DRAWING
DEMONSTRATION
MAKING PAPER
By James Wood
Paper is a thin material that finds its main uses in writing, drawing and
wrapping. It’s typically produced by pressing together the moist
cellulose fibre that can be found in a number of organic materials such
as inner bark, leaves and grasses.
Paper’s origin lies in China from as early as 100 BC where papyrus was
the writing surface of choice. The pulped paper techniques started to
take form in China around the 2nd century AD, and by the 13th century,
they were widely used across medieval Europe.
In this step-by-step guide I’ll be explaining a simplified version of the
processes used in the production of pulped paper. I’ll be using nettle
fibres, but as I’ll explain, the same techniques can be followed with
many fibrous materials.
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Making Paper by James Wood
Suitable Materials for Making Paper
Any organic material that is fibrous can be turned in to some form of
paper, but in this guide I’m going to make paper from nettle bast fibre.
You can then apply this same technique to a huge number of materials
such as grasses, strong leaves and the inner bark found in trees. When
choosing a material you can get a good idea of how strong the paper will
be by testing how tough it is to tear across the fibres.
Bast fibre is the fibre collected from inner bark
that can be found between the bark and inner
wood of a stick. It can be removed by peeling,
see left the image of an Elder with peeled bark.
Any grass that stands
upright on its own will
be strong enough to
make paper with.
Usually you can see a
number of very plain
versions of grass paper
on recently cut fields,
the cut grass starts to
decompose or ret on the ground, when a lot of
people walk over this the fibres of the retted
grass will connect and make a simple but un-
workable type of paper.
Leaves that are strong and slender are
useful for papermaking: usually leaves that
can hold their own weight or can stand
facing upwards on their own contain strong
fibres within, such as these daffodil leaves.
(If you’re following this guide with the use of
grasses or leaves go straight to step 4.)
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Making Paper by James Wood
Step 1: Selecting Stinging Nettles
I collect the nettles I’m using locally,
and there will always be a patch of
nettles close by for you to process.
Nettles can be harvested at any
time, but are best to harvest
towards the end of September when
they are at their longest as this way,
you will get the most fibre per nettle
stalk.
Stinging nettles are easy to
identify. They are very common
throughout, in woods, ditches,
grassy places and are especially
abundant in rubbish tips and
disturbed ground. They are rather
stout; the stem is ribbed and hollow.
The leaves grow on opposite sides of
the stem; they are dark green, 2-4
inches long with a rough paper
texture and very coarse teeth. The leaf tip is pointed while the base of
the leaf is heart shaped. They can grow to a height of 1.5 m. It flowers
from May to September.
Stinging nettles can be
found in abundance in
most landscapes and
are easily distinguished
and well known for their
frightful stinging ability.
Because of this it is
important that you fully
identify the plant before
picking and always
wear a pair of gloves
when handling nettles.
If by some chance you
do get stung by the
nettles this can be soothed, surprisingly, by rubbing the juice that
excretes from the inside of the nettle stalk on the affected area. Dock
leaves (see below) can also be rubbed on the effected area with the same
effect.
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Making Paper by James Wood
Step 2: Collecting Stinging Nettles
When collecting nettles you should wear
a thick pair of gardening gloves to avoid
being stung, although the occasional
sting may still occur.
Since the fibres run the length of the
stalk it’s best to pick the nettles from
their base. Collect about 10 nettle stalks.
At this stage (whilst you’re still outside
and wearing gardening gloves) it’s a good
idea to remove all of the leaves.
You next need to remove the sting from
the nettles: this can be done by squeezing
the bottom of the nettle stalk in your
gloved hand and then running you hand
up to the top of the stalk keeping the
pressure tight and consistent.
Repeat this motion a number
of times to make sure you’ve
popped all of the stinging
sacks. You can now leave the
nettle leaves at the site to
decompose and take the
stingless nettle stalks back
with you for processing.
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Making Paper by James Wood
Step 3: Preparing the Nettle Stalks
Now you’ve got your
neutralised nettle stalks
back to your working area,
it’s time to separate the
fibre from the rest of the
stalk.
Nettles contain a type of a
bast fibre, which is very
similar to the types of fibre
found in the inner bark of
most trees.
First the nettles must be
left indoors or under a
cover to allow them to dry
out fully (3 days should be
plenty). Because nettles are
hollow they can be opened up flat, to do this both push your nail or a
knife through the centre of the base of the stalk and run it up to the top.
