Handmade Paper - Any Tips on What to Do/What NOT To Do???!!!

[M.L. Schaefer]

A very dear and precious friend just sent me two sheets of handmade paper! I have never seen or touched handmade paper before! I now have these two sheets placed between two sheets of my watercolor paper, until I feel my brush is ready for these little treasures! Until then, if any WetCanvas friends have used handmade paper before, can you give me any tips or hints?...What one CAN do or what one should NOT do with this lovely paper? Thank you so very much! (It was just now delivered and I am still all smiles, what a wonderful surprise!)

Margarete

P.S. This round piece is very much smoother than the square piece which is quite rough and quite rustic looking....So would that make a difference when painting?

[Yorky]

Take care, it could be quite absorbent.

Doug

[Studio-1-F]

Doug is probably right. Your friend probably added no "sizing". See this from Wikipedia:

Sizing
Watercolor papers are traditionally sized, or treated with a substance to reduce the cellulose absorbency. Internal sizing is added to the paper pulp after rinsing and before it is cast in the paper mould; external or "tub" sizing is applied to the paper surface after the paper has dried. The traditional sizing has been gelatin, gum arabic or rosin, though modern synthetic substitutes (alkyl ketene dimers such as Aquapel) are now used instead. The highly absorbent papers that contain no sizing are designated waterleaf.

Jan

[Mayberry]

If it isn't sized, you could size it yourself. You could dip it in or brush on some dilute plain gelatin. You could brush on some dilute W&N lifting medium or something. I'm sure I've run across instructions on the internet for sizing paper.

[M.L. Schaefer]

This is interesting..the sizing. I'm thinking that the paper can be used like rice paper and each stroke will be of essential to the entire painting...or search the internet for a "how to" in sizing....Thank you everyone!

Margarete