New Leaves

Moss pulp leaf no.6  

In the last couple of weeks, I have cast about 10 leaves from the pulp I made in early February. Half of them were made from the blended paper pulp and dyed moss green. Two were made from the torn paper pulp and dyed khaki green. The remaining leaves were made from a composite pulp using the remnants of the two dyed pulps and leftover cotton linter pulp from last semester. 

I've made some progress toward reaching the goals I set in January. I learned that the dye must be used in a higher concentration to more achieve more vibrant results. I also discovered that the blended paper pulp yielded the best results in terms of leaf texture and legible text. The color, however, was less than ideal. Once the pulp was cast, it dried to a hue that appeared more bluish-grey than green. The next step will be to experiment further with color and look for a new source for library catalogue cards. 

This week I will also paint in the veins, experiment with using ink instead of acrylic, and reinforce the back of the leaves with gel medium. The cardstock fibers do not create as strong a pulp as cotton fibers. Its also time to think about using different leaves and begin making some new molds.

Moss pulp leaf no. 2 

Khaki pulp leaf no. 2

Khaki pulp leaf no. 1

Composite pulp leaf no. 2

Composite pulp leaf no. 1