recycling watercolor paper

[karenboss]

years ago I read that you can soak, blend (as in a blender) then re shape, flat the cotton fibers in wc paper to re make a new sheet. But who remembers all the details of what was read years ago??

My bathtub is full of scrapes of paper and water, because I never wait for advise before begining a new project :rolleyes: but if anyone has any experience / sage advise as I move forward please in put here.

Much obliged –

http://karenboss.com

[DebSpinks]

Here’s a link to making handmade paper.

One thing to be aware of is that your re-made paper won’t have the standard sizing that premade watercolor paper has, so you may get some interesting surprises when you paint on the handmade paper.

Have fun!

Debra

Debra
Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.
Debra Spinks Art on Facebook & Instagram

[Bob(2)]

LOL, Karen, just take it outside and hose it down, scrub here and there, let it dry….and tone it before you paint…you will have an interesting back ground to paint on. Of course, I just turn mine over and paint again…

Re-making paper…I just wouldn’t have the time…and not sure of the results!

"All colors are the friends of their neighbors and lovers of their opposites." - Mark Chagall
My art Blog: http://www.watercoloradventure.blogspot.com/

[Laudesan ( JJ ) Queensland Australia]

I am thinking if you soaked your paper and mashed it up in a kitchen whiz, add something to the water to size it and put it in a strainer to drain out the excess liquid.

Then you put the mash into a paper making frame (google for info) and press it and when it is dry paint on it.

I guess…..

JJ

JJ
Let go of past mistakes and hurts. Forgive and empower yourself. Live the life you were meant to live. And, be at peace with yourself.
MY BLOG
My Youtube videos

[karenboss]

Hose it down! You must live in Florida! my hose is froze! Although I get your point & a tub bath for paper would be lots easier – I think I need a break from painting and this is a fun project –

Thanks for the link Debra – very helpful!

yea, JJ, sorta like that only the pulp doesn’t spread out easily unless it’s really watery – when I tried to press it it was very resistant to spreading out – not like dough at all – I added cornstarch to the second sheet/batch- do you think that’ll serve as sizing? I guess we’ll see…

I have two sheets drying as we speak & will post some pics of the process if it works – I’m afraid the first sheet will crumble – it was very lumpy

http://karenboss.com

[jcpope]

Hello All,

Yes, I recycle the “experiements” and the cheap watercolor paper – you know, the student grade. Sometimes I will “wash” the paint off, either by soaking in water or hosing it down. Then when it’s dry, I run it through the paper shredder, cuts everything up in nice size pieces and I don’t have to do it by hand. Then I take all the shreds and put them in a large bowl with some water. Soak for a while until it’s soft. I use a Cusinart hand blender, but a regular blender would probably work even better. Make mush out of it. Then I put it through a fine strainer. Take the remaining paper clay and, here comes the fun part, I put it in my shortbread cookie molds. Take a sponge and sop out the water. Carefully pull the paper cast out of the mold and let it dry. Cookies without calories!! I paint them to look like cookies and use them as gift tags or fancy greeting cards. You can get fancy paper mold, but what do you know, they look just like shortbread cookie molds.

I’ve read that you can add just a drop of dishwashing detergent to get a little better mix with pulp. Never tried it. I have tried added newspaper and that works pretty well, but it will make your cast gray in color. You can, obviously, add a little paint and have “colored” paper.

It’s a lot of fun, a bit messy and a good break from painting.

Jan

[Laudesan ( JJ ) Queensland Australia]

Jan, Love the cookie cutter Gift Tags!!!

Looking forward to reading your results Karen..:)

JJ
Let go of past mistakes and hurts. Forgive and empower yourself. Live the life you were meant to live. And, be at peace with yourself.
MY BLOG
My Youtube videos

[karenboss]

Ok, progress of sorts,
soak – I added bleach because I want the paper to be white. There’s no telling if this will have an adverse affect when I go to paint.

