! Elements !

Paste Papers from Our Precious Earth Project

Making paste papers from scratch; digging local clays to color paste to create decorative papers and cloth with unleashed imagination.

Do we really pay attention to how we use these basic building blocks of our lives; the soil, sub-soils, clays beneath our feet, water and air? How do we use (or abuse and waste) these resources? What can digging, touching, feeling, breathing, smelling, seeing, mixing, and using it teach us?

From beneath our feet;
Earth pigments

Make your own paint from locally gathered pigments to learn more about the world we live in, and the importance of caring for it!

These pigments can be a basis for stunning book covers and other projects. My goal is to make a paste paper sample specimens book that includes clays starting here in the USA and Territories, eventually from sites world wide! (Links and tools) to participate and learn!

Join me!

I am collecting clay from all over the US and worldwide! Please! Send me your local clay! Learn how to collect clay that will make good paints and pastes. Find out how to refine it to have a smooth pigment. Or, if you choose, going fast and loose, learn how to work with rough variable sized pigment particles – both options are fun! Soil horizon chart.

Resources for further information. (Links and tools) to participate and learn!

Paste recipe

Paint is basically a pigment (from various organic or inorganic sources) held together with a binder and water. This recipe is a basic paste recipe (Links and tools) used to make paste paints for paste papers. Make your own paste, add the pigment from your own clay.

Elements.

The process

Making your own paste papers is fun and everyone can do it! Decorate papers using all sorts of ways; from fingers, paws, to homemade tools from recycled materials found in your home!

How to do it: ( Links and tools)

Host a party or invite a pet and get busy making art!

For detailed information of proposed activity on this project please visit Welcome to Elements!

As a “Thank you for digging local clay for this project, those who send local clay to me for use in the !Elements! Project are sent a chap book like one of these, with paste papers made with my local Maryland clay!

Please visit the Contact Me page to order items or custom work: https://dawnartdesign.com/contact-me/