A cold winter day is a perfect day for a hot, steamy facial. At least, that was my thought as I ironed through 40 sheets of paper, today. My camera couldn't capture the steam that pours off the sheet of handmade paper, during the ironing process. The dryness my skin endures working in the cold water during the pulling process is replenished with moisture during this ironing process.
I make paper in batches of 30-40 sheets and set them to air dry. In the wintertime, drying takes so long that I help speed up the process with a little help from my iron.
The use of old sheets and cotton fabric on top of a wet sheet of paper acts as a cover and keeps the paper smooth and assists in preventing the iron from tearing the wet paper. The paper is usually many shades darker when it's wet. I'm never really sure what the color will be until the paper is completely dry. Once I've ironed the sheet close to dry, I slowly tear back the cotton so that I can lightly run an iron across the face of the paper.
The final product is still fragile. Once I've extracted as much water as possible with the iron, I put all of the sheet together and stack a few heavy books on top so they will remain flat until I'm ready to use them.
Journals are on my agenda.... next weekend.
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