Selecting the right tissue paper.
As time goes by and the more photo encaustic images I see I’m convinced how truly unique work created with tissue paper is.
It’s just magical.
And so, so confusing.
The first time I worked with tissue paper it was just in passing. Over the years there has been a ton of trial and error but now I’m able to create large 48×48 inch zebra’s tiling together 9 pieces of tissue paper prints.
I have an entire online course dedicated to tissue paper and go in depth into the paper selection, creating backgrounds, choosing images and preparing them for the process, printing images and embedding them into the wax.
Like so many, I’m on Facebook and other social media platforms. And I know there are a lot of questions out there about paper selection.
So, what sort of tissue paper should you get?
If you are just beginning, by all means hop on over to your local hobby store and pick up some tissue paper. Just remember that anything that has a shiny side might be a hinderance to the wax properly fusing and will lead to delaminating over time.
For learning purposes, I wouldn’t get too concerned about whether it’s archival or not.
But, if you are more serious about your work, I believe in honoring the work and using the best and most archival materials possible and highly suggest that you purchase archival tissue paper.
Archival tissue paper doesn’t contain free acid and has a pH value of 7.0 or greater. Such papers may be produced from cotton fibers or chemical wood pulps.
You might run across the term “acid free” which does not necessarily mean the paper is safe to use in archival applications. Beeswax will protect against the atmosphere but does not protect from UV deterioration and over time non-archival products may yellow.
Some tissue papers will come either buffered or unbuffered. Buffered is when the paper has the addition of calcium carbonate to neutralize the acids and will protect against pollution in the atmosphere which will make the paper acidic. But when encased in wax pollution isn’t a factor. I still like to purchase buffered paper when I can.
I believe it’s important to know and understand how your materials will interact with the wax. We owe it to our work, our collectors, and more importantly to the integrity of photo encaustic.
If you want to learn and master this process, then check out the Embracing Tissue Paper Course.
I purchase my paper from Archival Methods and you can find a link to them here>>
Let me hear from you and your experiences with using tissue paper prints. I’d love for you to join the conversation.
Be well….be creative,
I am interested to find the best tissue paper which i should use for burning images on my candles.
There should be no trace of the tissue. Only the words and image should be seen on the wax candle.
The normal tissue paper which i buy at any store comes loose from the candle after a while. I take pride in all that i do.
Your response is greatly appreciated.
I’m not an expert on adhering tissue paper to candles, but tissue paper should mostly ‘disappear’ to the eye when wax is melted into the tissue. I’m not sure how this works with your candles and making sure the tissue is embedded properly.