Sunday, Apr. 29, 2012 - 6:21 a.m.

So the tart pan ring turned out to be useless. In the end I poured pulp directly onto a screen and had this weird free-form thing, because why not? What do I need straight edges for, really? The couching did not go well, but I did get a little test piece maybe 4 inches or so-- folded the cotton sheet over it, pressed it under a cement block overnight. This morning it was mostly dry and hanging together ok. I could pick it up, anyhow-- don't know what'll happen when I cut it.

It's not too bad looking. Very mottled and variegated looking, with some giant thick fibers running through it. But like I said, I don't think that's a bad thing for my purposes. You could never write on it, but who cares?

Ok, I'm kind of half-assed as a papermaker. I wouldn't want to show off my sheets as such. But really. Function, function, function.

I do still want a proper mold and deckle, though. I don't want to be restricted to this half-assed system I've got. Other fibers may call for other treatments. In particular, there's this tall weed we have growing in several places here-- I think I'm going to do that next. Sort of thistle-like, but with yellow flowers. Since our landscaper never came, I have quite a few large specimens around. I bet they'll do great.

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