Making Paper with Lomandra

On the Fibre Arts Take 2 course with Karen Olsen we were encouraged to experiment with foraged plant material. Any plants with fibre in their leaves will make paper. Lomandra is a bushy grass like bush that is often used in landscaping (see picture below) because it is easy care and drought tolerant. Its long leaves make an excellent candidate.

Simply chop up the leaves in about 2 inch pieces and boil for around 2 hours with a tablespoon of caustic soda. Use enough water to cover the plant material. Allow to cool and then wizz in a blender that is specific for craft use. You can usually pick one of these us quite cheaply from a thrift store. In a large basin add some water and then progressively add the slurry. Use a paper making screen to lift the fibres from the water. Allow to drain and tip out onto towels or similar and allow to dry before trying to pick up.

The construct at the top of this post had some statice flowers added to one piece of paper. Once the paper had dried I carefully used a culinary bloow torch to scorch the edges of the paper and rolled it up to create a receptacle. I placed this on a driftwood piece and embellished it with the wood rose from the fir tree that grows in the back of our section. To finish off I added some eucalyptus cinera leaves.