Working Lives, Lost Skills series - The Papermaker - Couching the paper
After dipping the mould into a vat of pulp and shaking off the excess water, papermaker Neil Hopkins of Two Rivers papermill in Exmoor, Somerset lays each soaking sheet of new paper on a flat bed ready to be squeezed in a press before being hung out to dry. This part of the process is called 'couching'.
This image is part of my "Working Lives, Lost Skills" project through which I am recording the work of some of the last known exponents of traditional rural crafts and industries. I hope to eventually use some of the images to develop an exhibition and possibly a book.
Working Lives, Lost Skills series - The Papermaker - Couching the paper
After dipping the mould into a vat of pulp and shaking off the excess water, papermaker Neil Hopkins of Two Rivers papermill in Exmoor, Somerset lays each soaking sheet of new paper on a flat bed ready to be squeezed in a press before being hung out to dry. This part of the process is called 'couching'.
This image is part of my "Working Lives, Lost Skills" project through which I am recording the work of some of the last known exponents of traditional rural crafts and industries. I hope to eventually use some of the images to develop an exhibition and possibly a book.