You can then fold out the stalk to make it flat.
You now need to sprinkle a dash of water
over your flattened nettle stalks: this will
make it more pliable. You now need to rub
the base of the stalk firmly against the palm
of your hand. The soft bast fibres (on the
outside of the stalk) should start to peel away
from the hard woody core (on the inside).
Once a little bit of the soft
bast fibre has begun to
come away you can use this
as leverage to peel the rest
of the fibres away from the
woody core.
Continue this routine with
all of your nettle stalks. The
woody core can be
composted and you can
continue to make paper out
of the soft bast fibres.
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Making Paper by James Wood
Step 4: Retting the Fibres
You now need to cut your fibrous material in to 1 inch (2.5cm) lengths
and place in a jar, bucket or bowl filled with water.
Take the ash that you made
during the creation of your
charcoal and place it either in
a fine meshed sieve or in a
piece of old cloth.
This must be submerged with
the fibrous material as it aids
the retting process.
You don’t want the physical
ash to interact with your
material but when
submerged, a water-soluble
chemical is released from the
ash called potassium carbonate (known as potash). This soluble
chemical can pass through the sieve or cloth without the actual ash
interacting with your fibrous material.
Leave the material to ret for 10 days,
making sure to change the water
every 3 days.
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Making Paper by James Wood
Step 5: Washing
When placing your hand in the container, your retted material should
now feel soft and loose: it should feel similar to seaweed. If it still feels
tough you should continue the retting process. If after this stage the
material still feels tough, it may be necessary to boil the material and
water for a number of hours.
The successfully retted material must now be placed in a sieve and
washed thoroughly to remove any potash that may still be present in
the material. If the potash isn’t removed properly it will continue to
break down the fibres in your paper, resulting in a weak sheet of paper.
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Making Paper by James Wood
Step 6: Beating the Fibres Out
It’s now time to really beat out the fibres and turn them in to a pulp
useful for papermaking.
Take the retted and washed fibres and place them on a solid surface – I
use a solid desk for this. Find yourself a solid implement such as a meat
tenderiser or a metal bar. Now beat the nettle fibres: this must be done
quite forcefully.
You might need to add a dash of water if the pulp looks like it’s drying
out. Continue to beat the material until it becomes really soft and
pliable.
A good test is to roll the metal bar over your fibres. If it’s easy to roll out
in to a shape resembling paper then it’s nearly ready to use.
You can never beat the pulp too much so it’s always best to beat it more
than you need. I’ve beaten my pulp for 15 minutes.
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Making Paper by James Wood
Step 7: Pulling a Sheet of Paper
Now the nettle fibres have been processed and pulped it’s time to pull a
sheet of paper. For this stage you will need a large container to hold
water, a bath, sink or large watertight box will work (this is known as
the paper bath), and a deckle & mould.
You can easily make your own deckle and mould with an empty plastic
container, a frame and some fine mesh. First you take the mesh and
wrap it around the frame like you would if you were stretching a canvas
(this is your deckle). Then cut a square hole in the bottom of your
plastic container (this is your mould), the size of your mould will be the
size of your paper.
Making a Deckle and Mould:
First you take the mesh and wrap it
around the frame and staple it down at
the back of the frame like you would if you
were stretching a canvas staple (this is
your deckle).
Then cut a square hole in the bottom of
your plastic container (this is your
mould), the size of your mould will be the
size of your paper i.e. a container with a
base of 20cm x 10cm will make a sheet of
paper that also has the diameters of
20cm x 10cm. (Be careful when using a
Stanley or any other type of knife. Always
cut away from your body and wear gloves
if necessary.)
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Making Paper by James Wood
Fill up the paper bath with water and put the pulp you’ve made into it.
Your pulp should spread easily in to the water, if it doesn’t you most
probably need to repeat stage 6 as you haven’t separated or pulped the
fibres sufficiently.
Place the mould on top of your
deckle and submerge the two in
to the pulpy water. Hold the
mould tight to the deckle and
move it around a little at the
bed of the paper bath. Pull the
mould directly up out of the
paper bath. Do this very slowly;
you should see that the pulp is
starting to form a layer within
your mould and on your deckle.
If this layer of pulp isn’t very
uniform you may need to shake
the deckle and mould a little
until a smooth layer is created.
