Creativity Begins with the Paper

Each sheet of handmade paper is unique, destined to play an important role in the final work of art, sometimes as a simple support, others as part of the work, and sometimes forming the whole of the work itself. Paperki obtains from the stems, internal barks, leaves and fruit of plants like cotton, musa textiles, daphne, etc., the fibers which are the raw materials of their papers. It is these noble materials which guarantee the most important characteristics of Paperki papers for fine-art use: longevity, brilliance, opacity, contractability and, above all, creativity..

Traditional Methods

After selecting the appropriate fiber, it is refined by chopping and maceration and, when appropriate, colored with pigments (Sandoz or Bayer) which guarantee imperviousness to light.

The Paperki workshop uses the traditional frame and counterframe with a metal screen. The frame is immersed in the tank which contains the dyed fiber pulp and the proper amount of water to produce a paper of a given weight.

Wet Work

Once drained of excess water, the frame is immersed in another tank with another color. This process continues until the desired effect is achieved, and then the resulting mass is pressed to create a sheet of paper. For special jobs Paperki utilizes Japanese or Nepalese elaboration techniques.

Special techniques and tools developed by Paperki permit them to achieve lines of colored pulp in their papers, either free form or precisely calculated in given widths, as well as areas of color, color fusions, changes of thickness, texture, etc. All of these variations permit the creation of unique works in any medium.

Drying, a Critical Process

The finished paper is then dried, at times in the air so it contracts (then and not later!) or on different backings to achieve varied effects. All Paperki papers are of neutral PH and free of any contaminating agents. They are also all based on cold-strained masses, which guarantees their stability.