Making handmade paper is connected to nature - to the wind, the cold of winter, rivers and plants. The Japanese word for paper is 'kami' which has the same sound as the word for gods and spirits. The technique is simple, a pulp of plant fibres is suspended in water, lifted up onto a screen, transferred to a flat surface and left to dry. The technique for making handmade paper has not changed for the last 2000 years and more.

 

I make handmade paper from recycled paper instead of using plant fibres alone, but I often include plant fibres in my pulp.

Seagrass bleached white by the sun and sea salt. I collected a few handfuls from Paros island for papermaking on my return to Athens.

Cooking daffodil stems with soda. After cooking, the plant fibres were rinsed until the water runs clear, debris removed and separated into hard and soft fibres. The softer fibres were blended into a fine pulp.

Lifting the paper pulp onto a wooden screen.

After the first drying stage  the papers are carefully pressed onto a wooden surface to dry, which results in papers with one smooth side and one slightly rough side.