Paper Made From Old Clothes
The paper made from clothing used in my three most recent sculptural jewelry pieces — Puente Hills Couture, Apex en Vogue, and Altamont Allure — were made by wonderful papermakers Anne Beck and Dietmar Krumrey. Anne and Dietmar are co-owners of of the Lost Coast Culture Machine, a Gallery that hosts exhibitions, performances, talks, films, collaborative projects & mini-residencies, with a focus on interdisciplinary & sustainable creative practice. The programming is in part supported by sales of paper made by hand in the traditional European method in the adjoining mill.
They make beautiful fine art paper & stationery using locally harvested plants, including highly invasive pampas grass, and locally collected rag – clothes & linens un-saleable at thrift stores & saved from the landfill.
to make the paper I used Anne and Dietmar cut up cotton clothes being thrown away thrift stores because they were un-sellable. Then the small pieces of cloth were beaten into pulp, then mixed with water, drawn into sheets, and finally pressed and dried, without all the poisonous chemicals used in the production of wood-based papers.
Click here to learn more about their paper