Hand-made Paper and Art Gallery: Thimpu
Hand-made paper postcards with pressed flowers and paintings.
The tradition of making paper by hand goes back many centuries in Bhutan. When visiting the paper factory, we were able to see the long process that goes into creating the paper. Here is the process:
1. Wood from the Daphne tree is gathered and torn into long strips (about 6 feet)
2. It is then soaked in three different pots over the course of several weeks, being transferred through the pots as time passes. From the prolonged soaking, the wood strips are soft and saturated.
3. At this point, the wood is boiled to break down the fibers and kill bacteria and mold.
4. The boiled strips are then cut and beat vigorously to break them into small shreds.
5. These fine fibers are then added to a tub of water. A worker dips a mesh tray into the water, scooping up paper fibers and shaking it until a thin film of wood fiber has spread evenly across the tray.
6. The tray is then flipped upside down and put onto a stack. The worker then skillfully separates the tray from the wet paper sheet.
7. Sometimes designs, leaves, or flowers are added to the wet sheets at this point.
8. When finished, the stack of wet paper sheets are taken to canvases where they are individually steamed (heated) and then set to dry in the sun.
The art gallery is right next door to the paper factory. The artist, S. Bishwa, paints beautiful scenes from Bhutan, capturing a lot of the country's essence in his work. He uses paper made from the paper factory and sells some of his work to the people who pass by. A lot of his work can also be seen at the Phuntsho Pelri Hotel in Thimpu. If you have the chance, be sure to stop by his art gallery and chat with the artist himself.
1. Wood from the Daphne tree is gathered and torn into long strips (about 6 feet)
2. It is then soaked in three different pots over the course of several weeks, being transferred through the pots as time passes. From the prolonged soaking, the wood strips are soft and saturated.
3. At this point, the wood is boiled to break down the fibers and kill bacteria and mold.
4. The boiled strips are then cut and beat vigorously to break them into small shreds.
5. These fine fibers are then added to a tub of water. A worker dips a mesh tray into the water, scooping up paper fibers and shaking it until a thin film of wood fiber has spread evenly across the tray.
6. The tray is then flipped upside down and put onto a stack. The worker then skillfully separates the tray from the wet paper sheet.
7. Sometimes designs, leaves, or flowers are added to the wet sheets at this point.
8. When finished, the stack of wet paper sheets are taken to canvases where they are individually steamed (heated) and then set to dry in the sun.
The art gallery is right next door to the paper factory. The artist, S. Bishwa, paints beautiful scenes from Bhutan, capturing a lot of the country's essence in his work. He uses paper made from the paper factory and sells some of his work to the people who pass by. A lot of his work can also be seen at the Phuntsho Pelri Hotel in Thimpu. If you have the chance, be sure to stop by his art gallery and chat with the artist himself.
