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Bev's Quick and Dirty Guide to Papermaking Page 2 |
| Optional: If, after soaking overnight, the paper still seems stiff and hard to tear, you may want to place it in a cooking pot with water, bring it to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for an hour or so. After cooking, remove pot from the stove, and let cool. After cooling, the paper may be processed immediately. To process the paper into pulp, put 4 cups of water in a blender and add a handful of paper. CAUTION: DO NOT ADD TOO MUCH PAPER AT ONE TIME! IF YOU DO, THE PAPER WILL NOT BE ADEQUATELY BLENDED, AND YOU RUN THE RISK OF BURNING OUT THE BLENDER MOTOR. Turn on the blender to its highest speed, and blend for 15-20 seconds at a time, until the paper is completely broken down into a kind of slurry. (You can get some interesting effects by NOT completely blending paper--but that's another story...) Add color, if desired. Follow manufacturer's instructions for preparation of dyes and pigments. When I first started making paper, I found the easiest way to add color was to add a few pieces of colored construction paper. Colored tissue paper also works well. Later on, when you feel adventurous, you can experiment all you like with the fancy stuff. |
| If you're not going to use the pulp immediately, you can strain out most of the water and let it air dry. It will keep this way indefinitely. STEP THREE: Sheetmaking & "Couching" Fill a vat half full of water. Next, add the pulp to the vat. Using more pulp creates thicker paper.* (Through experience, you will eventually know how much pulp to add for the desired thickness of paper.) * More is not always better. Dip one of your molds into the vat and scoop up pulp to form a sheet. Let water drain through for a few moments, and rest the mold on the corner of the vat. Place a felt or piece of xerox paper on top of the mold, take a sponge, and lightly press to remove more moisture. Then, keeping your couch sheet on top of the mold, flip it over onto a pile of newspapers (5-6 sheets thick), and using the sponge, press on the back of the screen to remove moisture and also to get the paper to release from the mold. Lift the mold up at one corner, and see if it's releasing. If not, sponge some more, and try again. Gently "roll" the mold up, leaving the fibers on your couch sheet. This process of getting the mold to release the sheet is called "couching." |
| There are several other methods for couching, but the above is one of the easiest for a beginner to use. The more traditional method is to 'roll' the mold on to the couch sheet with even pressure from left to right in one fluid motion. 'Fluid' is the key here, and when beginners start out with this method, they will often find that half of their sheet remains on the mold. STEP FOUR: Pressing the sheet Sheets may be pressed in many ways: Place another couch sheet on top of the paper, then a board, and a heavy weight on top of that. Some people have been known to press sheets by putting the stack underneath the front tire of their car and "rocking" to remove excess water. Less risky is to squeeze your stack between two boards secured with "C" clamps, or to use a hydraulic press, if you're lucky enough to have one. |
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