Pune’s Handmade Paper Institute hosted paper marbling workshop last Saturday, on 22 February. The workshop was conducted by Mr Pramod Kale, who will soon be retiring from the institute after 22 years at the marbling and batik unit of the paper factory. During the workshop, he prepared the colour-mix with a precise measure of oil paint, varnish oil and washing soda. This mix was then gently floated on a shallow pale of water, and the surface was stirred carefully to create colour patterns. Mr Kale, then, patiently explained the technique of delicately transferring the colour pattern on a sheet of paper with application of uniform pressure. The papers were then hung dried in sun, and the attendees could take home the sheets marbled by them.
Those attending the workshop also had the privilege of taking a tour of the paper factory and watch a sack of fabric salvage recycle into sheets of papers. Each month, the institute also holds a workshop that teaches the process of making paper by hand.
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Images: Edit team