in this ‌introductory ‌session, you will meet the teachers,have an overview of the programme, and get familiar with the online resource area. We will consider how you can get set up for starting papermaking at home. What the basic equipment and materials you might need, with ideas for making a simple and affordable set-up using items you may already have in the home.

This talk covers a history of the invention, and movement of paper from China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, India, Samarkand and into Europe and the US. I also discuss the traditional methods of fiber prep, the tools and techniques that set the papermaking traditions in these areas apart, and why certain developments took place, and how that affected paper, its use, and the spread of papermaking.

In this session you will be shown the range of equipment needed for paper making at home. You will learn how to make your own moulds and deckles in a simple and cost effective way with regular household objects. We will also consider what chemicals might be involved in the process of paper making and think about good practice when it comes to the materials we choose and the environment around us.

During this session you will learn about various materials we throw away everyday and how these can be recycled and made into paper from paper bags, dryer fluff, packaging to vegetable and garden waste. You will be guided through the process step by step of collecting, processing and making sheets of paper to the finished dry sheets. Experimentation is key so you are able to equip yourself with the knowledge and skills to transform the waste from your home into something beautiful and useable.

In this creative workshop, you’ll discover how everyday waste materials can be transformed into beautiful, organic 3D sculptures. You’ll learn how to make handmade paper using waste paper, old cotton clothing and fabric scraps, exploring the process from pulping and forming sheets to creating your own sculptural material. We will also give discarded plastic bottles and punnets a new lease of life, using them as moulds to shape and form your handmade paper into three-dimensional sculptures. I’ll guide you through each stage of the process, from making the paper to moulding and building a finished piece. A playful exploration of natural forms and texture using repurposed materials, this workshop is all about discovering the creative potential in materials that might otherwise end up in the recycling bin.

In this class, participants will learn how to process plants for papermaking. There are several plants that are good for making into paper and fall is the best time to harvest what you have in your yard or in neighbourhood. Participants will learn how to identify which part of the plant might be good for papermaking, how to process the plant for fiber by steaming, stripping, cooking, or all three, how to process fiber into pulp and how make simple sheets of paper from materials you may have around the house.

Description goes hereIn this demonstration, participants will learn about how to mordant and dye two types of pulp which can then be used to make paper. Each pulp takes dye differently and behaves differently to being heated. We will also go over how to make small tester sheets with the dyed pulp.

This talk will focus on the regional approaches to papermaking, and how certain geographic locations resulted in certain fibers or tools being used in paper production. We will look at historical images and examples of tools and their contemporary counterparts.

This lecture explores the profound interconnection between botany, ink, and the birth of written culture. By looking at the physical nature of the papyrus plant and paper, we will examine how the qualities and limitations of its fibers guided how history was recorded, ideas shared, and secrets preserved. We will trace the journey of how a river reed, combined with the fluids of early inks, allowed the fleeting spoken word to take root, giving rise to the very first books and the development of what we now know as written knowledge.

This session will dive into how it is possible to make coloured paper from found coloured pulp. What colours can we find naturally in our everyday environment and we will consider the longevity of those colours. You will be shown a wide variety of papers made with coloured pulp and encouraged to look differently at the waste your home and garden produces. This lesson sits very well alongside a practice of natural dying, ink and pigment making using up the waste from these practises, but not exclusively. There is so much we throw away that could be utilised here.

In this demo, participants will learn how to pigment highly beaten pulps for pulp painting, how to work with layers of pulp, and use brushes and stencils to create patterns imagery.

In this class, participants will learn how to use external sizing to make the paper surface impervious to inks. We will discuss different materials that can be used for sizing papers at home and pros and cons of each.