I make paper pulp art by hand in Denmark: masks, reliefs and small sculptures. Every piece is an original, and there is only one of each.
What is paper pulp art?
Paper pulp is paper broken down into fibres and bound into a soft mass that can be shaped like clay. When it dries, it becomes hard and light, and the fibres stay visible in the surface.
I make my pulp from surplus material of good quality: rests of fine art paper, or machine cardboard. A piece is made from one or the other, never a mix, so each one keeps its own colour and texture.
The pulp while it is still wet. The texture you see here stays in the finished artwork.
How I work
I bind the pulp with a flour paste I cook myself and shape everything by hand. I build a piece up slowly and score lines into it while it is still wet. That is where the geometric patterns in my work come from.
In summer a piece dries in the sun. In winter it gets about six hours in the oven at 70 degrees, and I check it every half hour. After that it dries on a radiator or in the window sill. Only when it is completely dry do I paint it with linoleum paint and seal it with a matte varnish.
A mask being shaped. The nose, brow and eyes are built up by hand.
The same kind of piece after drying, with the first colours on.
Why is every piece one of a kind?
Pulp never behaves the same way twice. The fibres settle differently every time, so no two surfaces are alike. I do not make copies or prints of the paper pulp works.
Paper pulp works from my shop. Click to see them.
Will a paper pulp artwork last?
Yes, when it is fully dry and sealed. The varnish closes the surface against humidity. Hang it out of direct sun and away from damp rooms, and dust it with a dry cloth. No water.
Finished pieces, painted and sealed.
Paper pulp originals in the shop
