The aim of my new Collage Creations course is to enable participants to create collages from papers they have made by printing or painting, or found using maps, book papers or dress making tissue. Something about the process of applying paper to a support and watching until something interesting emerges is endlessly fascinating. The creative experience becomes as much about seeing as doing, and I am amazed at what results when I stop trying to control it. Working with paper offers such versatility – to change directions quickly or explore different possibilities without having to act on them.

However, I get more emails and messages about the papers I use than any other topic! Way back in 2020 I made a video for YouTube about collage papers but since then my stash has increased, the addiction is real! The video below is one of over 60 on Collage Creations but I though I would publish it and the text from the course here as you may find it useful…

My favourite way of creating papers is by using monotype, and I made many as part of my Monotype: Materials & Methods. With Collage Creations, I will show how to make papers from other methods using paint and ink, as well as printing papers on a laser printer. We use thicker papers too to build textural collages bas relief, but I mostly use these thinner papers to explore their transparency and opacity. I find building a collage with thick papers can get too bulky.

I have a list of suppliers here on my website that I am regularly updating. If you cannot find what you are looking for, search for bookbinding suppliers or conservation suppliers. Most countries also have a supplier of Japanese paper. There is a veritable mountain of Japanese papers available, some thick, others thin, some machine made, others handmade, some cheap and others expensive. Companies like Awagami sell sample packs.

The types of papers I like to use vary, but I am looking for five specific qualities, some papers have more than one:

• thickness
• absorbency
• wet strength
• waterproof
• lightfast

THICKNESS

I tend to use thick papers such as watercolour paper etc as the basis of a collage rather than collage material. That is because using a lot of it in layers can result in a very bulky result. However thick cards and papers can be useful if you want to explore deep torn edges, or have a thick cut out shape as your last layer as a focal point, or to build a highly textured bas relief surface. Mostly I prefer papers that are less than 160gsm for collage. This list in descending order of weight is a few (!) of the papers I have used over the years.

140gsm

• Drawing or cartridge paper, the type we find in sketchbooks

90gsm

• Copy Paper
• Marker paper
• Japanese HoSho pad (thick)

70gsm

• Yasotomo Rice Paper
• Teabag paper (thick)
• Toddy Coffee filter bag paper

35-40gsm

• Japanese Hosho Roll
• Artway Chinese Sumi rice paper

30-20 gsm 

• Tissutex (thick)
• Wet Strength Tissue
• Deli paper Kabnet Wax
• Patterntrace Swedish Tracing paper

15gsm

• Teabag thin
• Deli paper (Logan)
• Japanese Washi paper

9gsm

• Abaca Tissue often called Tissutex or Lens Tissue
• Japanese Tenchugo

Abaca tissue is made from the long staple abaca fibre which, despite its delicate appearance is very strong. It is a very thin tissue, the one I use is 9gsm but it can be bought as thin as 3gsm. It has great wet strength and is similar to thin tea bag paper. Unlike ordinary tissue paper, it can be glued and dyed without disintegrating. It is often called Lens Tissue or Tissutex. The Japanese Tenchugo paper is a similar weight and strength (it is often sold in pack of 10 large sheets for around $30 so always check the size and numbers of sheets in any pack you buy).

ABSORBENCY

Absorbency is useful to explore transparency. A thick paper that is absorbent will not become transparent due to the bulk of paper fibers. Some thin papers are not absorbent, for example a waxed deli paper, marker paper and some copy paper, because of the way that they have been treated. One wouldn’t describe rice paper as a tissue as it is relatively thick at around 40gsm, but it is highly absorbent so can become transparent when lathered in gloss medium. Abaca tissue needs very little medium to become transparent despite it not being very absorbent because it is so thin.

WET STRENGTH OR WEAK

Some papers are designed to hold up to being wetted. This is due to one of two reasons: it has been treated with a fine polymer as is the case with wet strength tissue, or the fibers it is constructed with are inherently strong, as with abaca tissue (abaca fiber) and tea bag paper (which includes abaca fiber) and Tenchugo (mulberry fiber). Rice paper by contrast is a weak paper, it will dissolve when wetted, but don’t be alarmed just wait until it’s dry!  If you soak rice paper in medium it takes on the strength of the polymer. Standard craft tissues will do the same but are not so easy to handle and brush because they are so thin, and coloured bought tissues will leak colour and fade! Which brings me onto…

WATERPROOF MEDIA

The last thing you want as you are lathering on your adhesive is for any colours to leak! I make all my own collage papers so I know what I have used. I recommend any media you use is acrylic or shellac based. If I am using something I know will leak, such as Akua then I mark the paper with an ‘A’ so that when I pull it out of the pile I know it may need sealing. However I find papers I have used with Akua for collagraphy are less likely to leak than Akua used on the surface/monotype. Akua recommend you varnish papers to prevent leaking, the same applies to inkjet prints. I never use Caligo Safe wash prints for collage. It always wakes up and as it is oil based you cannot varnish it. Dry media such as pastel, charcoal and artgraf can be used but need sealing as they will leak or spread. I also use wax rubbings in my collages, they hold up well despite having wax on the surface, I think that is because there is still enough bare paper under and around to hold adhesive.

LIGHTFAST

How lightfast or fugitive a paper is can be difficult to determine. Found papers are likely to fade but don’t let that put you off using them, I tend to use pages from old books that have already discoloured. Bought coloured tissues will fade (and leak!) so avoid at all costs. Alcohol inks are made from dye rather than pigment so will fade in time. All laser and most inkjet colours are dye based, although the quality of dyes has improved considerably over the last few years. The black ink we find in laser and inkjet printers is carbon based and does not fade. Using a UV varnish can help prevent papers fading.

MAGAZINE PAPERS

I’m not using magazine papers on my course but there is no reason why you shouldn’t. I find magazine papers too shiny and bright but I have used them when teaching colour theory through collage. They are fine for sketchbooks but I wouldn’t personally use them on a final piece as I suspect they may fade in time. That is not a problem for those who create surreal collages with magazine papers as anyone seeing them will understand where they are from.

I hope you found that useful! My students are already finding new papers, Dixie Menu tissue, Pattern Paper etc…the search continues!

Sally x

This video is one I made for instagram, exploring SWEDISH TRACING PAPER.  It is very similar to Toddy filter paper or Teabag paper.