Hi everyone! This past week my intaglio Printmaking class was making paper! It was so fun to make, and I’ll tell you all about the process!

Paper pulp in the sink!

I’ve never made paper before, so this experience was very cool to be a part of! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, too! The way we made it was filled 2 sinks with water and had ripped up pieces of paper in both. One sink was to let the paper soak and get all soggy, the other was used to make the paper. You get a sieve-like screen and dip it into the paper pulp. Once you pull the screen from the water, you let the water drain, then move it to a table where you can press it dry (a sponge works best for soaking up all the excess water). After that, you can add little objects such as flowers, leaves or seeds to make your paper more ornate! If that’s not your style, classic white paper is awesome too, because it’s handmade by you! You layer each piece of paper with a piece of felt in between. When the stack is high enough, a press is used to squeeze out the last bit of water, then the paper is left to dry.

This was a surprisingly easy process, and most of the materials needed can be found at a store or even made at home! It’s a great hands-on project (if you don’t mind sticking your hands in soggy paper pulp!).