Introduction

For our project, we will be combing two Japanese papermaking practices: (1) the formation of Japanese washi paper and (2) the use of that paper with the Japanese marbling technique known as suminagashi.

In our project, the first purpose of our experiment will be to determine what sort of paper works best with suminagashi. This will entail the comparison between standard Japanese washi paper made from kozo, printer paper, watercolor card stock and sized paper made from cotton pulp. As a result, we will see whether the suminagashi technique will work with better with some form of western style paper or with Japanese washi. Furthermore, we will experiment with suminagashi styles: blowing, fanning, stirring, etc.

The ink floats on unthickened water and bumps into other colors on the water’s surface without blending. An effective paper will accept the ink as it transfers from the surface of the water to the surface of the paper. The paper must be able to sustain the wetness without deteriorating and quickly accept the ink from the water.

Our original interest in this experiment came more from the aesthetic appeal than the scientific. The idea of working with paper and ink sounded interesting and peaceful as it involved very few chemicals and no loud machinery. As this is a chemistry class, however, we were interested in taking a scientific approach to what would normally be an artistic endeavor. We had already experienced Western style papermaking in the Stevenson papermaking factory and in laboratory procedures, but we were curious about the Eastern method. We were also fascinated by the marbleized papers we had seen in books or film.

Background

Washi is a kind of Japanese paper that can be made from ganpi, bamboo, hemp, rice, mitsumata or paper mulberry (otherwise known as Kozo). We used kozo wood as it is the most plentiful material here in the United States. Washi is stronger than most paper made from wood pulp and is used in a variety of traditional Japanese arts such as Origami, Shodo (Japanese Calligraphy) and Ukiyoe (woodblock prints). Making Washi is simpler than normal paper because it requires fewer chemicals.

Suminagashi is the Japanese technique of decorating paper with inks and is arguably the oldest form of marbling, dating back 2,000 years. The process is simple. You drop a small amount of Japanese ink onto a water surface, use a liquid, called sumifactant, to disperse it across the water’s surface, and then pick up the ink with a sheet of white paper laid across the water.

Hypothesis

Our prediction for this experiment is that the washi paper will do the best job of absorbing the inks and that the use of stirring and black inks will produced the clearest image.

Procedure

Raw Materials and Chemicals

5 sheets of watercolor card stock

1 sheet of paper made from cotton pulp

240g kozo

Wood Ash

Washing Soda (Na₂CO₃)

Polyarcrylamide synthetic formation aid1/5 table spoon + 800ml water

Equipment

Cooking Pot

Small basin

Stirring Rod

Press Boards

Felts

Vats

Mould and deckle

Su

Large plastic bucket

One large tub

Drying board

Large stick

3 Japanese Brushes

6 liquid paints

1 bottle of surfactant

Washi Procedure

• Because another student had already experimented with washi paper using kozo bark, there was 480 grams of harvested and embarked kozo fiber.
• Fibers were cooked for about 3 hours in a wood ash solution (pH 11) using a hotplate and a large metal pasta pot.
• Since the fibers did not split easily against the grain, they were soaked overnight and then cooked again for an hour in a soda ash (4 tablespoons) solution in a large pasta pot until the fibers split against the grain and again soaked overnight.
• The fiber was laid out on a wooden board, wet, and beaten with heavy wooden sticks until flat, then wetted, folded like a burrito, and beat again. This process continued for about 20 minutes, after which the fibers were sufficiently beaten. In order to test for sufficient beating, a pinch of fiber is placed in a small, clear beaker and examined for large strands; if there are none, the papermaking process can continue.
• The pulped fiber was rolled into two large orange-sized balls and then carefully mixed into a large tub of water.
• Formation aid was added to the water along with the fiber.
• The su was soaked with the mesh attached in a basin filled with cold water. The wet su was placed on top of the mould (sewn edge near, mesh side up). The deckle was placed on top of the su and its edges were aligned with the mould below. While grasped along the side, the mould was raised until almost perpendicular to the water’s surface. The near edge of the mould was slid into the stock about 15 cm from the near side of the vat and in the same movement lowered and twisted so as to scoop a load of stock out of the vat. The su is tilted so as to allow the fiber and water to run off. This is repeated a total of three times in quick succession. Afterwards, the mould should be dipped into the vat to take another load of pulp, but this time the pulp is to be rolled back and forth on the su. This is to be repeated until the paper seems to have a suitable thickness. At that point, one tilts the mould so that the water drains out of the side and then the sheet was couched.
• The sheets were couched onto pelons and stacked in between two large felts.
• Afterwards, the sheets were placed between boards and hydraulically pressed and then brushed onto a drying board. The wet sheets were placed on the board and then the wrinkles and bubbles were brushed out beginning from the center and moving out.
• The sheets were left to dry overnight on the boards.

