Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Inuvik (May 17/02) - Making paper is a centuries-old art and it's only been in recent years that people made paper from trees.

Inuvik artist Ruth Wright says paper can be made from almost anything in the grocery store's produce aisle.

Inuvik artist Ruth Wright held a paper-making workshop at the Inuvik Community Greenhouse over the weekend. - Terry Halifax/NNSL photo

"If it's a plant, you can make paper out of it," Wright said.

She held a workshop on paper making last Saturday at the Inuvik Community Greenhouse.

"In this batch I used carrots and savory or thyme...I'm not really sure what. I just reached up into the cupboard and grabbed something green," Wright said, stirring up the soupy concoction. "Then I boiled it all and threw in some sunflower petals."

The vegetable matter is boiled "until you can moosh it down to nothing." Wright says that's usually about an hour or two.

Cotton is added to give the paper strength and uniformity. Raw or processed cotton can be used, but Wright uses an art paper.

"It's called 'cotton linter' -- it's just cotton in a paper form," she explains. "It's available at most art stores, but sometimes you have to really look around.

"You can even go out and get cotton from the sides of the roads, but you're going to need bags and bags of it."

The cotton is torn into bits and soaked overnight in warm water. The next day, the cotton is added to the vegetable mash and pureed in a blender or food processor.

The "slurry" is poured into a tub and other ingredients, like flower petals, can be added for texture and colour.

"Dryer lint works too and if you have cats, their hair make beautiful silky fibres in paper."

Wright uses picture frames and window screen to "kootch" the fibres from the slurry. The slurry is stirred and before it settles, the screened frame is held on the bottom of the tub and slowly raised, screening the mix into the shape of the frame.

"You can make your screen any size or shape, she says.

The frame is inverted onto sheets of blanket quilting, but she says J-Cloths could also be used.

The water is squeezed out and sheets can be stacked one on top of the other, separated by the cloths, or be allowed to air dry separately.

"If you air dry the paper it will be much fluffier," Wright says.

A press can also be used to make very flat, uniform sheets, which require very little drying time.

Before pressing, she stacks the sheets, separating each with a single thread.

The result is a colourful, highly textured product that is, in itself, art, but the paper can be used for a wide variety of things from wedding invitations to greeting cards.