Here is the cliff notes image version of the Owl Mask template.
I have been working my fingers sore cutting all this cardboard up… I am taking a break from cutting out 100 mask shapes… to post this and have a little dinner. I am thinking/hoping I will be safe with making 30 cut outs of each mask for the first day of the garden party.
I am loving the cute little masks and can’t wait to see how the public will enjoy them and paint them! if its OK I will post a few images here to show you how the day has gone.
I will post a few… I wasn’t sure because they are not the daily sculpture theme… But I think it’s nice to show the end product of a project…after all the hours hard work.
I am getting the feeling from how happy I am with how they turned out… that they’re going to be popular… which kind of scares me… because I am prepping 100 masks for the first day. Which is a lot of work and I am worried it’s not enough…
ha ha ha wish I could hire a person to help with the cutting my hands hurt.
They are realy nice Douglas! Your pictures on flickr are great too! Thanks for sharing it. If you don’t mind I might use your owl this summer in a projectweek called” strange birds” Just a handy tip perhaps ” you draw the templates and let the older kids or people cut it out themselfs” I am making 30 lion mask next week but I am sure not cutting it all 😉 I will post a picture of mine when they are done
Your welcome to use the owl template go for it. please have fun with it and share the photos… I would love to see where you take it and the kids take it.
For this project I am prepping everything… to save time and minimize the labor for the participant. I only have two hours to make mask each day and I want to keep the clean-up to a minimal as well. This is kind of a cheat make a mask workshop cus all the hard work is done there just putting them together and painting them.
To be honest I what to focus on marketing not to sound soulless, but this is a good project for interacting with the public to sell what I do and my art work, Because I don’t have to worry about someone cutting a finger off with a box cutter.
If I was teaching this to say grades 4-5 I would let them do the cutting, but use a thinner material other than cardboard like cardstock printer paper. I made all the templates out of an old cereal box… and it’s would make nice masks, but I don’t eat that much cereal 🙂
Here is what I have been working away on… I recently have been invited be a part of a local event that is put on by the city of Yellowknife. Every Tuesday in June for 3 hours in the evenings I am running a free mask making booth outside in very beautiful park…
Which means making masks with the public: its great advertising and I get paid by the city for my time a supplies, which as an artist/teacher is a nice bonus.
Here are a few images of what I am creating for them I thought you craftier out there would love to see this. These masks make great afternoon fun project or with large groups of people… from the very young to the young at heart. More pics to come as I finish the construction of the three masks I am making.
Cheers Douglas
PS If you want more details about the process… just click on my name above and it takes you to my flickr page.
The three characters I have decided to design are stylized simple masks of a Bear, a Fox and an Owl. There are more process photos to come as I am in the middle of creating them.
Funny that you post this for I have been bussy creating lionmasks out of a one piece cardboard this weekend! Your’s look great Thanks for sharing your idea’s and photo’s ! How many people will attent at your free mask courses, That is a clever way of advertesing! ( as I mentioned befor I am intressed on giving lessons or workshops to the public and I am looking for ways and idea’s to go about this .. so thanks)
Thanks for your comment. It’s hard to say how many people will be coming to this event… I have created a mask making project that will take about 30 mins+ from start to finish… and I have limited the seating to 10 people at a time… so over a 2 – 2 and a half hour period that’s 40 – 50 people max per day…
But I am guessing that I will be teaching 25 – 30 people each day, I am preparing for 150 over the four days I will be running the table. I know that the first day may be slow and as the days go past I may be get popular… so I will make sure to have extra supplies for the last two days.
I am also using this as an opportunity to show some of my work and sell some higher quality masks and putting out a sign-up sheet for upcoming mask making and drama playshops.
This kind of thing is a lot of work and tiring, but valuable as a teaching experience and marketing tool. let me know if there is anything more I can answer for you or help with…
Hi Doug Thanks! It sounds interesting. Also like the fact that you offer 3 masks and the signing up for later workshops. Good luck with the preperations. Sounds like a nice local event
Douglas, this sounds like a wonderful event. Have you considered video-taping the workshop (with releases signed by participants, of course) and selling the workshop on Amazon.com? Info on how to do it here.
Douglas, I thought you might be interested in this mask-maker’s summer workshops, since you’re going to be doing something similar yourself. (I signed up for Google alerts, and I saw the news item this morning.) The news article doesn’t actually show his masks, but I did find some of them online. The ones shown on that museum site are very elaborate – I wonder how he’ll simplify his process so his students can be happy with their projects. Actually, now that I reread the news article, I’m not sure the kids will actually get to make a mask. Maybe he’ll just talk about the process. Hmmm…
I’m familiar with Patrick Riley’s work… he is a very whimsical mask maker, I met him some years back… Thank you for the links… I like your idea about taping a workshop… something to think about.
I know some people here who are professional film makers… and I have been talking to them about making a couple of films of some of my bigger project, I also what to do a stop motion of the making of a giant mask.
Hi Douglas! I saw your giant raven in the creation of flikr, it was superb fine. I also adore the ravens. Hear and see them often above my house. Wondering where the subarctic regions you live. * Gisela
The chimpanzee is progressing, and I’m starting to be very happy with him. This time the body was made with wet clay, built up with slabs so the inside is hollow. And instead of using a release on the clay I very carefully covered it with plastic wrap, and even threw a damp paper towel down inside the neck hole before covering it. I discovered with the last attempt at a body that it’s easy to remove the clay if you do it that way. Also, I changed the configuration just a touch, so that the entire piece could be covered with paper mache without taking it apart and then trying to put it all back together again, like I did last time. Now, if I trust the clay to stay soft inside the plastic, I should be able to refrain from removing the clay form until the paper mache is completely solid. (I do tend to be a bit impatient at this point.)
