Forming a sheet of paper

Fill a dish pan with water to about 1/2 full. Add handfulls of blended pulp as you see fit. A good beginning is to start with about two cups of pure white pulp and perhaps a handful of brown paper bag and newspaper pulp. The amount of pulp to water concentration determines the thickness of the paper. If the vat looks like heavy cream, the paper will be quite thick. If the vat looks rather like thin milk, the paper will be very thin. You will have to experiment and find out what is the consistency of pulp to water concentration you prefer for the thickness of paper you wish to make.

The traditional method for forming a sheet of paper is to vertically immerse the screen into the vat of pulp (as shown in the animation above). When the screen is on the bottom of the vat, turn it parallel with the bottom and lift straight out. The water will drain off the screen leaving a deposit of pulp. Be certain to keep your fnngers away from the screen as anything on the screen will create a hole in the paper. Back to how how to make pulp.

Couching the formed sheet

[Turn the screen over, pulp side down, onto a couching bed.]

The couching bed is made from a section of moistened newspaper set on a table or flat surfce (place the newspaper in an aluminum roaster pan or other deep dish to catch excess water). Pulp will migrate and stick to a damp surface. Put a barrier (called a couching felt) between the newspaper and the pulp. If you do not, the pulp will land on the newspaper and you will not be able to get it off. A damp handiwipe (reuseable dishcloth) makes a very good couching felt.

Dip screen as shown in the animation and then bring it over to the couching bed. Set it so the pulp side will fall onto the handiwipe and drop onto the couching bed. You may have to sponge some excess water off the screen to get it to release. This is probably the only tricky part of the process. Sometimes the pulp sticks to the screen and you have to play with it to get it off. Generally, think "pulp likes water" and if you sponge off the excess moisture from the screen, the pulp should stick to the handiwipe beneath. [Some fussying is required here but if you have patience, you'll get it. If a piece of newly formed paper does not come off, tears and generally mucks up, gather all of the pulp up and toss it back into the vat and try again.) Keep your eyes open to what is happening in the process and see what you are making. Even if the piece does not turn out as you expected, maybe it has some other artistic possibilities!

The next step is blotting and drying.

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