Moose Poo Paper - Chapter Three

After the moose poo has been boiled for almost 3 hours, it is strained in a paint straining bag and thoroughly rinsed until the water runs clear.  At this point, all that remains of the moose poo is the fine willow fibres and bark.  Now I put these plant materials in a bleach solution and let it soak for several hours before rinsing thoroughly once more.

This is the plant fibre that remains when the processing is completed.  It has no odour.

Next I mix the fibre with paper pulp that I make from recycled copy paper or other good quality paper.  The fibres that the moose has 'processed' are too short to make good paper without the addition of the recycled paper pulp.

Now I'm ready to start making moose poo paper.  The fibres are added to a water bath and with my mold and deckle I scoop some out of the water at the same time as I make a back and forth motion with the mold.  This is called "throwing the wave."

The water is drained off and the newly formed sheet of paper is released onto a smooth board.  This method produces nice flat sheets of paper with one smooth side.

The sheets of moose poo paper will be left on the board to dry for a day or two and then I'll make my cards.