blend
I discovered that this can be hard on the blender. Use plenty of water in small batches

the resulting pulp

I took an old table cloth and stapled it to an unusable picture frame, 30 x 36,

then suspended the frame over the tub and poured the mash onto it. the water drainded through, but the paper is still too thick. This is my second sheet, the first is really thick. I tried pressing it but the paper peeled up badly so the second batch I made the pulp more watery and poured it as evenly as possible over the frabric of the frame

now this is the third or fourth day and it is still soaking wet. I think it’s too thick too. Still some edges that flaked off when I was trying to press it have dried and I have painted them, very disappoining. The paint just seeps through. I’m going to buy some unflavored gelaten at the store and brush it on the surface to see if that will work. Oh, I added corn startch to the second sheed. Don’t know why, and I don’t think it helped.

more later.

http://karenboss.com

[Laudesan ( JJ ) Queensland Australia]

Karen I am loving your thread..:)

I would ad the gelatine to the water myself, that way the sizing is all through the paper an not just on the top. But hey brushing it on the top might work too.

Can’t wait for your next update!!!!!!!

JJ
Let go of past mistakes and hurts. Forgive and empower yourself. Live the life you were meant to live. And, be at peace with yourself.
MY BLOG
My Youtube videos

[jcpope]

Hello,

From my experiments in recycling, I found that really fine hardware cloth, or you may know it as window screen material works the best for making paper – it lets the water drain, but is fine enough to hold the fibers. If you’re not up for making a special trip to the home improvement store, you might try nylon curtain material (“sheers”) – it should be strong enough to hold the fibers but porus enough for good drainage, especically if stretched. ( I have tried this, but found that it’s really dependent on just what kind of material you have.)

When I do make paper, I put the pulp in a large dishpan or plastic tub, stir it all up and slide the screen in the water. Then lift the screen out slowly and the pulp will be distributed fairly evenly. According to a friend of mine who excells at hand made paper, the real trick is getting the water out of the pulp on the sceen. She says to use a sponge, push down and wring out until you think you’ve got it all, then use some paper towels. The process of pushing down with the sponge helps the fibers to “knit” together. I have never been able to get it as thin or as firm as the store-bought stuff – maybe due to sizing. Ironing helps to smooth the paper- your own “hot press”.

Hope this helps you out some.

Jan

[karenboss]

Jan, do you paint on the paper? Do you add anything to help the surface retain the pigment??
thanks for the tips.

http://karenboss.com

[juneto]

I don’t know ??? Have you ever seen the Presses they use to make the Papaer . They are Giant Heavy Steel Rollers, aand there are many other processes before they get a Sheet .
American Watercolor ha d a whole aricle some time back on how they di it .
Since the Paper is 100% Rag , not sure it is wise to use Bleach .it will disintegrate .
Wishing you Good Luck and Sucess . Will befolllowing your Progression ..
June:)

Follow your Bliss and the Universe will open doors for you , where there were only walls. Joseph Campbell

http://blogmomcom.blogspot.com/

[jcpope]

Karen,

I don’t add anything to the paper pulp, but I have read that liquid starch makes good sizing for paper. I guess it depends on your desired end result.

I do paint on my casts, but the paint sinks right in and it takes multiple layers or watercolor to get good color. Most times, I use watered down acrylics rather than watercolor. I don’t use the hand made paper for my “serious” works of art, but rather for greeting cards and gift tags.

It makes me feel better about paying so much for paper when I can at least recycle the pieces that don’t turn out so well. And there’s something very theraputic about turning the mistakes and experiements into something useful.

If you’re still looking for something to use to mold the sheet, this website, http://www.wipapercouncil.org/makepaper.htm suggest using an old nylon stocking. That should work pretty well – easy to stretch over the frame and would let the water through.

It’s just pure old messy fun!

Jan

[kake]

its fun(for a teenager) but i think its overkill you could just recycle it in bin and use that time to produce more watercolor just my 2 cents.

[karenboss]

OH, Kake, Bob, your right! June, your right – it just falls apart. It’s finally dry and I don’t think the sheet will hold together if it gets wet.
I think Jan’s got the idea – or maybe bigger sculpture if you could get a mold right, and hallow it out becuse it takes so long to dry and I think it would mold. or maybe fold the sheets while they’re partly dry to create sculpture…
For now I’m binning the project –

oh well fun experiment, thanks for partaking

http://karenboss.com

[Author]

Posts