The Art and Craft of Paper

This is a wonderful book that teaches you the essentials of papermaking, decorating paper, marbling, papier mache and bookbinding. The step-by-step instructions accompanied by simple illustrations for each technique or project are easy to follow.The book starts out with a brief history of papermaking. It then teaches you how to make a mold and deckle as well as a paper press. Making pulp from both recycled papers and plants; forming sheets and then drying the paper is then demonstrated. There is a great two-page layout showing the results of using 12 different plants. A variety of techniques for decorating the paper are then covered. Some include fluting, piercing, impressing, weaving, making patterns, using a resist and block printing. Marbling both with and without sizing is also covered. My favorite section uses the decorated papers for three-dimensional art. It covers various papier mache methods as well as how to cover objects such as boxes, tabletops and trays. It also shows you how to make lampshades, window shades/blinds, privacy screens, jewelry, frames, cards, purses and folders. The last section demonstrates bookbinding techniques for single section, multi-section, soft and hardcover books. I have done quite a bit of bookbinding and I felt the instruction here was somewhat lacking and hard to follow. A glossary, index, small list of suppliers and bibliography of books that cover each one of the crafts more in depth is very useful. Overall this book is great for anyone seeking to learn the basics of a variety of paper arts without having to buy a bunch of books. It also makes a great gift.