While visiting family in Europe earlier this year, our head papermaker Rob participated in a Washi papermaking course by Japanese Washi-master Natsuko Ogiwara held at De Middelste Molen, Netherlands. Washi is a traditional Japanese paper that uses the bast (under bark but not woody part of trees) from the Kozo plant.
The first task was to scrape the bark off from the bast so that the bast could be beaten with wooden mallets before being vigorously stirred with a giant bamboo comb. It was surprising how little processing the material needed (cooked in baking soda) and how delicate the silk-thread-like fibres were.
The sheet forming method used in Washi papermaking is quite different from the western tradition and relies on the water being made more viscous. This is achieved by using very cold water and adding a mucilaginous root extract. Then, rather than letting the water drain through the mould, the papermaker moves the water laterally while the fibre settles in the mould, then tips the liquid back into the vat before taking another scoop of water and fibre. Repeating this process enables very thin sheets to be formed with strong connections both laterally as well as vertically.
It was fascinating to learn how the seasonality of traditional Washi papermaking evolved in relation to the annual cycle of farming activities and taking place in the quieter winter season. Now the design of the moulds makes more sense since the handles would keep your hands out of the freezing water most of the time.
The Washi course and conversations with fellow papermakers provided an excellent opportunity to explore a different approach to papermaking and has left us with plenty of ideas to feed back into our own processing methods.
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