The head is laminated Aqua-Resin, and I used burlap instead of the glass mat between layers. That way, I had some fabric strips with one end firmly encased inside the resin, and the other end was then laid over the first layer of paper mache, pasted down, and then covered with more of the shop towel mache. It feels like it has bonded very solidly.
Next – fur. Then add a finish, and I’m ready to make another one – as soon as Nancy’s mask is done, of course.
Any ideas about how I can create a stand for this guy, to replace the plastic tub he’s now sitting on? Something I can afford, you know…
Closeup of hands – baby poo-colored wet potter’s clay wrapped in plastic. [img]http://ultimatepapermache.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/001.jpg[/img]
Chimpanzee bust with three or four layers of shop towels and fast-setting paste, ready for paper mache clay fur when he gets dry. [img]http://ultimatepapermache.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/004-1.jpg[/img]
This has turned out wonderfully Jonni… very artistic and playfully life like…
I am not what your plans are for the base… but I think that it would look nice on a wooden plinth that is a half round of a log with the bark facing forward, I have attached an image of a log, to give you an idea of what I am talking about. Thought it will need a little base on the bottom to make is stable.
This maybe a cheesy idea, with all the browns and blacks you’re going to us to paint your sculpture… I think it would add a little charm to the sculpture as a whole to add one or a few paper mache bananas to the sculpture to give it a splash of colour.
Maybe find a log with a branch sticking out of it and hang them on the branch, or if you’re a person who likes functional art– you could hang real bananas from it and have it as your fruit tree in your kitchen! ha ha ha or I should say “ooh-ooh-ooh-eee-eee-aaa-aaa!â” 🙂
Thanks, Douglas. I like the bark idea. (Not too sure about the bananas, though. 🙂 ) I do plan to do a future sculpture with the full figure and a supporting branch – but I haven’t decided if it should be a real branch from my wood pile or paper mache. That’s a long way into the future – I have to get this one finished first.
For a pedestal, I would suggest anything you can afford (a nicely shaped upside down small trashcan?) and you can cover it with complementary fabric. I live in L.A. where we are blessed (?) with copious yard sales – all kinds of stand-material there.
I also have a question. How do you all account for the slight increase in size the papier mache causes; especially like on the chimp’s face Jonni? With little creases and details, it seems there would be a chance of running out of needed room.
Actually, the face is Aqua-Resin, not paper mache. I used the Flexwax re-usable mold material to make a mold from the original modeling clay master, then used the resin layered with burlap instead of fiberglass. This latest try, I made the resin head first and then made the hollow wet clay body, with the head actually propped up on the clay neck. That let me see how it was really fitting together. To make sure the fingers didn’t get too fat with the extra paper over the clay, I went back over them with a tool and removed clay and deepened the cracks between the fingers. I also made sure there wouldn’t be ridges where the face and body joined. I’ll be adding paper mache clay to the fingers to get the thick leather look that chimpanzees have on their hands, and to add some fur texture to the body and cheeks.
It would have been possible to get almost as much detail using just paper mache clay on the face, but I wanted to try this method and see how it worked out. I rather like it, but the resin does add about $10 in cost. I’ll make more detailed photos and descriptions of the process when I make the next one. This one was just a very long series of experiments – which is why it has taken so danged long.
HELLO!!! i am so happy i found this awesome website. im a muralist; commercial and residential, but this week i was asked to create a large sculpture this week for nonprofit event. to my suprise, they are wanting a pair of 14-15ft tall cowboy boots. i need help asap. anybody??? do i use chicken wire an some type of plaster? it has to be finnished in 7 days. i also need help in mathmatical dimentions. thank u so much. email shanaynayart@yahoo.com
Wow – you take on some big projects! You might be able to make good use of the monster mud recipe. I’ve never used it myself, but many of my readers have, especially with their outdoor Halloween projects. I thought the original recipe was on the stolloween website, but for some reason I couldn’t find it there. Anyway, it seems to be one gallon of latex paint added to a five gallon bucket of drywall joint compound. You’ll need a heavy-duty electric drill with a paint mixer attachment to mix the mud. Burlap is dipped into the mixture, I think, and then draped over the chicken wire form. (I really hope someone who actually knows what they’re talking about will jump in here and correct me if I’ve got the directions wrong). If you get the right weather it should be dry in a few days, but with that kind of deadline you’ll need to start now.
You’ve got it right, tho, like paper mache, it’s definitely tweak-able. Rich mentioned he uses regular fabric, vs. burlap. And you can drap it over any form, not just chicken wire. It sticks, tho, so expect whatever you drape it over to stay embedded in the piece. I’ve seen folks different ratios (1 gallon of paint : 4 gallons or even 3 1/2) depending on how thick / thin you want it.
The ‘original’ recipe has been around a long time. The Terror Syndicate has a basic how-to …
Honestly, with that kind of timeline/deadline … I’d look at building them out of cardboard, and doing a simple, quick, sheet paper mache over top. 1 Week for 15 foot boots, yikes!
Thanks, B. I agree about the deadline – that’s really a killer. When people put together things like that for parade floats, they start months in advance.
There is a show called monster man on A&E and the man is a maker of monster props. One of his projects was to make boots the height that you are needing to make. He made the huge boots out of foam and sculpted them. He had only two days to make those two 12 foot boots. I wish I knew the episode number for that. It would have been the answer to your question.
