recycling: washi tales... August 10, 2010
Recycling: washi tales is a performance based project that explores the aesthetic and spiritual values of recycling paper. I came across this site via the always inspiring Awagami Factory, and it really blew me away. I have always wanted to see how washi paper is made and now I have, thanks to the team behind this production.
Four tales of paper making from different periods of Japanese history unfold on stage, alongside a magical set created by renowned paper artist, Kyoko Ibe. To find out more about the performances click here.
Ever wondered how washi paper is made? Well, wonder no more. On the Washi Tales website is a section on papermaking and it provides a fascinating look into the world of washi paper making. The images below will take you through the 7 steps to making washi paper by hand and it’s truly amazing stuff!
STEP ONE – SCRAPING
Washi paper is made from the inner bark of three different plants: Kozo (mulberry tree), Gampi, and Mitsumata (paperbush). Kozo can be cultivated, while gampi grows wild in the mountains. Cutting branches does not kill these plants, so washi is a renewable resource. The bark is stripped from the cut branches, then after a cooking process, the lighter inner bark is separated from the outer bark.
STEP TWO – SOAKING
The inner bark is then soaked and any impurities are removed by hand. With Kozo fiber, a thickening agent of Tororoai (hibiscus root) is also prepared and strained. Pictured is master paper maker Tamura Tadashi.
STEP THREE – BEATING
The clean inner bark is then beaten with a wooden mallet for quite some time.
STEP FOUR – MIXING
After the bark has been beaten to a pulp, it is put into water and further broken down and mixed. With Kozo, the thickening agent is slowly added. Paper makers can often tell when paper is ready to be formed, by the sound of the water.
STEP FIVE – FRAMING
Pictured above is paper artist, Kyoko Ibe.
This is the most challenging step! Handmade frames are dipped several times into the suspension of water, fiber and tororoai. Tiny particles bind and remain on the screen and when peeled off, reveal a wet sheet of paper. The wet sheet is set in a stack to drain, and the water pressed out.
STEP SIX – BRUSHING
After a stack of new paper has drained, each damp sheet is individually peeled off and brushed smooth onto a flat surface to fully dry. It is sometimes then polished with a dark green camellia leaf.
STEP SEVEN – DRYING
Larger sheets of paper are hung up to dry in addition to being laid out on boards.
To find out more about washi paper visit the Awagami Factory website. They are the experts in handmade Japanese papers and their website is full of interesting facts about washi paper too.
Comments
Ceci — 11 August at 02:28AM
Great documentation of the beautiful paper-making process! So much mastery here…
Casa e Cose — 16 August at 12:00AM
How interesting! And what passion these masters have – i adore that. Thanks for sharing and you have a wonderfull blog, Helena.
Meaghan — 17 August at 12:45AM
This is an amazing process – what a ton of work it seems to be to get one small piece of paper – makes you realize even more how important it is to recycle!!
Justine — 17 August at 08:45AM
Thanks for your comments Ceci, Helena and Meaghan. I found the paper making process fascinating, glad to you guys did too :)
Sarah — 25 August at 06:02AM
You are indeed a lady after my own heart…and your blog just gets better and more dreamy with every post ;)
Justine — 26 August at 04:43PM
Aww Sarah, thank you. Such a nice comment you left me :) So glad you’re enjoying the blog! xo
Marcella Toledo — 16 March at 01:02PM
Justine! your blog is amazing! I’m a brazilian fashion student and totally in love with paper works! My graduate work tells the story of the paper! Thanks for sharing all this information with us!