Sunday, April 20, 2008

Paper Mache


I havn't done this in years! Here's the pulp half made, lots of news paper and about 7 litres of boiling water and lots of stirring to help break up the newspaper fibres. It took around half and hour for the kids and I to get it to this stage and then we let it soak until the water was cold. Once cold it was squished and squeezed till my hands ached in order to remove the excess water and break the fibres of the paper and then about half a cup of wall paper paste was added to turn the mush into a lovely pliable dough, much like playdough.
Wall paper glue (from what I have read) not only helps bind the pulp but it also contains a fungiside that will stop the pulp from going mouldy. From the pulp I made the quails and the eggs (the kids made ducks, snowmen and eggs.) I am going to make another lot of pulp from a finer paper (like tissues) that I am told will give me a fine finish as well form details..the whole lot will then be painted. I think at this time of year it will probably take a week for the pulp to dry out proparly.
I had quite a lot of fun playing with the pulp and from what I've seen online it can be mastered and turned into all sorts of wonderful things like puppets, art dolls and sculpture. I look forward to finding out!
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8 comments:

Irene said...

Looks like a fun thing to do, although very labor intensive!

Mick said...

I'm looking forward to finding out right along with you! Funny, though. I have this sudden urge to peel some potatoes! :D

Bev said...

Great stuff. We used to do the same with playdough, which we put salt in to preserve it, though the things we made didn't last very long. I'm sure these things have a lot better chance of surviving! Very satisfying and kneading the dough before I always thought.

John M. Mora said...

Great you work with your kids (children) and art. I like the clue about wallpaper glue.

Pulp nonfiction.

lebanesa said...

ooh - yyummy!
If you varnish over the paint when they are finished they last even longer. I have some bowls my baby made some 12 or so years ago and they are still bright and lovely - just as she is - tee hee!
Art is the best with kids. Mine is hoping to study art at university - so early experiences may have helped that.
Yay ART in any form.
PS - I do remember from childhood the smell of papier mache we forgot in a bucket - made with flour and water paste - Yuckeroonee

John M. Mora said...

I think that is just lumpy oatmeal. I want it with butter. Please.

The Artful Eye said...

I thought you were recreating your potatoes. :) I love working with paper mache. Loads of fun.

Anonymous said...

Ah...so that's what that is! At first glance I thought "What the heck is that?!" Looking forward to seeing what it becomes.