Making paper

 I've always been fascinated with paper products of all kinds - notes, bags, toys, paper sheets, jewelry, serviettes, … What fabulous things could be made of a simple paper sheet - just look for origami or paper mache or scrap booking. Nowadays, when it is so available, we are not paying attention on it, but imagine for a moment, how our life would look like without it. Like an old friend we were taking for granted and shocked when he/she left us for some reason.

Is making paper industry, craft or art? Or all of that? Is the tradition preserved? Read some information about making paper. And, not to forget, you can play creating handmade paper. I like to add seasonal flowers from my garden treasuring their beauty within the paper sheet.

 Follow this easy step-by-step  tutorial on Michelle's blog  and find out how to make paper at home .

Korean paper - Hanji

Like everything, technology is taking over in the area of producing paper as well. It is difficult to preserve tradition. Koreans are making paper from the mulberry tree bark for more than 1600 years. There are just few traditional factories left, hopefully they will stay another 1600 years. Mulberry tree grow in low-lying hills and fields throughout Korea and its fibers are especially long, resilient and shiny. Korean paper or Hanji has many qualities which make it an exceptional product: It is durable, it can indeed last for well over a thousand years, it is smooth to the touch, it ventilates well, it isolates well and finally it is sheen and translucent. Look at this beautiful  photos  of hanji traditional factory or watch the video to learn more about
hanji making process.

Japanese paper - Washi

 

  Admiring the beatiful Washi art, I remembered the Japanese napkin I got decades ago, when I was a young girl. It was very popular at that time to collect paper napkins and I had a lot of them. And one day, I got a very special one - it was Japanese, so soft and delicate, but actually strong, translucent and very light, like made by sprites. I had feeling it came from another world. This napkin became my the most precious treasury, princess of all other ones. Only recently I recognized it was made in traditional, Japanese way.
Paper was introduced in Japan in the 7th century and from beginning played important role in Japanese life. Traditional Japanese paper or Washi is made from the gampi tree bark, mitsumata schrub or kozo but rise, bamboo, hemp or wheat are used as well. Washi is tougher than paper made from wood pulp and translucent, providing number of different opportunities for the use. Watch this video if you would like to learn more about Washi tradition.

Industry



Picture is taken from the site: http://individual.utoronto.ca/abdel_rahman/paper/fpmp.html

Paper industry plays today very important role. It might not be so attractive like traditional manufacture, but provides us inexpensive mass paper products. Some interesting general information how paper is made find  here and  on this site as well.