Indian Village Handmade Watercolor paper adds visual interest to your artwork before you even make a mark. Its warm off-white color, distinctive texture and natural deckle edges reflect its handmade status.
The purchase of Indian Village handmade products helps improve the standard of living in a village in rural India. In the late 1940s, as part of the Indian Independence Movement, Mahatma Gandhi encouraged the establishment of small village industries to create employment and improve economic conditions in disadvantaged rural areas. Papermaking has always been a major part of this program.
Village artisans make each sheet of Indian Village Paper by hand, starting with scrap cotton rags ("wealth from waste") that are sorted, chopped and beaten into pulp. A mould is clamped between two wooden deckles, or frames, dipped by hand into a trough of pulp, shaken evenly and lifted out with a layer of pulp. The wet sheet is then transferred to a cloth or felt sheet, giving a unique surface texture. A press is used to squeeze out excess water, and the sheets are hung to air-dry.
These unique, high quality sheets are acid-free. The handmade production of each sheet creates unique characteristics and irregularities. And because they are made with recycled materials, they are an environmentally friendly product.
