Description
We had to tear up little pieces of scrap paper, sorting them into 2 buckets - colours and non colours. The paper had to be small enough to be easily broken down, forming the paper pulp needed to create paper.  As there was no blender, we had to go in with our hands to further break the paper down, aiding in the creation of paper pulp.

Process
Before we were able to use the paper pulp, I helped out with creating the frames for the paper pulp to rest on and strain, creating a flat sheet of paper.
Firstly, my classmates and I disassembled picture frames, removing the back and bending the metal bits inwards so it lies flat on the frame. This was tough as I lacked strength, so some of my classmates took over that role for me. Next, we had to measure the dimensions of the frame to cut out pieces of mosquito  nets, in order for the water to sieve through and leave remnants of the paper pulp. After measuring, we got to cutting the mosquito nets into appropriate pieces, then we stapled it to the frames itself using  a staple gun. This part required the hands of multiple people, holding the mosquito nets taut over the frame while one person staples them into place.  After securing the net to the frame, it was time to proceed with the papermaking.

After the paper pulp was created by letting the paper scraps crumble in water for a while, we held the frames created using both our hands, using scooping and ‘back and forth’ motions in the water to even out the paper pulp on the surface of the net. After forming a relatively even layer of pulp on the frame, we took the whole frame out of the water and placed it onto a flat surface, then used sponges to soak up the excess water. This allowed the layer of pulp to be evenly removed from the frame onto a piece of cloth or plastic, forming a piece of paper. I transferred my wet sheet of paper pulp paper onto a piece of plastic, on top of a piece of newspaper, then left it at the back of the class to dry up over the span of the next few days. After it dried, I carefully peeled the sheet of paper off the piece of plastic and marvelled in its beauty :)  

Description
After this class, I continued to create paper with some of classmates. Furthermore, I tried different methods to accessorise the paper: adding small shapes of cellophane paper for decoration and embossing the paper pulp before letting it dry out, forming interesting patterns on the paper.

I tried out the paper embossing method during my initial ideation for my final DMA artefact, but it did not turn out like I expected it to. However, I decided to create paper clay using the recipe given in class, creating shapes and figures out of paper pulp and other materials. Besides paper clay, I also used pure dried paper pulp to create interesting textures and formations in my final DMA artefact.

Overall
I found paper to be an extremely flexible material, with the ability to create unique effects and change its properties according to how you use and manipulate it. Most of all, I enjoyed using and creating the paper clay,  behaving like normal clay but being a little stickier and bouncier. However, you could also adjust the consistency and drying powers of the clay itself by the ingredients in the recipe.