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This information is reprinted from the For Beginners
column of Hand Papermaking Newsletter #85 (January, 2009).
To learn how to order Hand Papermaking bi-annual magazine
and quarterly newsletter, click
here.
Sustainable Papermaking Practices
Green living is increasingly on the mind, especially in
the post-industrial countries that have, on the whole,
forgotten how to do this. My art practice is the one area in
my life where I will make all exceptions. I will waste as
much paper as I need to in order to get a print to the right
quality and shape; I will, as one friend put it, easily
spend more money on book cloth than on a pair of pants; and
I will happily order my fibers from distances across which I
would never source my food.
Recently I have been thinking that there is no reason to
leave sustainable practices out of this area of my life.
While I deeply value artistic production, and even the
production of multiples, this practice does not take place
outside the ecosystem upon which we depend. Further, what we
might consider to be good for a piece of paper, e.g., the
longevity of its color through pigmenting, might not be as
good for our health or the environment’s. I tended to be
rather casual about my contact with commercial pigments,
until I was at Penland School of Craft, where any water
containing pigment is disposed of as a hazardous material.
I’m a little more likely to wear gloves while pigmenting
these days.
Papermaking is a medium with substantial opportunity to
develop an environmentally responsible art making practice.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Washington
DC-area artist Patterson Clark about his papermaking process
using fibers and fuel from local invasive plants. Thus, not
only is he making paper from local fibers, but he is also
removing non-native species that threaten the balance of the
local ecosystem. Clark has developed a working system that
might spark some ideas for your own process.
To cook the bast fibers that he harvests, Clark burns the
woody leftovers from the plants (Paper and White varieties
of Mulberry, Tree of Heaven, English Ivy, Rose of Sharon) on
a portable wood stove.
The fibers are cooked in rainwater, collected in a
barrel, with potash lye made from wood ash from the stove.
When the fire dies out, Clark allows the fibers to steep for
ten hours in the cooking liquor, wrapping the cooking pot in
two thick wool blankets to conserve heat as the bast
completes its cook.
Some bi-products of this process lend themselves to other
parts of Clark’s art making. The black cooking liquor can be
neutralized with vinegar and rendered into a pH-neutral
potassium acetate ink for printing or drawing. Charcoal from
the woodstove can also be used for drawing or ink. The
downed weed trees that Clark sometimes uses as firewood can
also be milled into lumber for printing blocks, picture
framing, or bas-relief carving. Wiry bast fibers from some
plants, once cooked, can be used to make brushes, as well.
If local plant fibers are unappealing or inaccessible
(i.e., you live in the midst of urban concrete), consider
what materials you might recycle. Printmakers and book
artists produce plenty of scraps of cotton rag that can be
re-processed into new papers. In fact, are you re-processing
scraps and junk sheets of your own papers? Quilters and
sewers also produce scrap fibers, which are often natural
fibers suitable for papermaking. How can you tap into these
supplies and make use of the waste of other creative
practices? Also investigate industrial sources. If you are
anywhere in the vicinity of a paper or fabric mill, can you
access their off-cuts?
How can you conserve your water and electricity use? I
suggest re-using water that you’ve strained from your vats
or your beater when you can. Cut a little off your
electricity usage by adding torn and cut fibers to the
beater before starting the beater rather than tearing
linters as the beater circulates.
Finally, know what you are putting into your paper and in
contact with your skin. Material Safety Data Sheets should
be available for any additives you purchase to put into your
paper. These can help you determine how to properly handle
and dispose of chemicals, polymers, and pigments. And as
Monona Rossol, a materials safety expert who conducted a
fantastic training I had the opportunity to attend, says:
“remember, Mother Nature is not on your side.” That is to
say that using natural materials does not mean you should
abandon all precaution. This statement was made in the
context of discussing citrus-based cleaners, which do have
toxins that will sit in your liver. There is nothing wrong
with using vinegar, baking soda, and water when doing some
serious scrubbing in the studio. I know a papermaker who
experienced a severe reaction when making paper from green
gingko leaves. So, experiment—one can’t innovate without
bold experimentation—but proceed with at least a little bit
of caution!
And finally, build on the knowledge of your fellow
papermakers. The Yahoo Papermaking group, for example, is a
great resource for finding out about local plants that are
good for papermaking in your area. Incorporating some of
these ideas into your art making will put you on your way to
incorporating your art practice into a more sustainable
life.
Copyright 2009 Hand Papermaking, Inc.
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