On the menu for papermaking – as late winter wind storms loosen lichens from the trees, dropping them all over the trails I walk along, I recognize this gift from the canopy above. On each walk I collect a pocketful of the beautiful lichens just so I can study their interesting structures more closely. But I also know from past experience that lichens can be used in papermaking. I’m going to experiment with combining lichens with some tried and true cellulose rich fibers gathered from our garden last fall.
After harvesting the long leaves of Siberian Iris last Fall, I dried them for storage. Months later, I’m ready to use them for paper, first cutting the long leaves into 1” pieces, soaking them overnight, and then cooked them for 3 hours outside on my studio porch. I didn’t have time to go to the next step, so I let the fibers sit in the cooking water for several days before catching a moment to drain and rinse them. An inexpensive paint-screening bag from the hardware store makes this step fairly easy. I’m explaining this to let you know that one of the wonderful things about making your own papers is that there are many points of flexibility in the process. You likely lead a busy life, but there are steps you can do in the small pockets of time that you find.
Last fall I gathered (left to right) Wapato stems, Crocosmia leaves, NW sweet grass stems, Day Lily and Siberian Iris leaves and narrow Cattail leaves. I hang them on a line to dry them out and store them in a heated area. The best materials I will use for weaving and cordage-making, and some will end up becoming paper. One note is that some long leaves, like crocosmia, will have a rod of woody material running up the center of the leaf, like a spine, that helps support the leaf. When making paper without the use of chemicals, it’s important to remove any woody parts before you get to the cooking stage.
The plant fibers need to be broken down and separated from each other. That can be done by cooking; or soaking and cooking in a chemical alkaline solution; or by retting which is the natural biological process of letting Nature rot away the materials that connect the cellulose fibers.
I usually get tired of pounding the cooked fibers after 10 minutes or so, but I do like to try macerating this way when a material is new to me, sometimes making a test piece of paper to see how well the fibers reconnect. But the second-hand blender really does speed up the job.
I need to let you know that I’m experimenting here, and I don’t know if the lichens will work best if cooked or not. So I’ll try both ways.
There are lots of variables in the process. How long the fibers have been cooked; length of time in the blender; are fillers like junk mail or cotton linter, or other fibers like abaca mixed into the mix; are agents added that help the fibers disperse more evenly, okra goo. I’m really looking for a pulped fiber mix that I can easily get off the mold, or screen frame.
Paper can be dried with weight on top so the sheets remain flat. As unrestrained papers dry they respond to their contents. Lichens hold a lot of water and can have an elastic quality. As the sheets with lichens dry, they cockle in interesting ways. As an artist, I’m looking for unique papers with interesting qualities like this. Not sure how I’ll use these yet, but I’m sure these will find a way into my work.
What have I learned? Siberian Iris leaves make a dependable paper, easy to make without any additions. If I add a little bit of cotton linter, or abaca, then the papers become finer and a lighter color. If I blend the pulp longer and add an internal sizing, the result is a paper I can write on. If I add the okra, the papers can become very thin and remain strong.
Conclusion – any long-leafed plant with similar qualities to Siberian Iris will have lots of cellulose fibers and will likely make a great paper. Have fun looking around your garden, or your neighborhood, to spot potential plants for future papermaking! Gathering these materials in Fall is best for the health of the plants
Here are a few more great books on the subject:
THE CRAFT OF HANDMADE PAPER, by John Plowman, Knickerbocker Press, New York,, 1987.
PAPER – MAKING – DECORATING – DESIGNING, by Beata Thackeray, Watson-Guptil Publications, NY, 1998
THE ART AND CRAFT OF PAPER, by Faith Shannon, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1987, reprint 1997.
THE ART AND CRAFT OF PAPERMAKING, by Sophie Dawson, Lark Books, Asheville, NC, 1992.
THE ART OF PAPERMAKING WITH PLANTS, by Marie-Jeanne Lorenté, WW. Norton & Comp, New York, London, 2002.
HANDMADE PAPER FROM NATURALS, by Diane Flowers, Lark Books, New York, London, 2009.
PLAYING WITH PAPER, by Helen Hiebert, Quarry Books, Beverly, MA, 2013.