Washi Making Observations

            At first, we would have attempted to beat the fiber into pulp and make the paper after the first cooking. However, papermaking expert Julie Jones pointed out that it would be best to cook the fibers again until they parted effectively, and I am glad that we did so. The fibers were still much too tough after the initial cooking to be beaten effectively.

            During cooking, the water changed from colorless to dark brown. After cooking, it was necessary to wash the kozo fibers with cold water. It was also essential to remove the hard, black crust from the fibers, as these would not be beaten and would disturb the paper formation process. The cooking itself did not seem to have much of a smell, although it did have an odor similar to boiling pasta. Kozo bark itself does really have a smell, nor does soda or wood ash.

            The beating process was fairly simple. The soaked and cooked fibers were placed in clumps on wooden boards and beaten until one heard more wood colliding than mashing fiber. Then the fiber was folded, like a burrito, and wetted and then beaten again. When we could take a pinch of fiber, put it in water and not see any long strands, it was possible to make the pulp into washi paper.

            The paper formation was messy, but not difficult. There was a lot of water splashed around. We were told to keep dipping the su and pouring off the excess water until the su mat seemed slightly blurry. Washi paper is not supposed to be thick, so it only takes a thin layer of pulp to make a strong, effective sheet of paper.

Suminagashi Procedure

• Place vat on vat stand
• Place a bowl for each color, and to each bowl its own brush, off to the side
• Put a few drops of sumifactant in each paint bowl
• Use two brushes for color and one for sumifactant
• Hold sumifactant brush in one hand, the other two in the other hand
• Apply one ink in centre of water, lightly dipping brush
• Next, apply surfactant brush to resulting ink-circle
• Move ring using paint brushes and techniques like blowing, fanning and stirring
• When pattern is sufficient, take one sheet of paper and, holding the lower left corner with left hand and upper right corner with right hand, quickly touch left corner down first and then roll remainder of sheet onto surface. Avoid air bubbles by doing this smoothly. Remove paper using dowel
• To dry, place papers on drying board at steep angle or use blotter paper

Variations in Suminagashi: involve creating the “lines” of ink

1) Amount of color/surfactant in given application, determined by:

• how much ink/surfactant is in the brush
• how long brush is held to the water
• to what depth the bristles are pushed into the water
• Pattern of application of colors, like:
• color A / surfactant / color B / surfactant / color A / surfactant / color C
• color A / color B / color C / surfactant / color A / color B
• Intervals of time between color and surfactant application
• Location on water’s surface where color and surfactant applications are made
• If and how the surface of vat is disturbed after ink application
• Time interval between last ink application and transfer of ink to paper sheet
• Amount of water in vat absorbed by brushes, which dilutes the strength of color and surfactant

Further manipulation of lines into patterns:

• Blowing
• Lean in and breathe gently on surface to cause ripples and move lines, causing twisting, elongation and shifting
• Stirring
• Stir with a small instrument, such as a human hair, to make circles
• Fanning
• Cause curving that is either mild or strong, resulting in gentle curves or ragged lines
• Using surfactant
• Adding more surfactant in very small amounts causes the pattern to contract or expand at points
• Over-printing: transferring another image onto the paper after it has dried
• If using thin sheets, can provide wonderful image by candlelight
• Resisting
• Using frisket film, liquid gum Arabic or tissue-applied starch paste, create areas that will resist the image transfer
• Only works without sizing
• Ex. Writing “Chemistry and Art” and then displaying it through candlelight

Suminagashi Observations

This type of marbling leaves lots of room for the whim of the artist.  We found that it is best to start with the water still.  Blowing from the corner of the tub produces a wide circular swirl, while blowing from the side makes a ripple. Stirring irritates the dye, and we found that it is best not to invade the ink with anything thicker than a human hair. Dragging a single human hair allows the dyes to make delicate, slim lines in the dye. It looks quite impressive as very small amounts of dye can be manipulated. Using a hair and then blowing makes the best patterns. Not only do the delicate lines appear but ripples and swirls augment the complicated look of the hair enhancement.

Observations and Data

Sheet Number	Paper Type	Suminagashi Color, Type (R)ed (B)lue (G)reen (Y)ellow (Bl)ack (O)range	Result
1	Plain printer paper	Y,G,B	Faded colors, clear lines
2	Paper made from cotton pulp	B,Y, blowing	Indistinguishable image, vague lines
3	Watercolor cardstock	B,G, blowing, stirring	Solid image transfer, blurry lines, runny ink
4	Watercolor cardstock	B,G, stirring	Solid image transfer, blurry lines, runny ink
5	Washi	Nothing, no styles	Nothing, plain paper
6	Washi	R,B,Y stirring	Faded red
7	Washi	B,G nothing	solid blue
8	Washi	B, blowing	Clear lines, solid blue
9	Washi	Bl, blowing	Faded, difficult to see
10	Washi	R,B nothing	Faded red
11	Washi	B, G, Bl nothing	solid blue, no real pattern
12	Washi	R,Y,B blowing	Faded red
13	Washi	R,B blow	Faded red
14	Washi	B, G, R blow	Faded red, lines of blue, massive green
15	Washi	G, B blow/hair	solid blue, dominant green
16	Washi	G, B hair/blow	solid blue
17	Washi	B, G, R hair	Faded red
18	Washi	B, Y, G blow	solid blue
19	Washi	R, B, G, blow, hair	Lines of blue, solid green
20	Washi	O, B just hair	Strong shapes, good color
21	Washi	B, Bl hair and blow	solid blue, faint black
22	Washi	R, Bl, blow	Faded red
23	Washi	R, B, hair blow	Faded red
24	Washi	O, B blow	solid blue

 

Conclusions

Our hypothesis was half correct. The printing paper worked worst of all. The cardstock was mildly effective but tended to blur and show indistinct lines. The lab paper was too dark to show the ink and had too much sizing to accept the ink and water at all. The best paper was the kozo washi.

The best suminagashi techniques involved using the blue, red and green colors. Black was a disaster. The best method of creating patterns was to blow lightly on the water or fan it with a sheet and stir the image with a single human hair. Too much stirring blurred the colors and mixed the ink in with the water. The ideal amount of ink was 2-3 drops of ink per brush and then 1-2 drops of sumifactant.

Chemistry Project Schedule

April 14th

• Washi and Suminagashi
• Gathered Materials: Basin for water, suminagashi inks, sumifactant, Japanese brushes, watercolor card stock, paper made from cotton pulp, hotplate, pasta pot for cooking kozo wood

April 18th

• Washi
• Acquired 4 bundles of kozo at 120 Grams each.
• Began soaking 240 grams
• Suminagashi
• 1-2 drops of ink directly in water is too dilute
• 3-5 drops works much better
• Watercolor papers work well
• Black ink dominates other colors
• Pastels work better than just black ink

April 19th

• Washi
• Prepared wood-ash solution for cooking
• 6 liters of water
• Attempted to cook fibers from 1:45 to 4:30 pm
• Added entire bucket of wood-ash solution so that pH level rose to 11
• Hotplate did not bring water to boil, after ~3 hours of cooking the fibers still did not split easily against the grain

April 20th

• Washi
• Acquired soda-ash
• Cooked on stove for ~1 hour with 4 teaspoons of soda ash until fibers split easily against the grain
• Soaked fibers overnight to maintain wetness

April 21st

• Washi
• Beat fibers into pulp and made 20 sheets of Washi paper
• Pressed sheets in between pelons and felts with hydraulic press
• Brushed sheets onto board and let dry overnight

April 25th, 26th and 28th

• Washi
• Removed sheets from board
• Suminagashi
• Experimented with marbleizing techniques: blowing, fanning and stirring
• Applied watercolor stock, paper made from cotton pulp, printer paper and washi paper

If we could do this paper over we would like to use many different paper types, we would experiment with oriental paper, inkstones from zen monks and very fresh kozo. We would like to stick as close as possible to the ancient ways that the Japanese made the paper and marbled it. We would like to use different techniqes such as feathers to fan the ink, and also experiment with making different images with they dye.

Links

Chemistry & Art Website

More information on Suminagashi

Other References

Barrey, Timothy. Japanese Papermaking: Traditions, Tools and Techniques.1993. Weatherhill. New York.

Guyot, Don. Suminagashi: An Introduction to Japanese Marbling. 1990. Brass Galley Press. Seatle.

Acknowledgements

Professor Bordley

Julie Jones

Japan