2024 Handmade Paper Exchange 🎉
Hello, handmade papermakers! You are invited to participate in the 3rd annual full-sheet handmade paper swap! This exchange is open to ALL levels of papermaker. Your organizers are Sophia Hotzler … Continue reading
Pulping and Refining
Pulping and refining are two papermaking processes that affect the mechanical properties of the finished product. This video gives an overview of the topic.
Shut-Down Paper Making
Early this year I was accepted into the artist collective at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. March 1st came, I paid my dues and got excited to have 24/7 … Continue reading
Natural Dyes and Papermaking
These natural dye experiments started with standing in line at the store, my cart overflowing with stainless steel pots, the woman behind me chuckling, “Looks like someone’s doing some cooking!” … Continue reading
Paper – Every Fiber of Its Being
Paper is a composite of fiber and air. Cellulosic fibers come from plants, either from seed hairs, stems (bast), and/or from leaves. In industrial papermaking, cellulose comes primarily from wood, both hardwoods and … Continue reading
The Future of the Craft
“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” T.S. Eliot … Continue reading
Video: Papermaking en español / Action Verbs
When I started doing the papermaking en español series, I knew we would need a little action for all the action verbs in papermaking. This is my first go at … Continue reading
Good Form, Bad Form: Ground Glass and Curdled Milk
Structural properties of paper describe how various components are arranged within a sheet of paper. Global properties are assessed independent of local variations in paper composition. These include the structural properties … Continue reading
The Transformative Power of Papermaking
In the fall of 2011 I was in a pretty rough place. My grandmother was in a car accident that put her in a month-long coma and eventually resulted in her death. … Continue reading
A COVID Papermaking Project
An old hymnal becomes a new hymnal. A year of shutdown ends up opening a new worlds. Much work is done and much work is left to do.
JOIN IN: 2019 PAPER SWATCH SWAP!
Do you make handmade paper? Would you like to participate in a swatch swap with papermakers from around the globe? Here is a great opportunity! Sign up to particpate by … Continue reading
Project Recap – Hand Papermaking Journal Portfolio #12
A curated collection of pieces from artists working in pulp painting was the first Hand Papermaking Journal portfolio I sat with in person. It was Hand Papermaking Journal Portfolio #7, it was at … Continue reading
3 Formation Facts & 3 Ways to Better Yours
Formation describes how uniformly the fibers and other solid components of a paper furnish are distributed in the finished sheet and is massively important! Good formation results in desired outcomes … Continue reading
Instagram Scrapbook
Hello – it’s me! This year has been a year of travel and figuring things out and I’ve been wondering – how to get back into the blogging that I’ve … Continue reading
The Three P’s: Porosity, Permeability and Permeance
All space is space in which to create. Eric Maisel I discovered an invisible empire of the air. Lee de Forest Think about a sheet of paper and you might … Continue reading
Size it Up – Internal Sizing Chemicals
Why Use Sizing? Sizings used in papermaking reduce water absorption into the fibers. Internal sizing treatments act on the outside of fibers. Consider paper towels, the main use being to wipe up spills and messes. … Continue reading
Interview and Article: Silvia Turbiner – Visual Artist
Some of you might remember the interview I posted a year ago when I was working in Buenos Aires. In the first week of my apprenticeship my mentor, Alejandro Geiler, told … Continue reading
Rare Book School Wrap Up
I just got home from my paper geek-out week at the Rare Book School, at the University of Virginia. Two of the afternoon sessions consisted of a special collection showcase … Continue reading
3 Paper Headlines From Twitterland
Here are three stories for you – paper inspired going-ons from Twitterland this week. Click the tweets to follow the links. 1) PACKAGING INNOVATION ENCOURAGES DRIVE THROUGH BIKING This article is about … Continue reading
The Fiber Wire 