What Are Paste Papers And What Can You Do With Them?

Marie Kelzer Designs at The Word is Art Gallery

Definition:  Paste Papers are decorative papers which are hand painted using brushes, tools and household gadgets to create designs over a surface covered with a paste and acrylic paints mixture.

I make paste papers.  If you have ever visited The Word is Art Gallery, you may have noticed my creations hanging from an old cook’s rack.

The question I always get about making paste papers is – how do you make the paper?  The short answer is, I don’t; what I do is decorate or paint onto a sheet of paper.  However, the term making paste papers is synonymous with decorating paste paper and should not be confused with making a sheet of paper from pulp.  Whatever the long history of paste papers, they are made by bookbinders, paper makers, craftspeople, children’s art classes, printers and bookmaker’s.

There is no one way to make paste papers.  From the paste to the paints, the paper used and to the myriad of techniques employed to create the designs.  All of these are an individual choice.  Just check the internet for recipes to find out how varied they are.  Search Google using “Paste Papers”.  One constant is that anybody can do it!  Making paste papers is mostly compared to finger painting as practiced in elementary schools.

I can only clue you in on the way I make the paste papers and save the other ways for a later time.

THE TOOLS:

1. Paints – I use Golden®, Liquitex® and Utrectht® brands in tubes or containers.  Any acrylic paint will do although some have more body then others.  I use basic color tones of Ultramarine Blue, Chromium Oxide Green, Medium Yellow Azo, Naphthol Crimson, Raw Sienna, Iridescent Gold and Mars Black.  Add paint to plastic containers filled with methyl  cellulose.  Stir with plastic spoons.

2. Paste Paper Powder

   Paste – Wheat flour, rice flour, cornstarch, methyl  cellulose.  My choice is methyl  cellulose paste in a powder form dissolved in water.  I like its working properties and shelf life.  The resulting effect is a flatter non textured feel on the paper.  Ideal for craft projects as the paint once dried on the paper does not crack when folded. Currently I use ethyl Methyl hydroxyethyl Cellulose which I also sell at Marie Kelzer Designs on Etsy.  This water soluble cellulose is used for thickening.  When you add paint it helps to slow down drying time to allow you to create designs using combs and other tools.  Just 1/8 cup or 2 Tbsp. of powder mixed with water yields 14 cups of solution.  Once mixed up the Methyl Cellulose can sit on the shelf for months.  With just 14 cups mixed you can make dozens of paste papers.

3. Various tools

   Paper – I use Mohawk Superfine 80# text, a printing paper, for its durability and softness.   Experiment with any paper you have.  The denser the better.

4. Comb and other tools to drag through the paste paint mixture.  Use chip board to cut teeth for a comb.  Random cuts with lots of valleys and peaks make for more random patterns.
5.  Brushes – Foam brushes widths of 1, 2 and 3 inches to spread the paint/paste mixture.
6.  Painting surface – paint directly on old table or plexiglass.
7.  Kraft Paper and boards for drying

TECHNIQUE:

1. I generally do not pre-wet the paper.  I may lay down a base color but I start out painting color mixture on a dry sheet of paper.  The paper relaxes as you paint.
2. Comb teeth can be cut any size but what creates the design is the way you pull the comb over the paint mixture.  Light vs. heavy pressure, quick vs. slow movements, slanting comb, skewing comb and twisting comb can create very different effects.
3. After each comb run wipe paint residue off if you want a clean comb pattern.  Leave paint residue on comb if you want a more interesting pattern with dots of paint randomly throughout your design.
4. Wearing gloves keeps your hands clean and protects your hands from drying out from washing the paint off of them.
5. Dry flat over kraft paper or on drying rack.  Place the paper under weights and in between boards when dry to completely flatten.

So, you ask – WHAT CAN I DO WITH ALL MY PAINTED PAPERS??  I’ll have to get back to you on that – I’m tired from making all those paste papers!

In the meantime you can take a look at paste papers and products at The Word is Art Gallery  or at www.mariekelzerdesigns.com.

Article by Marie Kelzer

*****************************

Marie Kelzer

Marie Kelzer is a paste paper maker, bookbinder, designer, painter and artist.  Her art comes from her love of making paste papers.  As a trained bookbinder, she discovered the ancient art of mixing paints with a paste mixture to create and paint patterns on paper.

You can read more about Marie and her art here.