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Branching Out With Renewable Paper

Curious why Beastie and Bone linocut prints are no longer exclusively printed on my beloved 100% recycled cotton watercolor paper? There’s a few reasons for this, and one of them is: monsoons. The durable, beautifully textured paper I use for the majority of my printmaking is made by hand using traditional methods in India, so unfortunately, when the annual rainy season hits, the amount being produced and distributed drops, making it unpredictable to get ahold of here in the US. So I’ve branched out (pun intended) into using mulberry paper, too.


hand carved linocut print of old-growth stump with coppicing saplings growing out of its roots, next to linocut carving blocks of mushrooms and a June bug


The other benefit of mulberry paper, aside from it being easier to source year-round, is that it, too, is a renewable material excellent for use in eco-friendly art. Mulberry paper is made using only the bark of mulberry trees, which regrows after being harvested. This means that one tree can produce paper for many, many years, avoiding deforestation! It is also an archival paper and takes ink just so deliciously. So, while it’s not as sturdy as the watercolor paper, I find it an excellent addition to my printmaking linrious why ea linocut prints are no longer exclusively printed on my beloved 100% recycled cotton watercolor paper? There’s a few reasons for this, and one of them is: monsoons. The durable, beautifully textured paper I use for the majority of my printmaking is made by hand using traditional methods in India, so unfortunately, when the annual rainy season hits, the amount being produced and distributed drops, making it unpredictable to get ahold of here in the US. So I’ve branched out (pun intended) into using mulberry paper, too.

Foundation, the 9"x12" linocut print of an old-growth stump with coppicing saplings growing up from its worn but strong roots, is the first of my prints to be produced on mulberry paper in quite some time, but won't be the last!


Check out all the Beastie and Bone linocut prints in the online store, or get Foundation for yourself here.

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