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Getting acquainted with an old and simple craft
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Location: Blogs Sly Comments |
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| Posted by: Emory Schley |
10/24/2007 4:48 AM |
I’ve always wondered what it would be like to work with papier-maché. For some reason, that’s one of the activities I missed out on in school somehow. I’ve always thought of papier-maché work as rough and primitive, and much of it does deserve that reputation, I suppose. However, recently, an opportunity came up for me to get some firsthand experience with the stuff.
Of course, I went to the Internet first to check out the available opportunities. I was shocked to find that papier-maché can be worked down to an almost glass-smooth consistency, and one fellow in Russia produces sculptures (or bas-reliefs) with the material that look as good as anything ever created in the finest marble.
I found that lots of different materials are used in producing papier-maché, and the adhesives used to hold it all together range from the simple to the elegant– from plain old flour or cornstarch to elegant epoxy formulations. But I think the traditional approaches, in place of the more technologically advanced adhesives, work best in keeping with the green movement prevalent these days.
Various techniques have been used to produce papier-maché. Cut up strips of newspaper, soak them in water overnight, add some Elmer’s glue and mold your masterpieces. Another approach uses a “mush” of paper and adhesive. Paper, after it’s been thoroughly soaked overnight, can be placed into a blender at low speed and chopped into a fine mush that’s similar to clay once the adhesive has been added. Papier-maché projects tend to collect mold or mildew if steps aren’t undertaken to circumvent that possibility. Adding some salt to the mixture is one preventive measure you can use. Using an adhesive with anti-fungal properties is another.
You can also use pre-mixed wallpaper paste in your projects. The work must be assembled a few layers at a time, allowing drying time in-between applications. I’m currently working on an approximately life-sized head that I intend to use as a mounting device for a couple of microphones in order to record binaural audio. One can buy pre-made binaural heads, but they can cost up to several thousand dollars or so. Basically being a cheapskate, I’m going to see what type of results I can achieve with a papier-maché head.
Anyway, it’s something to keep me busy and out of trouble, when I’m not writing! |
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