Making Paper!

LEER EN ESPAÑOL

Last Tuesday was Ajpub’s first day at the Morgan and he spent it….pulling paper! Tom Balbo, master papermaker and the Morgan’s Founder and Artistic Director, designed a schedule that put Ajpub’ right into the process. Using a mold and deckle to lift and drain beaten pulp of cotton fibers, he learned to couch (pronounced 'coo-ch') his sheets – transfer the newly formed sheet from the mould to the felts to further drain – and then place them between blotters for drying. He pressed his stacks of handmade sheets and then stacked them overnight in the dry box.

First sheet of paper!

For a first time papermaker, he has impressed everyone with the consistency and evenness of his sheets. And in the days since then, he has pulled more than a hundred sheets!