Handmade Paper Sconce

Katy DeMent has creative ways of making her own paper. Her blender is made from an old floor polishing machine. The process also involves DeMent running over the project with her truck.

Materials:

scrap wood from picture frames
tank of hot, raw bee’s wax
paper mold
sponge
light fixture
handmade paper

Materials for handmade paper:
handmade paper (or make your own):
water
blender
shredded paper
cotton, dryer lint
kudzu, azaleas, ferns, etc.
clothesline

1. Collect materials for the paper from the yard, recycle bin, clothes dryer or other places. Shred papers and chop and pound plants.
   
2. Blend fibers with water to make pulp (figure A).
   
3. Set up vat and molds to form sheets (figure B). You can use scrap wood, screens and duct tape to build molds.
   
4. Form the sheets by charging the vat (stirring the bucket). Dip the mold in pulp and let water drip out.
   
5. Add inclusions of plant materials to pulp sheet (figure C). Trap plant matters by dipping fibers into pulp and dropping them on to the wet sheet
   
6. Couch the wet paper sheet (basically flip it over dramatically) and press with a sponge. An old couch cushion works well for this.
   
7. Remove mold and reveal the formed sheet.
   
8. Dry the paper by hanging it on a clothesline (figure D).
   
9. Apply dry papers to wooden and wire forms bent into three-dimensional sconce shape (figure E).
   
10. Dip it in hot raw bee's wax (about 130 degrees) in huge metal tank.
    
11. Drip to cool wax.
    
12. Wire for electricity with UL-approved fixtures and appropriate wattage (figure F).