Monday, November 08, 2004

Martha-and several people at ASC-asked: What was the papier mache recipe?

From Carol Spelic's lecture:
It was...
--3 handfulls of papier mache=(paper pulp, any kind. Squeeze the water
out, and run through a food processer, measure)
--2 tbsp wheat paste ( aka wallpaper size)
--1 tbsp plaster
--2 tbsp Elmers' Glue
--1 tbsp linseed oil

--mix with your hands, wear gloves! linseed oil is toxic

-do not bake
-do not freeze
-dry under/with a fan or it will mold
-when this is dry, it can be worked like wood! You can carve,
sand,polish, saw it...
-you can also use acrylic medium instead of glue

She recommended Guerra Paint & Pigment

and gloveclub.com for gloves (1000/60.00)

She talked about various ways to make forms and molds including:
-applying WD40 to a form you like and covering it with spray
foam insulation to make a mold

--filling a grocery bag with peanuts or pearlite and then covering
that-very tightly-with packing tape to make a form to cover with
papier mache. If you use pearlite, you can poke a hole in the bag
when the PM is done, empty the bag and then pull the bag out &
reuse the pearlite. If you use th epeanuts, you will have to leave
it in or saw the form on half to remove it. The PM makes a reliable
glue to reassempbe; or repair.

--glueing sheets of foam house insulation together and carving
it to make a negative or positive mold

I filled some molds I made years ago on Saturday and they are still
drying... I am sooo impatient!

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