Sheets of 100% rag paper handmade by Ray Tomasso.
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100% Rag Archival Handmade Paper
Ray Tomasso produces earth-friendly handmade archival paper for printmakers, artists, illustrators, calligraphers, bookmakers and those who continue to correspond by hand.
A selection of stock paper is on hand or clients can work with Ray to produce custom papers specially formulated for their selected media or from their own materials.
Hand papermakers and paper artists may also purchase raw cotton or custom-formulated pulp.
Most paper is manufactured in huge factories by national or international corporations, often using environmentally damaging chemicals. Decorative specialty papers, often hand-made abroad, is then shipped around the world to be sold in local art supply stores.
Neither gets high marks for a low-carbon footprint.
Ray Tomasso's papers are handmade in Colorado entirely from local recycled materials using European papermaking materials and techniqes. Cotton, linen or ramie rags are shredded, then mechanically beaten to fibers. The resulting chemical-free pulp is suspended in water, then formed by hand into paper sheets for use in drawing, painting, calligraphy, illustration, book binding and printing.
This locally handmade paper provides an eco-friendly alternative for environmentally-aware artists and their clients.
Hand Papermaking Equipment:
Two Hollander beaters;
100-ton hydraulic press (3’ x 4’);
Restrained drying press (36”x27”);
Commercial rag shredders;
Moulds, deckles, vats and felts for forming sheets;
Huge collection of rags and fibers to produce a variety of paper formulations; and,
Pigments for coloring pulp.