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Paper Making – Create your own Paper!
Paper was first created over 2000 years ago by Ts’ai Lun, an official attached to the Imperial court of China, who created a sheet of paper using mulberry and other bast fibers along with fishnets, old rags, and hemp waste. The history of papermaking is quite amazing and has helped civilization grow & expand through the centuries. Can you imagine a world without paper products today?
The cell walls of all plants contain cellulose fibers, an organic material with high strength and durability which makes up one-third of the structural material of annual plants and about one-half that of perennial plants. Until the introduction of wood pulp in 1843, the prime source of paper making ingredients were recycled textiles like cotton, hemp and linen along with pure plant materials. The fibers combine to give paper a strong & durable smooth surface and the ability to soak up ink to allow it to maintain words and images.
The basic papermaking process is straightforward and can be done by hand using both recycled materials and direct plant material and simple tools. First you need CELLULOSE FIBER which can be obtained from cloth rag, plants and scrap papers. Our focus will be the use of recycled papers and cloth that would otherwise head to land fills which is great for our world! Then a PULP IS MADE by placing the fiber into a blender and blending well. This breaks up the fiber and allows it to tightly bond with the other included fibers to provide the PULP needed to create sheets. Interesting items like different colored recycled papers, dried flowers, glitter, etc. can be added to give your paper additional charm. Next we FORMSHEETS using a MOULD & DECKLE and a process called COUCHING (coo-ching). Our art sheets are finished by PRESSING & DRYING. The paper we create will be somewhat rough and wavy, but can have very nice looks for writing, cards and a base for drawing and painting.
Come learn this amazing process and have lots of fun making your own paper that is yours to keep!
Chris Lyons is a stained-glass instructor who has worked in the medium for over 30 years with a focus on the copper-foil technique and Tiffany lamp creation. Chris has also worked in many other types of glass work including lead-came construction, hot glass, mosaics, glass art pattern design, flat panel creation, 3D object development (including candleholders & terrariums) and both panel and rounded Tiffany-style lamps. He has a deep understanding of stained-glass manufacturing techniques and a wealth of knowledge regarding glass types and how to make glass selections for projects. His studio, Glass Visions is now located in downtown Springfield and Chris offers a full set of specially designed stained-glass classes from Intro to Advanced Lamp Making. He also offers stained glass & supplies, does repair work and is available for commission work. Chris also offers a complete electronic book on the copper-foil technique covering all aspects of the art form which is used as the basis for his Beginning Stained-Glass class.
