries. We will see if my theory holds any water, er rice, but in the meantime, I have been inspired (yet again) to make rag paper from an old pair of jeans. Stay tuned! 

Paper samples thus far. Rag paper to come :)

The InkQuisition Begins

Happy Birthday, Sis! 

I would like to dedicate this post to my big sister Karma on her 39th birthday ;) She is a creator of beauty in both realms of the personal and the professional, and I admire her very much. xoxo

A lovely collection of natural colour.

Humans have been making ink for ages, and its evolution has been closely tied to that of paper. All manner of material has been used in the making of ink, most early and commonly lampblack or soot being the main ingredient. Flowers, beets and berries (for example) have all been used and are still used today commercially and by DIY crafters and artists; just Google "natural inks" and you will see the results for yourself!

If all goes well I will soon be able to put pen and ink(s) to paper, but I am getting ahead of my self :) These flowers and leafy bits are all from the yard: clematis, poppy, rhododendrons and ornamental plum leaves are just some of the colourful samples I gathered this morning. According to a number of different DIY sites I should let the petals soak in water overnight and by morning should see some colourful results - so that is what I have done!

Dark purple stamens from an orange poppy. Fascinating!

I will be posting the results and a more detailed history of ink in a few days, thanks for checking in!

H.

Paper Making - Part III

Slurry II

The last time I made my paper slurry I was so excited to blend it all up I over blended and fibres went through the screen and clung on with microscopic fingers, refusing to let go and be a nice flat sheet of paper... sheesh!  So I started over. This time I used a least favourite reading from class as the paper source ;) and blended again, this time on the low setting.

Mr. Goodman, I found an alternate theory. Let me explain...

Well, I have had some success! I have managed to dip, and squish, and pull, two sheets of "paper" off the frame and with little or no tearing of the sheet. I did end up roughing the edges all around so the flaws wouldn't be flaws anymore, but I think with some practice I will get better at lifting that first edge.

Paper sheet resting on felt batt.

It looks a lot like paper towel. Sigh. Not the gloriously pristine Chancery style from the video, but rather cheap no-name brand single ply with bits of coloured ink still intact - sort of what paper made from the stuff inside a snow globe might look like. Gah! It is difficult when you have no idea what you are doing!

Detail of paper texture. Screen from frame enhances the paper towel quality :(.

I am now squeezing the bejeezus out of the two sheets between multiple sheets of blotting paper and have them weighted with 25lb box of B-Mix throwing clay (I have given up being scientific!). I am promising myself not to disturb their transformative rest until morning when surely, the ugly ducklings will have become a lovely pair of swans...

Purely for the Experiment of It!

Can you tell which "paper" I made, and which was made by wasps??

When I decided I was going to make paper, and before I even started the blogging process, I got all excited about making paper from anything "cellulose-y", i.e. of plant origin. Sooooooo, I blended up some almonds skins left over from my homemade almond milk and some garlic and onion skin. For good experimental measure I threw in the pith from a lemon rind.

See if you can tell which of the above is the Haide-made and which is the Wasp-made :)

UPDATE!!

These tricky wasps use protein to help bond their paper and make it waterproof!! Watch this AskNature Nugget video I found on YouTube...! Aha! I think I am going to have to do that next using a little Knox gelatine powder :)

Paper Making - Part II

Slurry Continued!!

So I have blended 3 batches of slurry and filled a large Rubbermaid container to the half way point, and my Mo-eckle is at the ready! I dip.... and lift.... and voila!! Uniform layer of fibres await paperhood! I am excited :) It looks pretty good!

Then things start to fall apart... literally!!

If you watched the Chancery Paper Making video I posted, you will be familiar with the process of transferring the paper from the mold onto specially made felt batts by the "coucher". They invert the mold over the bat and starting at one edge and pressing down with an even pressure roll the mold in a continuous motion which transfers the paper layer to the batt.   

I soon discovered that my all-in-one design was somewhat problematic when trying to emulate the motion of the workers in the video. The inside edge of the deckle acts a bit like velcro and hangs on to the paper fibres laying next to it and won't let go, even when I tried to free it with a finger or the tip of a butter knife. Too, being able to ensure even contact with the felt batt is hampered unless it is lined up PERFECTLY within the Mo-eckle's cutout. I also noticed that while the layer was uniform, it was overly thin and fibres had clung to the screen itself; I am now thinking that I over blended the slurry... 

Sigh! I will have to have another go with a coarser mix and see if that doesn't help; I now realize that with over 2000 years of paper making advice available to me, maybe a little less innovation, and a little more discipline on my part is in order here.