Post by Michelle on Dec 14, 2008 18:17:22 GMT -6
Kudzu Papermaking
Equipment:
three 12x20 vats with lids
twelve felts
three 10x12 white plastic needle point canvas stiffener sheets cut in half
blender
brown paper towels
water
recycled paper
kudzu leaves, herbs, or flowers
Set up:
Three vats and lids set up on an 8 ft table allow six students at a time to make paper in a 45 minute session. Place 6 wet felts on the lids. The others are to get the water from the screens. Fill the vats less than half full of water. Place the 6 screens on the lids.
Making Pulp
The easiest way to make kudzu paper is to cut kudzu leaves into small pieces and blend in a blender with water and paper scraps. The paper will have small pieces of green leaves in it when it dries.
To get more of the kudzu fiber, soak a plastic container full of kudzu leaves and water to cover outside for two weeks. Put the lid on the container. It will smell terrible. Pour off the water, put more water in to cover and stir in a cup of bleach. Stir and let soak for an hour. Rinse out the bleach thoroughly to dissipate the smell. Squeeze the water out of a large handful and let kudzu dry in the ball shapes.
Cut the processed kudzu leaves into 1 pieces. Put a handful of leaves into a blender with a handful of recycled paper scraps and water almost to the top of the blender. Put on blender lid and blend on high until the mixture resembles green grits. If the blender lugs down and won’t blend, take out some pulp, add water and try again.
Make three different colors of pulp. Put one blender full of each color in each vat. Make another blender full of each color and keep in a container ready to make the vats thicker as each group of 6 students make a sheet.
Making Paper
Work as an assembly line, everyone does the same thing together. Mix the pulp in the vat with both hands until it is evenly distributed. Get the screen in your hands. Scoop it down like a shovel to the bottom of the vat. Count to five. One hand on each side of the screen, gently life the screen out of the water. Keep it flat over the vat. The teacher places the paper towel on top of the screen. The student puts one hand on the bottom of the screen, one hand on the top and gently presses the water out. Turn the screen over, onto the lid, screen side up. Lay the felt out flat on top of the screen. Soak up the water into the cloth and squeeze the water out over the vat. Repeat several times. Put the cloth on the table. Flip one corner of the screen until it comes away clean. Take off the screen and set it down beside the vat. Put two hands under the paper and take it to the drying area. Paper dries overnight. When paper is dry, start at one corner and peel it off the paper towel. One side is smooth and one side is rough.
Clean Up
Vats can be used for about 3 days. After that the water turns slimy. Pour everything out behind a bush and start again. Never pour pulp down sink drains.
Equipment:
three 12x20 vats with lids
twelve felts
three 10x12 white plastic needle point canvas stiffener sheets cut in half
blender
brown paper towels
water
recycled paper
kudzu leaves, herbs, or flowers
Set up:
Three vats and lids set up on an 8 ft table allow six students at a time to make paper in a 45 minute session. Place 6 wet felts on the lids. The others are to get the water from the screens. Fill the vats less than half full of water. Place the 6 screens on the lids.
Making Pulp
The easiest way to make kudzu paper is to cut kudzu leaves into small pieces and blend in a blender with water and paper scraps. The paper will have small pieces of green leaves in it when it dries.
To get more of the kudzu fiber, soak a plastic container full of kudzu leaves and water to cover outside for two weeks. Put the lid on the container. It will smell terrible. Pour off the water, put more water in to cover and stir in a cup of bleach. Stir and let soak for an hour. Rinse out the bleach thoroughly to dissipate the smell. Squeeze the water out of a large handful and let kudzu dry in the ball shapes.
Cut the processed kudzu leaves into 1 pieces. Put a handful of leaves into a blender with a handful of recycled paper scraps and water almost to the top of the blender. Put on blender lid and blend on high until the mixture resembles green grits. If the blender lugs down and won’t blend, take out some pulp, add water and try again.
Make three different colors of pulp. Put one blender full of each color in each vat. Make another blender full of each color and keep in a container ready to make the vats thicker as each group of 6 students make a sheet.
Making Paper
Work as an assembly line, everyone does the same thing together. Mix the pulp in the vat with both hands until it is evenly distributed. Get the screen in your hands. Scoop it down like a shovel to the bottom of the vat. Count to five. One hand on each side of the screen, gently life the screen out of the water. Keep it flat over the vat. The teacher places the paper towel on top of the screen. The student puts one hand on the bottom of the screen, one hand on the top and gently presses the water out. Turn the screen over, onto the lid, screen side up. Lay the felt out flat on top of the screen. Soak up the water into the cloth and squeeze the water out over the vat. Repeat several times. Put the cloth on the table. Flip one corner of the screen until it comes away clean. Take off the screen and set it down beside the vat. Put two hands under the paper and take it to the drying area. Paper dries overnight. When paper is dry, start at one corner and peel it off the paper towel. One side is smooth and one side is rough.
Clean Up
Vats can be used for about 3 days. After that the water turns slimy. Pour everything out behind a bush and start again. Never pour pulp down sink drains.