Embedded In Pulp

The blender came out again to work on some papermaking ideas.  After making a couple batches of paper pulp for more experimenting, I created two interesting "organic" sheets.

The first was made by placing a number of skeleton leaves onto the papermaking screen. This is layered on top of the white support grid that is sitting on a pan with a lip to catch the water from pressing.   After they were in position I took small clumps of the pulp and placed it over each of the leaves.  NOTE: The weight of the pulp helps hold the leaves in place.  Continue to cover the entire leaf pattern with pulp, going beyond the edges of the pattern.  Place enough pulp to cover but not too thick.  Experiment with the thickness and placement of the pulp.  Place the mesh cover screen on top of the pulp and begin removing water with sponges.  Remove as much of the water as possible and flip the screen over, pressing again with sponges or rags to remove more water.  Remove the papermaking screen and cover with a couch sheet and press and process just as you would when making any sheet of paper.  Cover with a dry couch sheet, weight the piece with heavy books till dry.

This piece looks great on its own just placed in a simple frame or it would also make a lovely background for a photo.

Wanting to try the process again, I chose a length of yarn from a recent crochet project.  I first wet the yarn with thinned white glue.  I placed the yarn randomly onto the papermaking screen then repeated the same process for embedding the yarn in pulp.  Looking at various things that I could work into making more interesting organic looking sheets.

Visit the Arnold Grummer website for information, ideas and supplies.