One of the most amazing benefits that I’ve experienced during this year of firsts has been making new friends. These wonderful people have so many gifts to offer to the world and it has been my privilege to learn from many of them. Tonight, I had fun with Cate as I made paper for the first time.
Cate is the first new friend that I made this year. We hit it off right away, having similar views on life and the world, and it is a joy to be traveling companions. Cate is resourceful, creative and lives life at a high level of awareness. I always love spending time with her. This evening, she invited me to her home for dinner and a lesson on paper making. We enjoyed a healthy and delicious dinner, that included Noosa yogurt and fresh peaches for dessert, easy conversation and much laughter. We caught up on what was going on in our journeys. And then it was time to make paper.
We walked around outside first, looking for natural finds to include in our paper. We snipped red and pink dianthus flowers and orange trumpet vine blossoms and dropped them into a glass bowl. We added bright green blades of grass, fuzzy seeds from a tall weed, purple and green poke berries and delicate silvery leaves from a dusty miller plant.
Back inside, we each selected a piece of paper and tore it into small pieces. Cate saves scrap paper, tissue paper and other left over bits to reuse in her paper making. I thought that was an excellent idea! I picked out a blue scrapbook paper with white dots and added a small piece of lime green tissue paper with silver sparkles imbedded in it. The pieces of paper were dropped into a blender and about three cups of hot water added. I blended the water and paper until the pieces of paper had disappeared and there was a blue liquid in the container. I sorted through our nature finds and added blades of grass, an orange trumpet vine blossom and a couple of purple poke berries. This time I only blended for three or four seconds….just enough time to coarsely chop up the added material.
This lumpy mixture was poured into a box that had been placed in water and to which a mesh screen, support grid and cover had been attached. This provided a mold for the paper to form in. I stirred the mixture with my hand to distribute the materials evenly and then carefully lifted the box straight up. The screen, support grid and cover unfastened from the box to allow the newly formed paper to rest on the table. I removed the screen and the support grid and began the blotting process, flipping the damp paper and removing the cover so I could blot the other side. I used a sponge first, to absorb as much excess water as possible, and then used blotting papers.
Lastly, the paper was placed within a fold of material and I used a hot iron to complete the drying process. The procedure was simple but so interesting. I loved the surprise of seeing how the paper turned out, both in color and texture, as I moved from step to step. Cate did a great job of instructing me while allowing me to do it all myself. I enjoyed watching her create her own sheet of paper next, using scrap white paper and a dianthus flower, blades of grass and a dusty miller leaf. As I watched her work, the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams popped into my head. I snapped a pic of Cate just as she embodied that song, a huge smile lighting up her face. I failed to get a picture of her finished paper, but it was lovely!
What a delightful evening and I got to take home my new creation. I’d like to purchase a paper making kit and experiment with colors and textures, using flowers, grasses and leaves from my backyard garden. I appreciated the paper making lesson from my friend Cate this evening and the shared meal and the great conversation. I intend to frame my beautiful piece of paper as a memento of this evening’s first. And perhaps include a quote from Jim Henson that seems so appropriate: “There’s not a word yet, for old friends who have just met.”
