The days are getting longer. Exquisite scents of growing plants fill the air. The pollen makes me cry, but it’s all worth it! Today I’d like to introduce you to an easy to grow garden plant for making strong, flexible paper. Cardoon is a perennial culinary plant in the artichoke family, with stalks harvestable early spring through mid summer. When … [Read more...]
Paper from the Ditch – Weathered Reed Canary Grass
Most of the plant materials I work with tend to make dark papers. Western Red Cedar inner bark makes a lovely dark red-brown and most of the long leaves and grasses I use make papers that are shades of yellows, tan or greenish. I love the natural tones and shades and accept the fact that natural plant fibers will continue to change over time. … [Read more...]
Late Winter Papermaking – Mixing Siberian Iris Leaves and Lichens
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 … [Read more...]
Here’s What’s Cooking – Porch Paper Making
Hi Friends. I haven’t forgotten you are out there. In the midst of current affairs it is important to know there way more wonderful humans, like you, who are doing their best to be good citizens, good neighbors, good people, and to live creative and purposeful lives. Against the darkness of our political times, there are many examples of people … [Read more...]
Fireweed and Nettle Fiber Papers
It’s been fun and interesting experimenting with how to extract the cellulose fibers from various native, naturalized, and invasive plants that live in our gardens and all around our neighborhood. Because, like Stinging Nettle, Fireweed bast fiber was also traditionally utilized by the First Peoples of this region for cordage making, and it … [Read more...]
