Paper

Amy Pieterse from the Fine Art department taught me the process of making paper from the fabric. I really enjoyed making paper as it was a great break away from making jewellery. We made two batches of paper the first was blue and the second batch was made with 'white' fabric producing off-white paper, as seen in the photos below. I experimented with incorporating my skeleton leaves into the paper and painted with the dye runoff from the fabric. Making paper is something I definitely want to continue exploring.

Bowes, K.,(2021). Handmade paper.

Bowes, K., (2021). Close up of paper.

Continuing with paper

Bowes, K., (2021). Me making paper.

Making paper was very exciting and a break away from making jewellery. It is something I hope to continue doing. I want to use my paper to paint on or to bind my paintings together into design booklets. I plan to experiment with making paper at home because making paper can be a long process. If I make it at home I won't be wasting my manufacturing studio time to make paper. Otherwise, I was thinking about possibly making a deal with Amy that she will supply me with paper in exchange I will supply her with skeleton leaves.

Paper Making Summary

 I had so much fun learning to make paper with Amy Pieterse from fine art. My first batch of paper was so beautifully really thin. Due to the paper being made from denim it came out blue meaning the paper is too dark to paint on with watercolours. I did have fun 'painting' with the dye that came out into the water when making the paper.

When I made my second batch of paper I wanted to learn more about the pulp making process that comes before making the paper. I incorporated my leaf skeletons into both batches of paper but I prefer how the leaves stood out on the off-white paper of my second batch of paper.

Bowes, K., (2021). A6 handmade paper.

Second batch of paper

 I made my second set of papers that was slightly off white for watercolour painting. The first time Amy made the pulp but this time I learnt a bit more about how to get the best consistency for making paper.  So I can understand and help with the whole process.

Bowes, K., (2021). Pulp making

Bowes, K., (2021). Stringy pulp

Bowes, K., (2021). Fine pulp

Bowes, K., (2021). Checking consistency

Bowes, K., (2021). Making paper

Bowes, K., (2021). Dried paper

Painting with dye

 While making my paper we had fun playing with the dye from the fabric and the bubbles that are generated while making the pulp. The bubbles remind me of the bubbles I played around with last year during lockdown.

Bowes, K., (2021). Paper pulp

Bowes, K., (2021). Painting with dye.

My handmade paper

I loved how the leaf skeletons knitted into the fibres of the paper so it became part of the paper. The paper also dried really thin which is why I also want to make white paper for creative booklets, with the paper being so thin the books won't get too thick.

Bowes, K .,(2021). Dried paper

Bowes, K., (2021). Leaf detail on paper.

Paper making

 On Friday I spent the afternoon making paper with Amy Pieterse from Fine Art and I really enjoyed it. We used denim jeans to make the pulp, which is why the paper came out blue which is stunning but not practical to paint on. This was a test as I want to make white cotton paper to use for my watercolour painting.

Here is a link to a compilation video of Amy teaching me the papermaking process: https://youtu.be/kNn7og5fnE8

Bowes,K.,(2021). Paper making