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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.

DRAWING DEMONSTRATION MAKING PAPER By James Wood  

Making Paper by James Wood

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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.)

Making Paper by James Wood

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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.

Making Paper by James Wood

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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.

Making Paper by James Wood

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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.

Making Paper by James Wood

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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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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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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.

Making Paper by James Wood

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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.)

Making Paper by James Wood

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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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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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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.

Making Paper by James Wood

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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.

Making Paper by James Wood

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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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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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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

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