Yeehaw! 15 ft. cowboy boots!? Dang, that’s a challenge. For something like that I would actually build a wood frame for the “tower” part of the boot using 2×2’s, using cross-bracing to keep them sturdy. You don’t want something that big falling over and until it’s completed it’s going to be rather unsteady. The wood will also ensure that whatever material you do place over the top –whether it’s paper mache or “Monster Mud” — it won’t collapse the structure.
Once you have the 2×2 form built, I’d make a plywood “sole” and attach the tower to it at the heel end. I would then use chicken wire to get the boot shape you’re looking for, stapling it to the wood. Once again, it provides support for the overall structure.
For something like this and with so little time, I would use Monster Mud. Jonni had it right and I would go with the 5:1 ratio of joint compound-to-latex paint because it will be more liquidy and will be easier to handle. Then I would use old sheets — you can cut them up into more manageable sizes, but I wouldn’t go too small: after all the benefit is that it covers a large space in a small amount of time. Wrap it around the chicken wire form and smooth it out with your hands. If you need to you can use a heat gun to help speed up the drying time, but that will take time out of your day and you’ve got two of them to build! You can apply a second layer after the first since the first one will probably show the chicken wire pattern underneath.
After the layers dry, if these will be outdoors, I’d give them a coat of Dry-Loc. It’s a basement sealer to keep water out. Then you can paint over the top of that when it’s dry.
Good luck since that’s a pretty massive undertaking in such a short amount of time.
OMG!!! :0 That’s amazing. I could never do something that great. ( although i’m only 12) U have got some talent. good luck on any other sculptures you make in the future!
I ordered the Ficus leaves from ebay. Used about 250 😉 This was my first attempt and I learned as I went along. I might try making the the leaves for the next tree from paper. There is a change a have to make one for a decor/ stage for a performance group soon.
I had so much fun making this one. . Looking for nice trees in town, stopping at the once I liked, feeling and looking at it’ s bark .. hahaha The challange with this tree was that it needs to come apart and the branches should not harm anyone ‘s face or eyes when you walk past and it space should not take to much. Also the smaller branches have be changable in to the seasons if wanted and that is possible now
Hello!!! Thank you for the comments for my wrist. Now I they go it is necessary to write in English, this way we can communicate better. I like much your tree, Gea., I wait to see it prompt finished. Fondness Mònica
I have been working on my tree for some time now and I am taking it to it’s final destination. I wanted to cheer up my working enviroment a bit. I will mis the tree in my house an might make an other one. Here are some pictures of my live size tree . I realy enjoyed the proces and using differtent techniques on it ( PM clay and strips)
Wow – the tree really turned out nice. We get a lot of questions about how to make a paper mache tree, and I’ve never been able to answer them. Now it looks like we have an expert. I’ll be sure to point any new tree questions to this comment. Thanks, Gea.
Hello Gea. I want to make big trees like that for decoration for my wedding but I don’t even know where to start. What do I use as a base so it won’t topple over. Also I want to make some tree centerpeices what do you recommend I use as a base for that? Please get back to me.
You can go to a carpet store and ask if you can get an empty carboard tubes. That will be the base. They have it in various sizes . It is solid
The support can be anything. Mine is from a mannequin standard with a flet square( heavy) base and a pole. It come’s halfway inside the trunk but supports it just fine
I am not sure what you mean with” some tree centerpeices” ( don’t know the word) so I f you can explain that for me than I can try and answer. If you mean little tree’s for on the tables? there is someone that posted that a while ago. Perhaps Jonni can help you on that!
For the branches I used rolled up newspaper but also empty toiletrolls and layers and layers of newspaperstrips. Just the water and flour paste works fine! In the weak parts of the branches I made some holes and filled it with some polyuthane foam . That will make it much stronger.
The carboard tube is a bit straight so you have to form the trunk and give it bumps etc. I used the papermache clay to make bark but after painting you could not see it verry well so paper stripes are fine and you can wrinkel and form those as well. It will save you some time
You can get leafs in any colour on ebay or you can make them from paper or fabric. For the bendable branches you need iron- wire. Oh and lots and lots of maskingtape. Don’t get the cheap ostuff but the one that will stick better for it will save you lost of work. I did not use floraltape this time , found out about it to late, but I will use it a nex time. If you do use floraltape! please tell me what your findings are ! Hope I have been of some help and it can start building your tree for your Big day! Is your wedding soon? I would love to see your tree Gea
Gea has some excellent ideas – I knew she would! I might add just a note here on the issue of making sure the trees don’t fall over. To make sure my giraffe didn’t fall over from the weight of the head, I weighted the bottom of the neck, which was built over a cardboard tube. I show how I did it here, step 7. In the three years since I made him, he has never fallen over. That should work for your table centerpieces, too. For a full-sized tree, like the one Gea shows in her comment, I would advise bolting it to the wall.
These posts are such a life saver. I was already creating my paper mache tree before coming to this site and I just finished my base. So excited to see I am not the only one in love with paper mache trees. I know my post is a bit late as the original was posted 6 months ago, but I am really interested in Gea’s posting above, but the links to her images are not working.
Hi Cat. We had a problem with the image upload program a while back. I fixed a lot of images, but I missed these. They’re working now – and she did a great job on that tree, don’t you think?
