Definition: Papyrus is an ancient form of paper, made from the papyrus plant, which grows wild in the marshes of the Nile river and was cultivated for paper-making. Strips from fibrous pith of the papyrus plant were cut and laid together in two layers, one layer running crosswise over the other, and beaten and dried to form a laminated sheet.
Interest in traditional art processes, support for community craftspeople, and preference for less processed and environmentally sound materials has led to a small resurgence in production of papyrus and experimentation with similar products, such as banana-leaf paper.
Papyrus seems to have good archival qualities, though can be brittle to handle and must be properly sized for use with most media.
