Once you have the whole thing just the way you want it. It is all laid out with paper pulp and it is nice and smooth and even we can start the process of removing the water from it. The pulp now is bound together loosely with all those strands of cellulose. Pressing it and draining the water will bind it all together and dry it out.
We are going to remove all the water in stages.
First start with a piece of screen. Place it on the paper and press down on it.
Using some type of absorbent material like a chamois or sponge on top of the screen will help a lot.
The paper pulp is sensitive so you should be careful at this point. Side to side swiping action is generally not recommended. Pressing down and dabbing in a down pressure is recommended.
A firm and heavy pressing down motion is really good at this point. It will help bind the cellulose strands together. You can go ahead and lean right into this. Put your weight on it.
Squeeze the excess water out of your sponge frequently.
Wonderful. Gently peel that screen up. Move the screen over and do another area. Continue like this until the whole thing is done.
Remember that at any point you can add more pulp to thicken any weak spots or thins.
Now we are going to blot more water out of it. But with out the screen. Use some kind of a soft and absorbent material to do this. A chamois, strong paper towels or couching paper like we are going to use.
(Couching paper is a special type of paper used in paper making. It is thick, very absorbent and strong. It absorbs water well and it can be used over and over.)
A.grummer 20/Pk Large 9.25x11.75 Couch Sheets
Couching is the process of removing wet, newly formed sheet from a papermaking screen. Couch sheets are specially designed blotters used to couch, press and dry your paper. They are specially treated to absorb water without sticking to or damaging the paper and are re-useable.
So go ahead and apply the couching paper to your whole sheet of paper, doing it in stages and blotting firmly by pressing down. We are continuing to remove the water. if you don't have couching paper use a substitute.
Ok, we have taken a lot of the water out of the paper and it seems to be paper! Wonderful. Next we have to get it off the screen. Then we finish the drying of it.
Now we are going to do something called couching! This is the process of flipping it and removing it from the screen. Typically we would use couching paper for this but we don't have any this large so we will do it another way.
Lay your screen and paper on a table.
 Let's continue
The Organic Artist: Make Your Own Paint, Paper, Pigments, Prints and More from Nature
It's time to go back to basics! If you're interested in art, but find that it's becoming an increasingly expensive hobby, The Organic Artist is just the book for you! It encourages us all to return to those days when art was made with all-natural materials, such as charcoal and birch bark. Immersing you in the natural world, The Organic Artist seeks to inspire creativity by connecting you to your organic roots. In addition to offering a wide variety of suggestions for using nature as supplies for art, this book also introduces the concepts of awareness and perception that are foundational to the creative process. Readers will refine drawing skills, as well as increase their appreciation for the visual arts and the natural landscape. Some of the projects and skills covered include the following: making paper and wild ink, working with soapstone, clay, wood, and rawhide, printmaking and stenciling, natural pigments and dyes, camouflage and body painting, and nature journaling.
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