Vegetable Papyrus Paper-Part 1

Inspirations, Process, and Techniques

Making my own papyrus paper…..

Learning the process of making my own papyrus paper was certainly an experience. This might not be the right way, but it's just the way I learned how to do it, both in the studio and at home, with an actual press and a makeshift one.

The technique is somewhat straightforward yet complex as it requires precision and a lot of patience. Through this post, I want to provide a detailed guide explaining how I experimented with the paper-making process and learned about different fruits and vegetables that work and the ones that did not work (at least for me), my artist inspiration, materials, the technique itself, etc. The Blog will be a two-part series, with the first one covering the first attempt using an actual press in the studio, while the second part will cover the second attempt done at home using a makeshift press.

To start off, the inspiration…

I came across the work of Margaret Dorfman while researching and was in awe. I was going through an earring-making phase, so my brain was baffled at the thought of being able to create jewelry with vegetables and fruits. So after reading and researching a bit more about her and her craft, I gathered the following. Her art involves showcasing the inherent complexity and beauty of fruits and vegetables. Her inspiration came while she was slicing vegetables and noticed the light passing through them, which, exposed their intricate inner structures. Her curiosity led her to explore the idea of preserving structural integrity and color while maintaining a sense of translucency.

This was a good bouncing off stage for me as I was already leaning towards the idea of taking what I understand from the paper-making process and turning it into some wearable form of jewelry. But first, the real challenge…the process to make sheets of vegetable papyrus paper.

First attempt-Materials, Process, Result:

First Batch and experimentation-

**The raw materials:**
Squash
Zucchini
Apples
Cucumbers
Cabbage
Oranges
Beetroot
Sweet potatoes
Carrot

Vegetables chopped, placed in the water bath, boiled (before and after)

Boiling times for each fruit/vegetable till tender:

**-The key was to not overcook the vegetables and to avoid them forming into a mush. Just tender enough to make them workable.

-So keeping that in mind, these were the boiling times I recorded for each of them:

-Circular squash- 29mins

- Zucchini strips-13 mins

-Straight cut and side cut apples- 12 mins

-Circular cucumbers- 12 mins

-Peeled cabbage- 23 mins

-Sliced sweet potatoes- 26 mins

-Circular carrots- 28 min

Some mid-way concerns and experiments: Figuring out the drying process:

-Experiment 1: Would wax paper absorb the water and not stick to the vegetables?

-Wax paper did not stick to the vegetables but the sheet did not absorb any water hence was not a good pressing option.

-Experiment 2: Would parchment paper absorb the water and not stick to the vegetables?

-Parchment paper did absorb the water to a certain degree but the vegetables stuck to the sheet hence was not a good pressing option.

-Experiment 3: Would fabric interfacing absorb water and not stick to the vegetables?

- Fabric interfacing did absorb water and also did not stick to the vegetable sheet hence was the most successful and effective method to use for pressing.

Sheet Forming: