Japanese washi paper is well known for it’s strength and beauty. While in Japan I had the privilege of doing a mini washi paper workshop in the mountain village of Ainokura. Watching the sheet appear when lifted from the vat was a wonderful and mysterious experience. After lifting the first sheet I added delicate flower shaped decorations to my sheet and then another layer of paper so that the decorations ended up being sandwiched between two thin sheets. The completed sheet was then placed on a hot plate to dry. The whole process took about ten minutes.

Paper making space.
The vat holds the fiber/water mixture from which sheets are pulled.
Pulling a sheet from the vat.
Adding decorations.
Decorations are sandwiched between two sheets of paper. The second sheet has not yet been added in this image.
Paper drying on a hot plate.
Ainokura, Japan