It’s more difficult to make thin
sheets of paper, so start by
making thick sheets as it
doesn’t matter so much about
the consistency of the pulped
layer.
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Making Paper by James Wood
Step 8: Pressing the Paper
The sheet of paper you’ve just pulled must now be pressed. The paper is
pressed to help remove some of the water and strengthen the bond
made between the fibres.
Traditionally, due to the absorbent properties of felt, the newly made
sheet would be pressed between two sheets of felt, but any absorbent
cloth will work.
I’ve pressed mine between a cotton bed-sheet using a flat piece of
MDF/Masonite/hardwood and my body weight to apply even pressure to
the paper.
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Making Paper by James Wood
Step 9: Dry-Pressing the Paper
This newly formed and pressed sheet of paper must now be dried. This
can be done as simply as hanging the paper out in the sun. To avoid the
paper shrinking, however, I usually press the paper during the drying
stage. This can be done easily with corrugated card and a heavy object.
Place each individual sheet of paper between two pieces of corrugated
card and stack them on top of one another. The card will absorb water
out of the paper and because it’s corrugated air will be able to pass
through the card, which will carry the water away from the paper.
Place a heavy object on top of your pile of paper and corrugated card so
the paper can’t bow during the drying process.
I’ve sandwiched my paper
between newspaper and
corrugated card to absorb
more water and then I’ve
placed a water filled
bucket on top to act as a
press weight.
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Making Paper by James Wood
Step 10: Virgin Paper
You now have a sheet of virgin paper!
Papers will take on the characteristics of the material it’s made from
and will appear different from plant to plant. Paper made from nettles is
very strong and feels very similar to a thin sheet of fabric. If made
properly it’s very smooth and lovely to draw on using the charcoals
we’ve created. The green of the nettles lends itself very well when
drawing, and can really add to the final feeling of your work.
This paper is called ‘Virgin Paper’ because it has not been fully sealed
and is not suitable for painting on. In order to paint on to this paper it
must be sized using starch or gelatine.
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Making Paper by James Wood
Step 11: Sizing your Paper
You can use potato or rice starch as a size for the virgin paper you’ve
created. Sizing the paper increases its strength and gives it some water
resistant qualities, allowing you to paint on to the surface.
To size with potato starch you
need a potato, a container and a
spray nozzle.
Chop the potato up finely
(including the skin) and place
in a jar. Fill the remainder of
the jar with water and allow the
potato to rest in this water for
24hours. (You can also use the
water you strain off boiled
potatoes or boiled rice.) Place
the suction end of the spray
nozzle in the jar and spray the
starchy water evenly on to both
sides of the paper. You may
need to spray the paper a
number of times to make it
really water resistant.
!
I usually test the paper once it has
dried by placing a drop of water in
the centre of it: if it’s absorbed
instantly the paper needs
starching again, but if the water is
absorbed slowly and evenly the
paper is ready to use.
It’s best to dry the wet starched
paper evenly on both sides – this
can be done by hanging it or by
placing it on wire mesh.
Alternatively, if you’re drying it
on a solid surface, you can turn
the paper over regularly so that it
dries evenly.
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Making Paper by James Wood
The Finished Outcome
You now have starched paper!
This can be used as you would use regular paper. If you are going to
paint on it you may wish to stretch the paper first to avoid shrinkage.
However, if the paper does shrink during the painting stage you can re-
press it until it’s flat again.
Here I have used the nettle paper we’ve made as a surface to draw some
simple shapes and lines including shading with the charcoal we have
also made. I know where every aspect of this work has originated from
and how it has been processed.
It’s now time to experiment with as many plants you can to see what
you can turn in to paper, and to understand the different characteristic
the plants will give to the paper.
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Making Paper by James Wood
About James Wood
James’s work takes him back to an archaic
way of working, where the artist has a
connection to the land that his materials
come from. Through this, every piece of
work is unique and affected by the situating
foraging grounds surrounding the place of
exhibition.
Whilst taking a great interest in locality,
transformation, process, materials and
manufacture, James’s work is underpinned
by his attempts to strive for sustainability.
See James’s full profile at:
www.ArtTutor.com/artists/James-Wood
Find the following guides and more at
www.ArtTutor.com
Light & Shade
by Karl Fletcher
Floral Still Life
Preserving Whites by Lucy Somers
by Karl Fletcher
Making Charcoal
by James Wood
Faithful Friend
by Marion Dutton
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