I have been to science labs and examined paper being tested for strength, absorption, thickness, and fiber quality; observed currency papers being made with beautiful watermarks; and learned about fibers, the machines that prepare them, the way they are grown, dyed, dried, coated with minerals, embossed, de-inked, and recycled. I always leave a site thirsty for more information and ready to translate my observations into my own practice. There are two mills in particular which I visit regularly. Both sites have given me a profound look into the world of the machine papermaker, and each has continued to help me improve my skills. The Weidmann Whiteley Papermill, in Pool, North Yorkshire, specializes in producing paper with a unique combination of recycled denim thread and wool giving it the right amount of resilience to serve as calender bowls. These large, blue rolls, 30 feet long (ten meters) and 3 feet (one meter) in diameter, are sold to the papermaking industry for machines used to calender or polish newspaper or magazine paper. Frogmore Paper Mill is in Hemel Hempstead, near London. The world's first continuous papermaking machine was installed here by the Fourdrinier brothers in 1803. The mill has always produced recycled paper and continues to do so today on a 1902 Hand Papermakers Find Inspiration from the Paper Industry jonathan korejko Calender bowl made with recycled blue denim paper from the Weidmann Whiteley Papermill in Yorkshire, England. Photo: Toby Albrecht. Above: Jim Patterson (left) with Roberto Mannino (center) and Marilyn Wold watching the first bit of pulp flowing onto the wet end of the Pilot Machine during the October 2011 Dard Hunter Conference, Frogmore Paper Mill, England. Courtesy of Brian Queen. Roberto Mannino, untitled drawing from the Machinae series, 2011, 42 x 30 cm (16.5 x 11.8 inches), pen and ink on inkjet paper, drawn during the 2011 Dard Hunter Regional Conference at Frogmore Paper Mill, UK. This drawing depicts a pulp-painting machine, quoting Leonardo's mechanical drawings and inspired by industrial paper machines. Mannino remarked, "I always feel inspired by the technical aspects of papermaking, so looking at those machines is daydreaming for me." Courtesy of the artist. paper machine. Frogmore is run by Apsley Paper Trail, a charitable trust, as a heritage, leisure, and education center, encompassing a visitor center, museum, gallery, and shop. It also runs a recycling program for schools, turning schools' waste paper into new paper on the mill's Pilot Machine. Tiny compared to most, the Pilot Machine is only 25 feet (7.6 meters) long and 2 feet (0.6 meters ) wide, and can make 100 tons of paper per annum (compared to 200,000 tons in the big mills). The Pilot Machine makes novelty paper using materials such as recycled denim, flower petals, wasp nests, elephant dung, and seeds. It also produces technical paper, for instance, rag blotters for conservators. The Pilot Machine forms the centerpiece of the mill visit. Because of its size and accessibility, the machine is an excellent teaching tool to introduce how a fourdrinier works. In the fall of 2011, hand papermakers involved in the British Dard Hunter conference used the machine to make rose petal paper. Jim Patterson manages the Pilot Machine and also runs a hand papermaking unit at Frogmore and in Somerset, making high-quality, world-famous watercolor papers known as "Two Rivers Paper." Patterson is a fourth-generation hand and machine papermaker with a lot of experience. "Running a small papermaking machine like the one I use at Frogmore requires just as much skill as making paper by hand," remarked Patterson. "The materials are the same, the physics is the same. The two processes are very similar and I don't separate them in my mind when I am working. They are a means to the same end." "Being a good papermaker implies that you have a deep understanding of the fibers and the science involved," Patterson continued. "It doesn't matter whether you have gained that knowledge through hand papermaking or by running a machine. You have to understand the material, and solve problems with it as they occur. The more you understand the fibers in the vat or on the machine, the better you will perform when something needs changing. You'll find that, over time, you'll become interested in all sorts of machines and techniques for making paper, and always want to learn more. Hand papermakers and machine makers each have something to gain from the other's expertise. If you understand both processes, you will be a quicker learner, and a better papermaker." I have visited Frogmore many times, and I always return home with a new outlook on my work. The combination of heritage site, recycling unit, hand- and machine-made papers convinces me that almost anything is possible in the world of papermaking, and that I owe it to myself and the people I teach to learn as much as I can about paper in all its forms. Papermills are amazing places, and I recommend that you try and arrange a visit. You'll be surprised at how much there is to discover!
