Papermaking with plants

Start by collecting plant materials from your garden. Iris, Daylily, and Hosta are great plants to start with. The leaves are cut into one or two inch pieces, usually soaked overnight in water and cooked in a caustic solution for several hours. Rinsed thoroughly and "pulperized" in a blender. Rinsed again until the water runs clear.

The pulp is added to a vat of water and pulled on a mold with a deckle. My mold is a 9x12 picture frame with screen stapled and duct taped on. The deckle is another 9x12 frame held on top of the screen. The mold is dipped into the vat, pulled towards me, and then lifted back out. I usually let the mold sit on the side of the vat for a minute or two for draining.

To remove the paper from the screen is to couch (pronounced cooch). With the paper side facing away from you, place the mold vertical at the edge of a pile of felts. In a continuous motion, roll the mold onto the felt and back up, away from you. (The paper should be on the felt and the mold now empty.)

This was probably the hardest part for me to learn. Different fibers react differently to the "felt" material that you will use. Sometimes it comes right off, and sometimes you'll just want to wad it all up and press it into a bowl.

After you have a post, place it in a press to remove as much water as possible. The felts are then hung to dry.