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How-To Make Pulp

© Seshat

In last month's article I briefly discussed the pour and dip handmold methods of papermaking and said that the most important aid to your success, using either method, is how well you've prepared your pulp.

The simplest way to do this is to combine four cups of water with an 8.5" x 11" sheet of wastepaper in your kitchen blender. Wastepaper can be anything from a sheet of your printer paper, to an advertisement you received in your mailbox junkmail or a sheet of construction paper.

Virtually any paper is an option, however newspaper is not a very good choice unless you are adding small bits from the funnies, a graphic, or an advertisement for visual appeal. Don't limit yourself to storebought papers and cotton linters. Cotton linters are often good to add to a batch of pulp but if you rely solely on them, you're cheating your creative capacity.

So, what is a cotton linter? Fiber that adheres to cottonseed after the ginning process. Linters are used as raw material which produces low-shrinkage pulp for cotton-fiber papers and sometimes the term is also used to refer to pre-processed pulp such as the type used for papercasting.

I'm a real advocate of recycling what you already have at your disposal. Save giftwrap at holidays, use discards from other papercrafts, envelopes from your correspondence, etc. Don't toss out those greeting cards you get for birthdays and other festive occasions, stick them in a box for future use in yopur papermaking. Even old term papers and store receipts you no longer need can make fun sheets of handmade paper. My rule of thumb is if it can be used, use it. You never know when that special card you received for St. Patrick's Day in 1999 will have just the pinch of green you're looking for.

Once you've decided on your wastepaper, ou will need to tear the sheet into strips and blend it at intervals on medium speed for 10-20 seconds. It's easy to overblend, so be careful. You should be able to see individual fibers dispersed throughout the water. Shorter fibers make for weak papers, while longer fibers will give your paper strength and durability.

Something to remember is that kitchen blenders actually chop rather than blend. So, if you're after a chunky pulp that will give your paper added texture, blend for less time than if you are seeking a surface that will easily accept ink from a fountain pen without snagging.

The key to preparing good pulp is experimentation. Try tea, dried flowers, glitter, dried fruits, pods and

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