I would like to use this forum to ask its readers and writers some advise! For a while I am thinking of giving workshops to people but I do not quite know how to go about this. I do have to mention that I have the qualifications to work with children and groups of people. Perhaps community center worker is closest name to my qualifications. I could also work as an assistent teacher according to my education. I do not have artschool background. a quick intruduction might be handy 😉 I am female 41, living in The Netherlands and my current job is working in after school daycare. I give “workshops†every day to the children introducing them to various techniques, materials etc. I love fabrics and sawing, mixed media techniques and of course Papermache. But I do not have experience in “teaching†adults . That idea is kind of scarry but that is the group I want to focus on or the elderly people.
Unfortunately people will loose jobs in the childcare for it is getting to expansive for parents in our economy. My job might be on the line as well or at least big drop in payment will arise soon. Therefore I am thinking about ways to make an income.! I am very creative but my level of art is amateur, which is fine by me for that is not my strongest quality. Mine are in organizing and caring for people and making them enthusiastic and motivated.
I would love to hear what you think. Any tips or advise would be helpful and I would appreciate it hugely
I did an English translation from a translation software. I too was interested in what Monica had to say and I agree, that starting from the beginning is the best place to start. I usually assume the stance that people that come do not have experience and when you start, you find out the level of experience of your audience as you go along. Some people will come with some preconceived ideas and are looking for more.
Hi Jet I tell you that I teach paper mache adults and has taught beginning and then make the dough I raise simple jobs. Look at the tutorials on this blog, such as birds. I am at your disposal when you need it. Here I leave my wrist finished this week Give my love Monica
I put most of the easiest projects in the Paper Mache for Kids category. However, the best one to start with is the one you would most like to have when it’s done. Click on the Paper Mache Projects link at the top of the page, (right under the pig’s nose 🙂 ) and I’m sure you’ll be able to find something that you’d like to start with.
it’s really just a little bit of silliness on my part… But I love the fact I just read “Click on the Projects link (right under the pig’s nose 🙂 )” it made me laugh… how often in life does one get to read something like that or in your case write it.
I hope your day is going great… here in the Canadian arctic; it’s been a wonderful few days with 20 hours of sunlight and warm cool-ish summer weather 🙂
Hi Douglas. It was rather fun to write that sentence, too. 😉 Our rain finally decided to give us a break, so we’re having a great day here, too. No 20 hour sunlight, though. But we also didn’t have to go through three months of no sun at all, so it all evens out. Cheers.
I’m new to your website and to sculpting, so I have not read this blog yet, but I will enjoy learning about this craft as I read. I’m interested in learning how to make my own flexible and plaster molds. Are there tutorials on your website that tell how to make these? Also, I made my first batch of paper clay yesterday, and I think it’s probably too thick. Can I just add water to make it more spreadable? Thank you, Jet
It depends on why it’s too thick. If you added more paper than the recipe calls for, you would want to increase the amount of glue and joint compound. If it’s the added flour that’s causing it to be too thick, a bit of water should work just fine. Before adding anything, you might try spreading it onto something, just to see how it feels. Also use your knife to experimentally form an eye or other little detail, and see how it works. Then play around with the recipe to make it work the way you like.
Hello everyone, I have been following Jonni’s videos and have read most of this blog recently (or maybe not most of it, but much of this part of it). I am getting acquainted with papier mache though I use any appropriate material/technique in my work to achieve what I intend.
I will weigh in on the ‘art’ and gallery world discussions as I am immersed in that question as well. Firstly, anyone can call themselves an artist Jonni! The IRS doesn’t even had a real code for ‘artist’ though there are many, many wealthy artists.
I don’t know when the term ‘artist’ came to imply quality – but there is more than one use of the word. When a chef is so good as to transcend the ordinary bounds of cooking, we might say she’s an ‘artist’ in the kitchen to imply quality. I’ve heard people call Martha Stewart an artist but that is surely not her goal. That seems to me to be a different use of the word and it is ALWAYS confused with the simple noun. There are great artists, good, bad, terrible, mediocre and unjustifiably successful and unfairly unsuccessful artists, etc.. It’s like any other job in my world; except in it we want to get paid/be supported for doing exactly what we want to do. Is it any wonder it is very hard to be successful artist? It’s the best ‘work’ in the world.
I have friends who quit making art/trying to be an artist because 1. they no longer enjoyed it for various reasons (including the pressure) and 2. they never acquired what critic Dave Hickey has called “a community of desire” to receive their work. The longer I practice, the more I understand the “community of desire” concept. Jonni has one – we are all here because we like her work, her teaching, the discussions and/or all of the above. I hope you don’t mind if I use you as an example, Jonni. While we might be a small community here at UPM, the minute a gallery asks to show Jonni’s work, that community has expanded because the gallerist is investing in Jonni by turning over his space to her work for a time (time=money here) and publicizing her. If a collector buys Jonni’s work from the gallery, the community grows exponentially as now the collector wants her investment to grow in value. The ‘art market’ that I have just described is not so much the only community of desire that counts (I think critical support is more profoundly important), but it is evidence of demonstrable ‘success’ to and within a capitalist society. If an artist can sustain the support of this networked community through time, they will likely have a career.
Wow, I’ve gone on too long, especially for my first comment. I wanted to ask if any of you have seen the work of Vincent Fecteau who works in, among other things, papier mache? His pm sculptures put him on the map, and his work ‘allowed’ papier mache back into a contemporary art world that, for decades, ignored it as ‘not noble’ enough. Ken Price (who recently passed) did the same thing for ceramics. One good thing about the anything-goes art world now is that material judgements are no longer valid.
The hard part is getting your work in front of someone who wants to do something for you! My advice, even to myself, is to do what you love because it is probably what you’re best at.
I’m headed to check on some of yesterday’s experiments with Jonni Clay 2. Carry on, good people.
