Andrew Reilly checks on a selection of his handmade paper, including harakeke.
Andrew Reilly checks on a selection of his handmade paper, including harakeke.
Andrew and Katrina Reilly run Tenax Papers in Marton, and craft harakeke (New Zealand flax) paper by hand. Kem Ormond finds out more.
If you are an artist, printmaker, bookbinder, or craftsperson, you will appreciate beautiful paper, and you are probably always on the lookout for something unique and inspiring.
Tenax Papers in Marton, run by Andrew and Katrina Reilly, hand-manufactures a range of stunning harakeke papers.
If you have never seen the work that goes into making this beautiful, handmade paper, it is truly a labour of love.
Andrew came from a printing industry background; he knows his papers, and after a stint overseas, he returned and took a Visual Arts course at UCOL Palmerston North, followed by a Bachelor of Fine Arts at UCOL in Whanganui.
He now produces a range of various coloured and textured harakeke (New Zealand flax) paper from his bespoke workshop, which he designed to manage the range of processes needed to make this special paper.
Harakeke is a tough fibre, and all parts of the leaf can be used so long as the parent and child are left to regrow.
The basic process of making paper from harakeke involves separating the fibre from the leaf and then processing it into a pulp that can be formed into sheets, but it is not as easy and quick as it sounds.
Once the harakeke has been harvested, it is fed into a chaff cutter that cuts it into 2cm pieces.
It is then put into big metal barrels; Reilly uses an old hangi cooker with a gas bottle attachment.
In goes the water and caustic soda, and this simmers away for two days.
Then the caustic soda is drained and the fibre is rinsed.
Then it is a matter of beating, rinsing, and draining until you end up with a fine pulp that can be bleached to resemble cotton.
The key factor is that the finished fibre needs to be able to knit together.
You mix the prepared fibre with water to end up with something resembling soup, then you pull a mould, much like a screen printing frame, through the solution, which deposits a film onto the mould mesh.
Andrew, with his back to the camera, and a fellow student at UCOL, pulling his 'long mould' in a vat.
While in the “western style” the paper is couched on to a woollen felt, then covered with another felt, this is repeated until you have a stack, which is pressed, then separated and hung out in the sun to dry.
Much like doing your washing!
When dry, the paper gets demoulded and can be put through a Victorian mangle with totara and matai rollers to get a more even finished surface.
They have used recycled denim and even manure to make paper; in fact, paper can be made out of anything with a high percentage of cellulose.
A tree only has about 50% cellulose, whereas flax has 70% and cotton 90%.
A selection of harakeke blends will produce varying colours of paper.
Reilly produces deckle-edged papers from A5 right up to A2, which is the size of a broadsheet newspaper page and can provide papers trimmed to size.
“My paper has been used to make matts for pictures, one New Zealand client produces dresses and fashionwear for competitions in Australia, and of course it is used for printing making,” he said.
Using an old wire wove bed frame as a mould gives the finished product the look of the feather tufts of a woven cloak, perfect for artists who enjoy mixed media.
Reilly is a wonderful source of knowledge and inspiration when it comes to handmade paper.
If you’re interested in giving it a go, you can contact him at tenaxpapers@gmail.com.
