Paper Pulp & Stardust: The Magic of Messy Transformations

There’s something profoundly satisfying about turning the forgotten into something worth framing—or at least, worth putting a sparkly trinket in. That’s the alchemy of paper pulp: ripping, soaking, mixing, and molding the overlooked into forms full of texture, character, and just the right amount of whimsy.

Paper pulp art has a long and international history. In Japan, artisans spun intricate threads from washi (Japanese paper) to create shifu, or paper yarn. Imagine weaving cloth from paper—not just as a novelty, but as a delicate and durable textile used for clothing, scrolls, and ceremonial objects. Across cultures, paper has been mashed, dyed, and sculpted into lanterns, jewelry, furniture, and even armor. When you look at a pile of junk mail differently, the possibilities really start to multiply.

In my house, the material of choice isn’t washi, but my daughter’s towering stack of half-filled school workbooks. Once destined for the recycling bin, these sheets now find new life as pastel-colored bowls, shimmering paper plates, sparkly gems, and even tiny pulp dolls with lopsided limbs and glitter in their hair.

The joy is in the process. Stirring soaked paper into pulp feels somewhere between baking and spellcasting. Dyeing it with dreamy colors and tucking in sequins, pressed flowers, or that one rogue googly eye? That’s where the fun starts. The end results are as practical as they are poetic. Bowls for your keys or crystals, ornaments, masks, story starters—pulp becomes a form of self-expression that costs almost nothing but leaves behind something unforgettable.

That’s why Week 1 of our Summer Art Experience is devoted entirely to Paper Kingdoms. Your child will be wrist-deep in pulp, making something magical out of what others might discard. From pulp bowls to artisan paper, we'll explore all the ways we can press, mold, paint, and glitter this humble material into something remarkable.

Curious? Take a peek at our pulp bowls in the shop, or sign your child up for Week 1 of camp and watch them fall in love with the magic of making. Rumor has it, a future adult class may be in the works—so grown-ups, you’re not off the hook.