“Paper preserves information, it is part of our writing culture, our society of written documents. But it has it’s own life, the result of special conditions and its function can change.”
Gangolf Ulbricht
A slow start to the fellowship due to a hazardous ceramics department (our neighbour). Gangolf, who runs Werkstatt fur Papier studio in Berlin, came over with a Hollander Beater, but couldn’t install it. Instead, he gave an amazing talk and showed us samples of his papers….he makes the thinnest paper in the world.
Berlin Tissue is the thinnest, non-visible restoration tissue in the world, handmade by Gangolf Ulbricht. Bast fibers used in this tissue are imported directly from Japan. Only the best kozo in Japan–known as “nasu-kozo” is used in this fine tissue paper. The fibers are cooked in alkaline solution and washed afterwards. The fibers are then cleaned by hand and beaten with a wooden stick. The final product is about 75% mitsumata and 25% kozo.
It floats through the air like a chiffon fabric and can be placed over an existing paper for restoration without being seen.