If your wondering what the white stuff is… I call it TP Paste… its the mask makers equivalent to auto body filler… all purpose glue and shredded bathroom tissue sometimes I add a little dyer lent or sawdust. I have used something like Jonni clay before, but its just to heavy for using on mask.
Hi Douglas I am looking forward to see Bazile when he is all done and painted. I enjoyed your photo’s of the process and I also like his optical side. Gea
thank you I am so happy to here that you like the photos… I have to admit I have worked almost as hard on the photos as I have on the mask… 🙂
I have never photographed the making of a mask with so much “How to make” detail and it got me thing I may like to try my hand a making a book. Kind of my own text book for students in my mask workshops or like a teachers guide for schools.
TP Paste is strictly for strengthening the mask on the inside… I mostly use it in the nose because it is the most abused part of the mask. In the photos I have also used the TP Paste in the ears, around the eyes and in the bottom lip. Its very sticky to work with and doesn’t really make a good mask on its own.
Jonni Clay would be the best use for the exterior use of a mask… but you will have to build cardboard armature for that. Jonni’s how to make mask book shows the process in detail.
I am going to make up a batch of Jonni Clay 2.0 and mess around with in soon… I will post photos of the process.
p.s. Thank You for the complement about my mask work… “Blush”
Douglas, I just got an email from an art teacher who wants to use modeling clay to make a masks, but she doesn’t know how to get it nice and smooth without using anything toxic, like alcohol or mineral spirits. Do you have any advice for her?
I haven’t posted much lately, but I have been busy. Chimpanzee is coming along. The body parts are being built in pieces, as you can see below, using the shop towel paper mache method over wet clay. The torso was covered with plastic wrap, while the arms were coated with petroleum jelly. They all seem to be drying quite well, and I fit them back together temporarily to make sure all the pieces will work when they’ve been removed from the temporary clay armatures. I’ll be reinforcing them from the inside, maybe with wire mesh, maybe just with burlap and more glue/plaster paste. The head is sculpted with Super Sculpey, but I’ll make a mold of it and make the final head with the aqua resin. Then put it all together, add fur, and finish. (That makes it sound like I’m almost done, doesn’t it? Don’t I wish?) [img]http://ultimatepapermache.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/chimpanzee-pieces-1.jpg[/img]
Amazing!!! I’ve missed hearing about your latest adventures with your projects. I hope you keep us updated on what’s going on with your chimp. Do you have a name for him/her already?
WAUW Jonni Your chimp is absolutly beautifull ! ! ! I can’t wait to see how he looks when he’s all done!
You mentioned that you were thinking of making a femal chimp as well 😉 If so ! will you make video’s or tutorials about your working proces? I would love to see you work on it and how you use the aqua resin on the final head
I do hope to make a mama and baby chimp – we’ll see how all the parts fit together with this one, first. If I can get it all to work, I’ll do a video for the next one. Today I’m busy moving my studio out of my living room and onto the back deck – I’m looking forward to having my house back. And I’m waiting for some wax material to show up in the mail – it’s supposed to be a re-usable mold material, which would be great. Silicone is wonderful stuff, but it’s too danged expensive. I’ll make a video of the wax mold-making process too, if it works. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
The chimp parts look phenomenal! And looking forward to hearing about your wax material. I have something similar, tho not wax … called Composimold. I’ve been using armatures vs. molds lately … so haven’t used it as much as I thought I would. But when I get back to masks I’ll use it a bunch. You melt it in the microwave, and then it hardens to a flexible mold material. And like wax, you can remelt it to create a new mold whenever you want.
B, how did you like the Composimold? Their website does make it look good – like silicone molds but without the expense of buying new material for every mold. I only want to use the mold once, so spending $30 for each mold is really unreasonable. I hope that the wax will also be flexible enough so I can get away with undercuts – but we shall see. When you used the composimold material, what did you cast in the molds? Were you using paper mache?
The arms got a little distorted when I removed them from the clay – I should have waited longer and let them firm up more. I think they can still be used, though. I’ve put him back together (still without his head) and it’s drying now.
I like the composimold. It takes some getting used to. It’s very sticky when melted (like tree sap almost) … and I have a tendency to want to wipe it off at that stage … (not a good idea, wait till dry, then peel.) So now I wear gloves.
I have used paper mache strips and clay in test mold (small 1/2 ball) , and liked it very much. I especially like being able to melt and redo, since I’m not very good at mold-making yet. I did use a release, but I’m not sure you’d have to. I’ll do a small test and report back.
I was making molds for resin, so had some trouble with small air bubbles. They recommend saturating your original with watered down elmers glue to prevent air bubbles — I haven’t gotten the balance of that yet. I also had a problem with making the mold perfectly level (again, that’s me, not the composimold product.) And since the resin is liquid, one end ended up thicker because the mold wasn’t level.
I ended up casting the resin in an existing shape instead.
My real intention for the composimold was for mask-making where I want to make a cast of a face, and then make a set number of identical mask forms … but then not need to store the box mold forever (or to have to decide to throw it away.)
It feels a little like a suicide block printing technique … where once you’ve printed your series, you destroy that block (and reuse it) by carving it further. Once you melt the mold, you can’t remake it exactly.
Composimold breaks down in water, so it might not work for a very wet (paper dipped, dripping in flour water) technique, but it works for plaster, cement, and you can freeze water to make ice in it. So no problem with the PM clay.
I’d say worth experimenting with. Especially for the free sample for the price of shipping — that would give you enough to make a small mold and test.
