Embedding, lamination
and other fancy stuff

Embedments

For simple, albiet random embedments, just put flowers, leaves, etc., into the vat. Stir the pulp to evenly distribute. Hold the screen perpendicular to the vat and immerse straight down. When completely submerged turn the screen horizontal with the vat and then raise straight up and out and follow the process for dipping, couching, blotting and drying

Sometimes you might want more control over how the embedments look. To get an effect of an embedded design use the lamination process described next.

Lamination

Create two vats of pulp. One vat should be very thick with pulp, the other vat should be mostly water. From the vat of thick pulp form a base sheet according to directions for creating a sheet of paper in the screening process. Do NOT use second screen and do NOT Squeeze out excess water (as described in blotting and drying, that will come later.) In order to laminate, the base sheet must be soaking wet and soggy from the vat formation process. After couching the base sheet onto the couching bed, remove the screen. Lay out a design of flowers, leaves or what ever other objects you wish onto the base sheet. At this point you could could put a photograph or picture onto the base sheet. If you decide to laminate a photograph, be sure to practice with something that is not precious. Also, the base sheet must be larger than the photograph or the lamination will not work.

Once the design or objects, or photographs, etc. has been laid out on the base sheet, form a sheet of paper from the vat of thin pulp. Couch the second sheet on top of the base sheet and design. Pulp is very transparent when wet and dries to a more opaque state. Practice will be required to get the consistency of pulp to water for the second (thin) sheet. If the second sheet is too thick, the embedded articles will not show through. Believe it or not, very little pulp is needed to create the lamination and the second vat can be almost entirely composed of water with very, very little pulp in it at all. Experiment! is the rule here.

After the second sheet has been laminated follow the process explained in blotting and drying to finish.

Another option for lamination is to use two screens and two or more vats of different colored pulps. To make a design screen, lay out duct tape on a metal surface (the back of a cookie sheet will work). Draw a design on the duct tape, cut it out with a matt knife and carefully pull it off from the cookie sheet. Lay the duct tape onto a second screen and press to adhere it. When placed into the formation vat pulp will only adhere to the negative spaces of the design.

Prepare two or more vats of different colored pulps from different colored paper or add pigments and dyes [remember, some pigments and dyes are toxic, be certain to take proper precautions to avoid poisoning yourself through the pores of your skin. Wear plastic or latex gloves!]). Couch a base sheet out of one color of pulp and then pull another color with the design screen. Couch onto the base sheet. Add other laminations as design requires and follow the directions for blotting and drying to finish.

Making large sheets of paper

If your screen is not as large as you would wish, you can set up an area of couching paper that is the size you wish to make. Couch small sheets, overlapping the edges of each sheet, onto the larger area. When finished, blot the excess moisture out, or simply let the entire piece dry.

Free forms can be made in this way. You can take sticks and lay them out and couch paper onto the sticks to make sculptureal forms. You can lay strings onto base sheets and couch second sheets on top of them. When dry they can be tied together to create interesting wall hangings.

Go to book stores and libraries and look at the work of other paper artists to get ideas. Sit, look at the sky and trees and dream up ideas of your own. Back to Equipment

Painting with pulp

Place screen onto frame over empty vat. Pour pulp in free from over the screen, or, put an object like a cookie cutter onto the screen (or paper stencil) and fill with pulp. Remove the stencil, or cookie cutter and the form will remain. Use different colored pulps to create simple and elaborate designs. Remember to wear latex gloves if you are using pigments or dyes.

Mache

As described in clean-up, once pulp has been seived you can place it in a bowl and add white craft glue (elmer's type works well). This makes a paste that can be modeled like clay and will dry to a very hard surface.

Workshops

Pat Preble is available to lead workshops in hand paper making. See Workshops for details on the artist and contact Ppreble2@aol.com for scheduling.

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