Eric Carle’s Very Hungry Caterpillar
I’m sure your first thought when you read “Paste Paper” was, “What in the world is that?” I guarantee you have seen it and, if you have kids, you probably have copies of it in your home. Go find some Eric Carle books such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar or Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See. Those beautiful, unique illustrations, many of those are made from paste paper!
Collection of paste papers made with combs, stylus, and folding and pulling paper while wet.
So what is it? Paste paper was created from the 16th-18th centuries, with a revival of interest in the early 20th century. Prior to the invention of the printing press, books were copied and bound by hand in monasteries. As part of that process, beautiful marbled papers were created to decorate the covers and the paste downs of books. Often, books could be identified by the designs and colors of the paper marbling. Each monastery used unique colors and patterns, a secret guarded very closely.
After books became more common, their creation started to move away from monasteries. Marbled paper was still unique and took time, the process for marbling is very intensive. It requires unique ingredients like ox gall and is temperamental, conditional to the surrounding humidity and temperature. As books were being created in higher numbers, bookbinders created higher demand for decorated paper. The binders looked around their shops. They had pigment. They had paste. It was an inexpensive and simple way to decorate books, and the result is stunning. It gives the illusion of a three dimensional pattern, on a flat surface. The paste is thick, and when it’s wet designs are drawn on the surface of the paper using wood cutouts, stylus, combs, even fingers. As it dries, the paste flattens and smooths. In a way, it really is glorified finger painting.
Paste Paper made by Madeleine Durham
Looking at modern paste paper artists, Madeleine Durham is my favorite and extremely talented. I couldn’t write about paste paper and not mention her name. Taking her inspiration from the American Southwest, her pages are works of art.