Thanks – I think I’ll order some today. Then I can compare it to the Flexwax that should arrive sometime this week. I might try Sara’s wood composition recipe, too. I still seem to be in experimental mode for some reason.
Hi Jonni
Is it an idea to take your chimp proces to it’s own page, like Harry has I do believe it is worthy of one 😉 and it’s much easier keeping up with the reading and the following of it’s making
Just as soon as I get all the technical details worked out, I’ll definitely put up a regular post. I did create a Flexwax mold yesterday (should have followed the instructions a bit better, though) and I got a very good resin casting from the mold. It isn’t as “good” as silicone, but it’s reusable, and therefore much cheaper. I actually appreciate a few unexpected textures and flaws, because I think it gives a piece a bit more character.
Now the problem – since the head and body were developed separately, the body is too big. I thought I had everything measured correctly, but it doesn’t work. But that just gives me an opportunity to do it over – and I’m actually looking forward to it. I have a few more things I want to try, anyway.
Good luck with the body. Are you making a new body or are you adjusting this one?
I started over. This is about the 8th time I’ve redone this guy, but I figure it’s all part of my self-training program. Once I figure it out, the next one should go really fast.
Wow Jonni, fantastic work! I can’t wait to see him finished.
I just had to share a larger version of this photo… sometimes when you get the mask off the mold it does this really neat optical illusion… where your brain thinks you’re looking at the front of the mask… when you’re really looking at the back.
I made a short video clip and I will post the link here once I get it uploaded to YouTube.
Disney’s attraction “The Haunted Mansion” uses that exact phenomenon to great effect. In one particular room there are busts all around the room and it seems that as you’re walking past them all the heads are turning to look at you.
I’ve even seen it used during Halloween where you take just a simple large concave bowl (clear), paint an “iris” in the bottom, and place it in a window. When lit from behind, it looks like a giant eyeball that follows you as you walk past the house. It’s very cool to see and I await your video to see how it looks with your mask.
I have seen this optical illusion in my work before… and I just love how it looks, this mask seams to do a really good job of staring back at you… I think it has triggered a few new ideas with doing some gallery work.
Here is the next set of photo of taking the mask Bazile off its mold… some of the photos look painful, but as you see by the end of the set the mask is back in one piece and all is right with the world 🙂
Everyone wants acceptance of what they make . . . except that those who lie a lot. I’ve a few galleries and expanding their number has been a Herculean task. I spend about half my time a courting; and, a seldom thing is to see the bobber move.
In that we sculpt our work in other than clay, carve it from wood or stone, we have classically chosen a discipline that is less acceptable in the eyes of most of the Art World. Of course, one can carp that this shouldn’t or isn’t true, but that doesn’t much change the reality that we are “craft markers” and rather invisible to the majority of a very well defined and functional educated market place.
This week I got a rejection letter from a very creditable, nationally respected gallery. Here is there comment: “Jim- Thank you for the  submission of your mixed media work for our consideration. Our gallery is in a conservative suburb and your work is not a fit for our gallery or clientele. Perhaps approach more college towns . . . with a more adventurous art mind set”
I’m sharing this well intended tidbit because it tells us that we must continue to work harder and harder to produce work that is acceptable to a very sophisticated and educated clientele.
This just seemed something that needs to be repeated now-and-then, to keep us honest as makers. Or, maybe, it is merely another rant. I guess that depends on one’s own expectations. Personally, fighting the battle fuels my fire and forces self improvement of skills.
All that we can wish for is that ” . . . a more adventurous art mind set” really exists.
Good points Jim. But I wonder if trying to cater to the “buying crowd” might actually hurt us when we go about trying to find the niche that will actually like the particular style and message in our work. Your work is unique, and the gallery is correct when they say it doesn’t fit in everywhere. (They actually think your buyers are better educated than average!) But your work is a huge hit with the kind of folks who “get it.” Shouldn’t we specialize and create exactly what feels right to us, and use that uniqueness as a selling point to the few people who might be interested? If we try to fit in with what’s generally acceptable in the average gallery, don’t we then create “average” art, which will be less likely to excite anyone? Two excited buyers seem better than 200 semi-interested lookers. (Just playing devil’s advocate here – I think this is a really valuable subject for discussion.)
On the other hand, quality is always a paramount concern, regardless of the style or message in the work, and no matter what medium is used, but that’s a whole ‘nother discussion. Your gallery rejection was based on style, not quality, and that’s something that all of us should be aiming for. It’s rather like a publisher taking the time to tell an author that their work is good, but not a good fit for that particular house. As opposed to sending a form letter that doesn’t even get your name right, which is where most authors start out. When I finally get around to submitting work to galleries, I am actually hoping that I get a few letters like the one you got! Then I’ll know I’m heading in the right direction, at least.
I just got my weekly newsletter from Robert Genn (sign up for it – it’s always interesting), and the last sentence seemed to be a good fit for this discussion:
The days of submitting slides to galleries are history. Providing the work is of a suitable standard, artists need a simple, unpretentious and un-shopping-carted website with at least eight of their current works. Target dealers and galleries need to be made aware of your site and directed to it. It’s fast and efficient for dealers to go there–they almost always do–and they can tell in 10 seconds whether they are the slightest bit interested. … Your own personality and lots of apples in your applecart help when galleries ask you to come by and say hello.
If you need a website and haven’t built one yet, remember that I put up a free tutorial on the subject at http://buildwebsiteeasyonline.com/ . And if anyone has any suggestions about how I could improve the design of that site, please let me know. I’m almost embarrassed to tell people about it because it’s so icky. What kind of image should go in the header to spice it up?
