UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Members from Penn State University Libraries’ Conservation Centre will lead hands-on papermaking sessions this summer from fiber to finish, from petals to paper. The events are scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon on June 10 and July 8 at the Arboretum at Penn State Childhood’s Gate Children’s Garden.
The free event is suitable for all ages and will teach attendees how to use recycled paper fibers and plant fibers, such as flower petals and garden vegetables, to make new handmade paper. Those in attendance will get to take home their own finished paper and an instructional handout. Both regular and decorative paper will be made during the event sponsored by Penn State Outreach.
“Making paper by hand is an engaging, fun and creative activity, which is also considered a high-level skill employed by book artists and conservation experts alike,” said Bill Minter, senior book conservator at Penn State University Libraries. “Understanding the physical properties and processes of how paper is made is helpful to those of us who are responsible for preserving books and other documents. We hope our papermaking event will help participants appreciate both plants and paper in a new way and introduce the art and science of papermaking to a new generation of budding conservators.”