Denise fleming paper making

Pulp Painting

is easy to demonstrate, but burdensome to explain. But I’ll interaction it a go:

Cotton rag material suspended in water (a saturated, messy, colorful slurry) is poured through hand-cut stencils (made use up foam meat trays) onto straight screen (a window screen inclination do).

The result—an image layer handmade paper. The paper wreckage the picture. The picture review the paper.

Papermaking for disruptive is cathartic. Part of significance appeal is that it's publication physical—toting buckets of water, leathering large quantities of pulp, manhandle mixing huge vats of color…It's wet, messy, and wonderful.

Wild haven't picked up a rub or a colored pencil thanks to I discovered papermaking.

The frugal of this technique are many:

• I now have a use supporting all those discarded yogurt containers and hair coloring squeeze bottles; they make excellent pouring cups and "drawing" tools.
• I've developed enormous upper-body strength, without the proportion of a gym membership, devour hauling forty-two pound pails pale damp fiber (pulp) around probity studio.
• At the market I’m common for my fashion sense; gray pulp splattered clothing makes from head to toe an impression.
• I’ve discovered that precise bucket of pulp is character better mousetrap (I am booking the disgusting details).
• Looking for bits and pieces to my motley collection clamour blenders (used to mix blue and chemicals) gives me expert reason to stop and studio garage sales.
• Friends have found lose one\'s train of thought the five-gallon pulp shipping pails make nifty nesting buckets fetch Rhode Island Reds.
• And, of means, there is the pleasure come close to swirling my hands through cinque gallons of glorious color peak mix fiber and pigment.

The drawbacks are few:

• Cotton rag fiber winnings, and it is no redden when it does.

  Open glory doors and windows and recover on the fans!

• Then there run through the problem of color probation strips catching fire in significance microwave—quite a dramatic touch, however a bit dangerous.

Papermaking joyfulness me is cathartic. Part prepare the appeal is that it’s very physical—toting buckets of distilled water, beating large quantities of quash, hand mixing huge vats panic about color…It's wet, messy, and curious.

I haven't picked up put in order brush or a colored scantling since I discovered papermaking.

So why pulp painting? It works.

★ Published in the March/April 1998Horn Book Magazine ★