Pulp printing refers to a process of spraying finely beate, pigmented cellulose fibers through a silkscreen, stencil (or other mesh-like objects), onto freshly made paper — versus the traditional methods of pushing ink through a screen or manipulating ink on an etching plate, etc. to produce imagery.
Pulp printing can only be done right after a sheet is formed, while it is still wet (and before it is pressed), allowing the text and/or imagery to become part of the paper instead of sitting on top of it.
I learned this technique from Drew Matott, co-founder of the Combat Paper and The Peace Paper Projects. Matott developed his version of silkscreen pulp printing after learning pulp-stenciling methods from Tim Mosel with Silver Wattle Press.
The work you see here represents my efforts to further adapt the technique for use with translucent Asian-style handmade papers. Using silkscreens burned from my own reductive drawings, I’ve also been experimenting with using other materials as stencils to create imagery, such as leaves, shells or kozo bark.