Handmade Paper with Sweet Corn Husks
The husks from sweet corn make lovely textured hand made paper. From a waste material that is usually thrown away this can be an added bonus.
I loved the way the fibres are so visible in the paper. I was wanting this paper to make Paper covered wire leaves so I only made smallish sheets.
The process is pretty much the same for all handmade paper. Cut the husks into about 2 inch sections and boil with a small amount of caustic soda for about and hour and a half. Then using my craft dedicated blender, I wizzed the mix to a consistent fluid. I transferred this into a basin with some extra water and them scooped out the fibres on a papermaking screen.
Once the paper was full dried, I used gel medium to adhere small pieces of the paper on either side of the leaf skeletons I had made by twisting wire into a leaf shape. When the medium was dry I then trimmed the leaf close to the wire.
What is my current Textile Focus
My interest in textile art is wide and varied. My focus at the moment is on completing panels for my scholarship project Parallels in Maori and Celtic customs and art. I am currently working on a Tromp L’oeil piece that represents the Winter solstice coming through a gap in the hills that was important to both cultures in mapping their seasonal world. the centre piece is hand embroidered and now I am trying to complete the effect of adding small pieces fabrics to create the effect I am looking for