PaperMaking from Plants:
Dracaena Paper
In search of green pulp, I was led to dracaena. I received some form a wonderful sharing papermaker in florida who affirmed that yes, what I only know as a houseplant grows to unimagined height and breadth in the warmth of the Floridian sun,
The draceana paper is yellow with an ever so slight green tinge. In truth, I'm not sure the green is there, or if it's just that the pulp appeared lime green, so I want to believe that the sheet still has green to it.
I began with fresh leaves, cooked them in washing soda, rinsed a lot. Cut them to one inch bits and blendered them, rinsed the pulp and blendered them some more.
I did not have success with the pulled and couched sheets. The dried in the mold sheets are feathery and soft, light as a feather. Not a great paper for writing, but the color and feel is very evocative. I think it would be fabulous for collages, artwork. I wonder if beating might change the character of the paper from soft and fluffy to a stronger/rattly paper. I used both formation aid and methylcellulose in the vat.
The papers shown were formed with a mold and deckle and with an inverted mould. Two were couched and dried on their felts, two were air dried on the mould.
Pulp on, people!
BirdHouse 1, made for Habitat for HumanityAkua Lezli Hope,2002.