Paper making

On Saturday, Lola, Karen, Chris and Gwen all enjoyed a fabulous paper making workshop with paper maker and book artist Mandy Brennan (http://www.mandybrannan.co.uk/). Mandy creates bespoke papers for printmakers and artists. Her book art focusses on "creating a structural visual language that explores personal experiences while situated in specific enviroments". She brought some of her work along; her hand made papers are exquisite and her architectural books were very interesting.

With the use of a blender we made pulp from cotton and sisal fibres. Throughout the day we explored embossing, colour and adding materials to the pulp. Mandy was on hand providing expert guidance, refining our skills and knowledge. We were truly amazed at how fine we could make the paper. For most of us, our previous experience of making paper was fairly "crude," with unstable outcomes. On this occaision though we were all delighted with our results - especially knowing these results can be achieved with very little equipment most of which is easily found in the home such as old towels, J cloths, and drawing boards.

The day passed all to quickly,- teas and coffees went cold as everyone was so engrossed in thier work!
We all went home with a stack of beatuiful handmade paper, and busy minds deliberating our next step. 

Once home, the way to create a wonderful smooth surface on the paper is to place them on a window, gently roller them, and leave to dry!