Hi Jonni, I think that site is just fine the way it is – it’s precise and to the point. I want to thank you for sharing so much valuable information with all of us out here who would like to try making a little money on our creations. I retired from designing houses when the economy left me with no clients, so now I just want to make a little going out to dinner money. [I HATE cooking! 🙂 ] You are so amazingly talented! Terry
“Shouldn’t we specialize and create exactly what feels right to us, and use that uniqueness as a selling point to the few people who might be interested,†you say.
I don’t disagree . . . however, I think that “failure to place†your work is linked to not so much to content, but to the exactness of your presentation. If your “uniqueness†can carry water, then there will be interest in it. “Two excited buyers seem better than 200 semi-interested lookers,†is interesting. The problem is that it is easier to cull the two excited buyers from an “identifiable 200 semi-interested lookers†than to wait passively on a street corner waiting to be discovered . . . as the traffic and time flash by.
What’s “exactness of presentation?†Not erecting distractions! Distractions are errors in our building that we don’t bother to correct, subject matter that cares no message and having the conceited thought that because our family, friends, church guild or the like are doing they are not an indication of creative ability. Personally, I’ve never had a child who didn’t like what I’ve made . . .
I think your Steven Pressfield book, THE WAR OF ART, got to the point quite well when he opined that some artists are amateur, others professional in their thought process. For myself, I intend to earn a couple bucks, which casts me in the latter group. As such, doesn’t objective self-criticism tend stay the course? It also causes some sleepless nights.
Jim
PS. Oops. Just posted this note in the front page, wrong reply area. No focus tenacity demonstrated in that.
Gallery AD’s don’t know much about art… Mostly they just know about selling fad work that is popular at the time but, in the long run its just garbage… I know you probable have heard this a hundred before… but don’t take it person…
Jonni is right your work stands on its own and the people who get it… know it’s true quality.
Here are the next few steps along the evolution of Bazile. I pulled an all-nighter and paper mached for 10 straight hours; I think it’s kind of strange how one can lose track of time over such a simple labor.
Mask making to me is energizing and once I get to this stage of the game. There is a lot of time to start thinking of new mask designs. While working late into the night I found time to take a break and sketch out a few new mask ideas. It’s a very Zen thing paper maching, I zone out of reality for a while and just get into the moment in front of me. I find it a little unnerving I can sum up 10 hours of labor in just seven photos.
Bazile is now front of the fan now for a 12 drying period. The next batch of photos will show how I take a mask off its mold.
He looks great. And I agree about getting into the “zone.” The fine details, getting each piece of paper on just so – that can really take you into a very special place. Do remember to eat, though. 🙂
Yes, I have a deviant art page at http://greysummers610.deviantart.com/ with pictures at other angles and other types of work like drawings and paintings.
I guess this would be a good time to bring this up since you asked about the way I work. I’m actually at the beginning stages of what I hope I can turn into a book. I’ve discussed the topic with Jonni and she’s provided some insight onto how to go about making a how to book through amazon. I want to do one working with paper mache but with a dinosaur related theme for the dinosaur enthusiast and for those teachers, like myself, who want to be able to bring in art into the classroom by tying it closely to other subjects like science. What do you think? Would it be something that you would be interested in? What do others on here think?
Great idea! Go for it and make the book.! I have not yet seen a book an papermache dinosaurs. I am sure it will sell well and I may buy one My children at my work love them and I am getting them interested in paper mache and its endless possibilities. Coming week I will introduce the kids with making 3D statues using only wire and maskingtape and paint. I needed a quick theme that can be done in a day to motivate the kids. Your maskingtape skills inspired me to come up with this idea. I am using poor maskingtape so I will add glue into the paint to make sure it will stick together. I made a few examples to show the kids what is possible:
” reading a book” with ” bronze” painting [img]http://ultimatepapermache.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/P130512_1436.jpg[/img]
The angry cat in red: [img]http://ultimatepapermache.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/P130512_141602.jpg[/img]
I finished another armature today. Now if only I had joint compound to make the clay to finish it. 🙁 [img]http://ultimatepapermache.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/IMAG0003.JPG[/img] [img]http://ultimatepapermache.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/IMAG0011.JPG[/img]
How on earth do you get the tape to sit so smoothly over your armatures? This looks almost finished, but you haven’t even started on the paper mache yet? How on earth do you do that? (My armatures always have lots of tape ends sticking out. It doesn’t really matter since they get covered up anyway, but they sure don’t look as nice as this.)
It’s actually not as smooth as it looks. I think what it is is the fact that I have such a crappy camera that it doesn’t take very clear pictures so it looks more seamless than it actually is. I myself am surprised sometimes when I look at the pictures and see how smooth the works in progress look.
Here is the cliff notes image version of the Owl Mask template.
I have been working my fingers sore cutting all this cardboard up… I am taking a break from cutting out 100 mask shapes… to post this and have a little dinner. I am thinking/hoping I will be safe with making 30 cut outs of each mask for the first day of the garden party.
I am loving the cute little masks and can’t wait to see how the public will enjoy them and paint them! if its OK I will post a few images here to show you how the day has gone.
Yes, we would love to see the photos. This sounds like a wonderful event.
I will post a few… I wasn’t sure because they are not the daily sculpture theme… But I think it’s nice to show the end product of a project…after all the hours hard work.
Very cool and cute masks Douglas! I’ll bet you get lots of people wanting to play with you!
I am getting the feeling from how happy I am with how they turned out… that they’re going to be popular… which kind of scares me… because I am prepping 100 masks for the first day. Which is a lot of work and I am worried it’s not enough…
ha ha ha wish I could hire a person to help with the cutting my hands hurt.
