The first day I learnt how to etch was the first day I used Zerkall paper. Except for the largest of my engravings, which are too big to fit on to Zerkall, I have used this paper for every print I’ve made since.
It comes from a mill on the river Kall; in a valley of the northern part of the Eifel, between Cologne and Aachen; where a mill has existed since the 16th century. From 1903 when it bought by Gustave Renker it specialised in papermaking and was run by the Renker family for four generations.
Zerkall paper has deckled edges and was made on cylinder moulds. The long fibres of the pulp make the paper strong, which means that it does not buckle in water.
The storms of 2021 flooded the mill. The workers managed to carry some of it to the top floor of the building. I bought what I could of the last sheets they had but the mill has since closed down. There is nowhere else Zerkall paper is made and I haven’t yet found a paper which I love working with more.
These last surviving sheets have become an added layer of poignancy to the stories of the species I’m recording on them; many of which are threatened by extreme weather, brought on by climate change.