Copyright Lili Hall 2010

PastePaperTutorial

IntroductionPastepaperisoneoftheoldestdecoratedpapersusedbybookbinders,andcanbefoundinbooksthatarecenturiesold.Goingbackhundredsofyears(andcontinuingtoday),sometimesbookbinderswoulduseuptheirleftoverbookbindingpastebythrowingsomepigmentintothepasteandbrushingitoutonsomepapertomakedecorativepaperstothenuseinbookbinding.Theywouldthenmakestrokesorstipplepatternswithabrushinthepaste,oruseatoolstodraworcombdesignsinthepaperandletitdry.Oneofthedistinctivequalitiesofpastepaperistherich3‐dimensionalpatternsanddesigns.Thisisachievedbecausewhenthepasteisfirstappliedtothepaperandapatternmadeinthepaste,itisthick,withpeaksandvalleys.Asthepaperdries,thepasteissuckedflatintothepaper,leavinga3‐dimensionalpatternona2‐dimensionalsurface.

historicalpastepapersMakingthePasteThereareasmanyrecipesforpastepaperastherearevariationsinpastepaperdesign,andmanyofthemcanbefoundbydoingasimpleInternetsearch.Anyoftherecipesyoufindshouldworkgreat.Somepastesdrysmoothandshinywhileotherpastesareformulatedforamorematteeffect.Asageneralruleofthumb,Iwouldrankpastesfromglossytomatteinthefollowingorder:cornstarch,glycerine,methylcellulose,ricestarchpaste,wheatstarchpaste,wallpaperpaste.Alsokeepinmindthatcookedpasteswilltypicallydrysmoother/shinierthanrawpastes.MyfavoriterecipeforpastepaperisHenryMorris’PasteRecipe,whichdriessmoothandshiny:HenryMorrisPasteRecipeMixonecupofcornstarchin1cupcoldwater.Boil7cupsofwaterinalargepan.Afterthewaterisboilingremovethepanfromthestoveandaddthecornstarchslurrywithoutdelay.Whilecombiningtheslurrywiththehotwater,mixitwithanelectricbeatertopreventlumpsfromforminginthepaste.Beatthepasteforaminuteorsotomakesureallthestarchismixed.Theconsistencywillbelikeheavysyrup.Storethepasteinarust‐freecontainer,coveredwithalid.Keepitinacoolplaceandthenextdaywhenitwasbecomemuchstiffer,removetheskinonthepasteandrunitthroughafoodprocessor.Addonlyenoughwatertoallowthepastetoswirlandformavortex.AddingpigmenttopasteItypicallyuseacrylicpigmentfromatube,butotherpigmentssuchastempera,tubewatercolororgouache,oreveninkcanbeused.Placeacupoftwoofpasteintoseparatecontainers(howevermuchyouwantforacertaincolor)andaddateaspoonorso(orasqueeze)ofpigmentatatimeuntilyouhavethecoloryoudesire.Morepigmentwillmakedeeper,moreopaquecolors.Keepinmindthatthemoreopaquethepigment,themoreopaquethepastepaperpatternwillbe,andthemoretransparentthepigment,themoretransparentthepattern.Metallicacrylicsaddaninterestingcontemporarylook/sheentothepapers,andIhavediscoveredthatsprinklingwetpaperswithwalnutinkcrystalsormetallicpowderalsomakesforsomewonderfulpapers.AsI’msuretherearepigmentsIhavenotthoughtoformentioned,becreative!ToolsPastepaperisessentiallyglorifiedfingerpainting,andthisiswherecreativitycomesin.Anassortmentofbrushesofvariousshapesandsizes,especiallystiffbristles,makewonderfultextures,asdofingers.Iwouldarguethatifyouonlyusedtwotools,Brushesandfingersarethewaytogo.Anythingelseyoucanfindthatwillleaveaninterestingmarkortexturewhenstampedordraggedacrossthepastewillprobablyprovetobeagreattool.Ihaveused:Naturalsponges;

Copyright Lili Hall 2010

foamstampsandrollerswithpatterns;thewheelsontoycars(canmakeveryinterestingtracksinthepaper);spatulasandeggbeaters;forksandspoons;rubbercombs(foundatacraftstore)oryourowncombsmadebycuttingchinksoutofsomebindersboard;scrapers;andoneofmyfavoritesisarepeatedpatternofarosettecookiebatterdipper.Onceagain,trythingsout.Youareonlyaslimitedasyourimagination.

