#elizabeth couzins-scott

[sock-to-the-third]

New Crafts: Papermaking

By Elizabeth Couzins-Scott

History of Paper

It opens up with a brief history of paper. Last book I read on the process also did the same. The usj like Egypt made it first from papyrus, then China, after that spread from there.

What���s got me cutuous is this Ts’au Lun guy who Couzins-Scott claims after he found an alternative to bamboo/silk paper —to— old rags, fishnets and plants (ex hemp and mulberry). They said that “Ts’ai Lun was rewarded for his pains by being imprisoned so that the Chinese government could keep the secret of papermaking.” Kinda skeptical they could keep a secret like that for 600 years but even if there’s a grain of truth in this, I’m super curious.

Note to self: Ts’ai Lun, China, History of Paper

Another tidbit I’m interested in is the printing press. Was there any interesting non-European printing press pre-1453? I find it a bit odd that all the inventions involving papermaking/printing suddenly appear in Europe… hmm… wonder if that’s an oversight or what circumstances may cause that.

Equiptment (pg 16, 19)

Mould and deckle (aka paper scooping stuff)

Liquidizer (aka blender)

Ends up you soak the pulp so to break up the fibers in the recycled paper. Also, a sieve (strainer) helps to make a thicker pulp. Also, if you poor pulp down the drain, it could cause a clog.

I always wondered how big of pieces you should shred it into though. That’s certainly something I’ll experiment with if smaller pieces make things more difficult or easier. Couzins-Scott says to use “postage stamp” size pieces. Also, ends up your not using the blender a crap ton— just short bursts.

Plant Paper (pg25)

This goes into it from scratch rather than recycled paper. Rather than the process grabbing my attention, it was the materials that they suggested like…

Hay (Dried grass)

Straw (Hollowed out stalks)

Grass

Pampas grass

Irises (tuber), Montbretia, Gladioli, Daffodils

Foxgloves

Couzins-Scott goes over the process for straw and “dried” plant fibers. I’m curious if in reference to plants from the lily family and foxgloves if it’s more the leafy stalks coming from the bulb or if you can use the stem too.

Fave Projects

Greetings Card (pg30)

Notepaper Case (pg54)

Japanese Bound Book (pg69)

For the greeting card, the combination of the card and the rough edged paper folded around it with the added cute touch of a ribbon sent me over the moon.

On the other hand, the notepaper case looks stylish and practical.

Meanwhile, I just love the idea of making books so seeing any technique for book binding got me excited. It ends up for that project Couzins-Scott used the “4-whole-binding” technique. I’ll need to look into bookbinding too.

Flourishes

Emboss (pg39)

Embroidery (pg86)

In this case I believe embossed means to “stamp” something on the surface. I have a bit of interest in it but mostly I just love how ritzy the word sounds.

Then I just love the vibe of embroidering on paper. I wouldn’t do it (even though I like embroidering) but the results are absolutely gorgeous. I def hope I see more of that in my reading.

All in all, interesting book. I’d prob more use it as a cross reference to see where the disagreements are so to keep close notes on those when I do my own project in the future.