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hi ppl i have only just found this place, it's just what I need. i hasve been mucking around with papermache for years, but evey new project usually brings somme new and different problem. my current one is, how to organise a one-day parermache-group project for a festivall? it ought to be drying very quick as it would be nice to be able to adsome paint as well, or at least have it looking goodish-interesting... -all in one day! please help!?
k8
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Quite a tall order, K8. It depends in part on the ambient temperature and humidity and the heaters available.
You can forget pulp because it would take a lot to get this dry.
Something that could work would be to use eggs - see my article on 'Using Eggs' - because the heat of the cooked egg will help dry the layers of paper. A bonus is that you also get some lunch!
Once you have cut the layers off the egg and rejoined them, they can be dried in front of a heater or even in a low oven. They would then be ready for painting, or there might be time to add more shapes with screwed up newspaper and paste.
Do you have access to foamed insulation board? If so, that might offer more possibilities.
DavidO
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Wallpaper paste doesnt' dry as quickly as flour paste. That's about all I can offer up. I dunno about PVA thinned with water, but PVA alone dries pretty fast.
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I have found that the cellulose wallpaper paste dries more quickly than anything else if you don't make it too thick (and it doesn't need to be thick). Make it the night before it will be used, and thin it down to the consistency of raw egg whites.
Heaters and fans will help with drying, unless you're in the southwestern part of the U.S., where you will probably just need the fans.
Sue
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I would try a few test pieces first using different glue combinations. I would stay away from pulp as you are short on time and may be go for a layered piece.
Sue
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thanks all for replies! i am still unsure about what to do... it will be winter here (nth of aus) but an outside activity, so heaters probably wont be of any use. hot eggs? hm I'll look into that thanks!
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What exactly are you hoping to make in the one day workshop?
This may well dictate what sort of pm you are thinking of doing.
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What exactly are you hoping to make in the one day workshop?
A mess, ya silly! 
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I would prefer to make some kind of big group effort sort of thing, like a monster, a maze cubby or ??? but as there is only one day and large things are slower drying.... it may have to be smaller individual things. was also thinking puppets, ( could use them in the end for some kind of improvised puppet show) but there are quicker ways than papermache to make very nice puppets.
I know a way to make small things with mainly using paper, masking tape and a bit of plaster of paris-glue-mix over the top and then paint, so not much drying.... but I would enjoy a group thing more, since I am not a good teacher....
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