Assortedtoolsformakingpastepapers:brushes,fingers,spatulas,combs,scrapers,patternedfried‐cookiedippers.Becreativeandfindyourowntools.MakingthePaperItisbesttohavealargecleanworkingspace.IliketocutoutalargepieceofMylartomakethepaperson,thiswaythecounterortablestaysclean.Ialsoliketohavealargerollofpapertowelsandaspraybottleonhandforclean‐upofmyworkspaceaftereachpaper.ItypicallyuseMohawksuperfine,butanytext‐weightpaperwilldo.Coloredpapersshowthroughthepasteandarealsoverypretty.Istartbylayingmypaperoutonmycleanmylarsurface.Iliketodampenthepaperwithaspraybottleoraspongetocompletelyrelaxthepaper,butthepastecanalsobeapplieddirectlytothepaper,whichcausesittobeabsorbedmoredeeplyandleavescoloredstainsbehindasyouscrapethepaste,whichcanbeaninterestingeffect.Next,Iapplycolortothepaper.TypicallyIjustplopspoonfulsorglopsfrommybrushfairlyuniformlyacrossthepaper.Justasaddingseveralpigmentstoawatercolorincreasesthedepthofapainting,Itypicallyliketouse2‐3colorsofpaste(evenifthecolorsaresimilar,suchasallgreensorblues)inmypapers(unlessIamgoingforonesolid,uniformcolor).Next,Ibrushthecolorsacrossthewholepaper,andthecolorsstarttoblendtogether.Themoreyoubrush,themorethecolorswillblendintoonecolor.Justthebristlemarksalonewillbebeautiful,andifyouarehappywiththepaper,youcouldstoprighthere.Alternately,youcanstipplepatternintothepastewiththebrush,oruseyourfingers,thecombs,scrapers,etctomakeinterestingpatternsortextures.Asmentionedbefore,thiscouldalsobeagoodtimetosprinklethewetpaperwithinkcrystals,whichwilldarkenandsoakintothepaste,makinggorgeousdarkspecklesinthepaper.Onceyouaresatisfiedwiththedesign(andIfindthatthelessIworkthepastei.e.thefasterImakethedesignthebetterthepapertendstoturnout),setitasidesomewheretodry.Cleanyourmylarworkspaceandstartoverwithanotherpaper.OnceI’vemadeapaperIlove,IliketomakeatleastoneortwomoreidenticalpaperssothatlaterwhenIgotousethepapersforabookbindingproject,Ihaveenoughpastepapertocompletetheproject.

Pastepapersmadeusingbrushstrokesandfingers

Copyright Lili Hall 2010

Lefttoright:spatula;eggbeaterdraggedacrossthepaper;rosettecookiemouldstampedrepeatedly;thehandleofascrewdriverrolledonthepaper;andtherimofadrinkingglassrepeatedlystampedandlightlydragged.AdditionalTechniques:Pull‐papersaremadebybrushingpigmentontoapaper,andthenfoldingthepaperinhalfwhilethepasteiswet.Apatterncanbedrawnontothefoldedpaper(thesidewithnopaste)withfingers,astylusorthebackofabrush,andthenthepaperisunfolded.Abeautifulpulledpatternistheresult.Iliketomakeastripedpatternacrossthepaperbyputtingglobsofcoloredpasteinalineallacrossonesideofthepaper.Ithentakeascraperandpullthepigmentacrossthewholepaper.Theresultiscolorfulstripesacrossthepaperwithalotofthewhiteofthepapershowingthrough.Layersofpaste:Onceonecoloranddesignisdown,gobackandapplylittleaccentsofcolorfromabrushortool.Or,onecolorcanbeappliedinanevencoat,thendried.Youcanthenreturnanddoanadditionalpatternontop,Thisisespeciallystrikingifthesecondpatternismadewithacomb,sinceitremovesthecolorandrevealsthecolorunderneath.Combsareincrediblyversatileandafavoritetoolformanypastepapermakers.Trydifferentthingswiththecombs:Draggingthemacrossthepaperinastraightline,wavy;thenmaybetrycomingbackandcombingacrossthepaperinaperpendicularordiagonalpatternacrossthefirstlines.Mostofall,useyourimaginationandhavefun!

pullpapers(1&2),layeredcolors,andcombsusedinmultipledirections.DryingthepapersItisusefultokeepinmindthatthemorepapersyoumakeinasinglesitting,themorespaceyouwillneedtodrythem.WhenwewouldmaketheseinbookbindingclassatBYU,wewouldlinetheentirehallwaywithalongrollofnewsprintandlaythepapersouttodryovernight.Paperscanalsobehungfromaclotheslineorlaidoutonadryingrack.Justmakesurethatifyouaredryingthepapersindoors,thereissomethingtocatchanycoloreddrips.Thepaperswillcurlupandcockleastheydry.Don’tworry—thisisnormal.Whenthepapersareusedtocoverabook,theywillrelaxagain(IliketoverylightlymistthembeforeIgluethemouttohelpthemrelax)anddryperfectlysmooth.Youcanironthepaperssothattheystoremoreeasily.

Copyright Lili Hall 2010

BooksboundusingpastepapersCleanupEnoughsaid.Unfortunately,makingpastepaperstendstobemessy(thebiggerthemess,themorethefun,right?)Itisreallyidealtocleanupyourbrushesetcinwarmsoapywaterimmediately.Aslongasyoutakegoodcareofyourtools,youshouldbeabletoreusethemagainandagain.