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Hello I am new to this group. You have some inspiring work in the galleries, so beautiful and unique. I hope to learn from your experience.
I have dabbled in paper mache in the long distant past and loved it then... and recently decided to throw myself into a huge paper mache project, a nearly life-sized sitting figure, I am a bit concerned I have bitten off more than I can chew!!! I found a great recipe somewhere on the internet for a simple flour/water paste that suggested it was stronger than the same heated mixture? Its nice to work with and although it isn't very sticky and has a white residue, I really like that too as I want to leave the paper exposed on this piece (I have been tearing and sorting newspaper colours to give it subtle colouring)and it gives it a kind of white-washed look. I hope this is a reliable recipe, I have become a bit concerned as I haven't seen anyone else using an un-cooked flour recipe like that. Any advice appreciated.
Secondly, I got all enthusiastic about making long hair - lots and lots of long twisted paper strands smeared with the glue - it looks good, and has dried well, like thin dreadlocks but now starting to wonder how will I ever be able to seal it, as it is quite think? I can lift it gently, but paper is quite brittle. Any ideas, I thought perhaps a spray?
I'd love to post a picture but not quite sure how to.
Thanks for your time,
Helen
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Please read the article on this site 'What Paste to use'.
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Thanks! I just had a look at the article, the recipe for simple flour and water does seem to indicate some heating was needed to release the starch stickiness. I'll do as it suggests for future batches and hopefully I haven't cause too many problems for myself with what I've done. I expect it will be very tasty to insects!
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Yes, the heating causes a chemical reaction to make the combination soluble, otherwise it's just flour floating around in the water.
The main problem is that food-type glues don't have much moisture resistance, and will absorb moisture from the air and then start growing mold. If you still want to use it, you need to dry it well, then thoroughly seal it while it's still dry. That will help to discourage the insects, too.
Sue
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Thanks Sue for your advice. It's very warm here at the moment so I think I can get it finished, dried OK and then seal it before the seasons change. The only issue is the hair I've made, which is very thick and is going to be difficult to seal thoroughly - I may have to pull it all off and reattach it somehow 
I guess it's a lesson learned.
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I've thought of doing long hair, but only tried it once and it was a dismal failure. That you've gotten as far as you have with it clearly indicates that you had more success than I did.
Would it be possible to remove it in sections, intact? Or is it too fragile? I am wondering if you could carefully remove sections, DIP it into some kind of sealer, totally submerging it, drain and then replace.
I would be interested in seeing your results, even now, if you could post a photo. The HOW has always been a puzzle to me, trying to combine the length and fragility, then trying to seal it completely.
One method that I considered after the first fiasco was making small sections, tinting the glue/sealer, dipping it, and attaching the sections that actually survived the process! But it's just a theory, at best.
But you could always 'cheat' and use another material, such as unraveled jute, manila or hemp rope or cord, which would survive the wet handling. If you can use other materials with papier mache, why not rope for hair?
As far as I know, there are no Papier Mache Police that would come after you for mixing materials. And certainly no one here would yell at you via their fingertips!
Experiment! And let us know! After all, we learn more from our failures than our successes. (I know this is true, because my brother only stuck a hairpin into an electrical outlet once.)
Sue
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HI Sue,
LOL I am a great believer in experimenting and serendipity, rules and recipes, not so much. Hence my predicament I guess.
I have put some pictures on my Facebook site - I don't know if this is the only way to do it on this forum? The link is http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= … d91a73dd4e
As you can see the hair does look a bit like unravelled jute (I like that idea) only you can clearly see the newsprint, and I painfuly selected newspaper with yellow pictures/ink to give a subtle blond effect. It was reasonably easy to attach in layers starting from the back of the neck. Each strand is just folded hand twisted with pasty hands (fun) so it wasn't completely wetted and I opened up one end a bit flatter and added a bit more paste to attach it. It was 'styled' while wet using my flour/water paste and when dried held the position well. I let each layer dry for a day in the sun before adding a new layer. It isn't finished yet so is a work in progress but as it was hopefully to be an entry in a (small, local) recycled garbage art comp I was toying with the idea of leaving it unpainted to emphasise the material (local news). But somedays, despite all my efforts so far, I think the colouring is just too subtle. My particular concern over mold and longevity is that all entries must be up for sale so I am terrified it both will/won't be accepted for exhibition and will/won't be sold to an unhappy customer.
I like the idea of dunking, if her head wasn't so big I'd be happy to upend her and dunk her whole head in a bucket of varnish! I like the idea of removing it in sections though. Now it's dry it is quite fragile though. Will let u know how I proceed.
Thanks for your interest and advice, I really appreciate it.
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That is quite a lovely job! Mine wasn't anywhere nearly as good.
If you wanted to add more color but still let the newsprint show through, I wonder how a yellow watercolor (from a tube) diluted with water and sprayed on would work? Of course, that would add more moisture.
So I was just browsing online for translucent color and came across a spray product for tinting silk flowers. It's made by the DesignMaster spray paint people and called Just for Flowers: http://www.dmcolor.com/products/?id=17
It might give enough color while keeping the moisture to the minimum. Just a thought.
Sue
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Thanks Sue
mmm that's very interesting, I have found a local suppler of that brand here in Australia, they also make a range of translucent sprays specifically for paper crafts too and there's a wide range of colours. First I might try a water colour wash on a bit and see how it looks.
Helen
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If you are wanting to allow the newsprint to show through, the floral tint may be a good choice. Have used it in costuming. It is good for spray painting fabric as it has a very 'soft hand' and doesn't leave the fabric stiff. Have you considered soft pastels? I have used them several times with PM. You can grind them into powder and brush them on, setting them with a sprayable fixative, or take the powder and mix it with 90% alcohol (found at your local druggist) and daub it on or spray it on with a small mister. It still required a fixative of course. Takes a bit to get the feel for it, but the results are quite nice and it dries almost instantly when applied with a light hand. You can look around the web for pastel alcohol wash techniques.
Last edited by paper soup (2012-01-15 13:50:14)
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I learn something new every day!
I never realized that pastels were alcohol-soluble.
Another valuable tip from Paper Soup... and counting!
Sue
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I do have soft pastels and spray fixative already in the cupboard, hadn't thought of that! thanks paper soup. Am heading off on holidays for a week so am going to leave it to dry thoroughly and tackle the colour and hair issue when we get back I will let you know how I go!
Thanks, Helen
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Thanks J, yes I am cursing this unseasonally wet summer here in Sydney, I just want to get it completed and sealed before the cold sets in again. Thanks for your advice. it isn't finished yet so maybe some layers using the heated glue/PVA mix will help seal it.
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