They are realy nice Douglas! Your pictures on flickr are great too! Thanks for sharing it. If you don’t mind I might use your owl this summer in a projectweek called” strange birds” Just a handy tip perhaps ” you draw the templates and let the older kids or people cut it out themselfs” I am making 30 lion mask next week but I am sure not cutting it all 😉 I will post a picture of mine when they are done
Gea,
Your welcome to use the owl template go for it. please have fun with it and share the photos… I would love to see where you take it and the kids take it.
For this project I am prepping everything… to save time and minimize the labor for the participant. I only have two hours to make mask each day and I want to keep the clean-up to a minimal as well. This is kind of a cheat make a mask workshop cus all the hard work is done there just putting them together and painting them.
To be honest I what to focus on marketing not to sound soulless, but this is a good project for interacting with the public to sell what I do and my art work, Because I don’t have to worry about someone cutting a finger off with a box cutter.
If I was teaching this to say grades 4-5 I would let them do the cutting, but use a thinner material other than cardboard like cardstock printer paper. I made all the templates out of an old cereal box… and it’s would make nice masks, but I don’t eat that much cereal 🙂
Douglas, I asked all my friends to save their cereal boxes for me and I was overwhelmed with boxes! 😛 Maybe if you ask one or two friends …
that’s a great idea I am going to do that 🙂
Hey Everyone,
Here is what I have been working away on… I recently have been invited be a part of a local event that is put on by the city of Yellowknife. Every Tuesday in June for 3 hours in the evenings I am running a free mask making booth outside in very beautiful park…
Which means making masks with the public: its great advertising and I get paid by the city for my time a supplies, which as an artist/teacher is a nice bonus.
Here are a few images of what I am creating for them I thought you craftier out there would love to see this. These masks make great afternoon fun project or with large groups of people… from the very young to the young at heart. More pics to come as I finish the construction of the three masks I am making.
Cheers
Douglas
PS
If you want more details about the process… just click on my name above and it takes you to my flickr page.
The three characters I have decided to design are stylized simple masks of a Bear, a Fox and an Owl. There are more process photos to come as I am in the middle of creating them.
Cheers
Douglas
Hi Douglas,
Funny that you post this for I have been bussy creating lionmasks out of a one piece cardboard this weekend! Your’s look great
Thanks for sharing your idea’s and photo’s !
How many people will attent at your free mask courses, That is a clever way of advertesing! ( as I mentioned befor I am intressed on giving lessons or workshops to the public and I am looking for ways and idea’s to go about this .. so thanks)
Hi Gea,
Thanks for your comment. It’s hard to say how many people will be coming to this event… I have created a mask making project that will take about 30 mins+ from start to finish… and I have limited the seating to 10 people at a time… so over a 2 – 2 and a half hour period that’s 40 – 50 people max per day…
But I am guessing that I will be teaching 25 – 30 people each day, I am preparing for 150 over the four days I will be running the table. I know that the first day may be slow and as the days go past I may be get popular… so I will make sure to have extra supplies for the last two days.
I am also using this as an opportunity to show some of my work and sell some higher quality masks and putting out a sign-up sheet for upcoming mask making and drama playshops.
This kind of thing is a lot of work and tiring, but valuable as a teaching experience and marketing tool. let me know if there is anything more I can answer for you or help with…
Cheers
Douglas
Hi Doug
Thanks! It sounds interesting. Also like the fact that you offer 3 masks and the signing up for later workshops.
Good luck with the preperations. Sounds like a nice local event
Douglas, this sounds like a wonderful event. Have you considered video-taping the workshop (with releases signed by participants, of course) and selling the workshop on Amazon.com? Info on how to do it here.
Douglas, I thought you might be interested in this mask-maker’s summer workshops, since you’re going to be doing something similar yourself. (I signed up for Google alerts, and I saw the news item this morning.) The news article doesn’t actually show his masks, but I did find some of them online. The ones shown on that museum site are very elaborate – I wonder how he’ll simplify his process so his students can be happy with their projects. Actually, now that I reread the news article, I’m not sure the kids will actually get to make a mask. Maybe he’ll just talk about the process. Hmmm…
Thanks for this Jonni,
I’m familiar with Patrick Riley’s work… he is a very whimsical mask maker, I met him some years back… Thank you for the links… I like your idea about taping a workshop… something to think about.
I know some people here who are professional film makers… and I have been talking to them about making a couple of films of some of my bigger project, I also what to do a stop motion of the making of a giant mask.
Hi Douglas!
I saw your giant raven in the creation of flikr, it was superb fine. I also adore the ravens. Hear and see them often above my house. Wondering where the subarctic regions you live.
* Gisela
The chimpanzee is progressing, and I’m starting to be very happy with him. This time the body was made with wet clay, built up with slabs so the inside is hollow. And instead of using a release on the clay I very carefully covered it with plastic wrap, and even threw a damp paper towel down inside the neck hole before covering it. I discovered with the last attempt at a body that it’s easy to remove the clay if you do it that way. Also, I changed the configuration just a touch, so that the entire piece could be covered with paper mache without taking it apart and then trying to put it all back together again, like I did last time. Now, if I trust the clay to stay soft inside the plastic, I should be able to refrain from removing the clay form until the paper mache is completely solid. (I do tend to be a bit impatient at this point.)
The head is laminated Aqua-Resin, and I used burlap instead of the glass mat between layers. That way, I had some fabric strips with one end firmly encased inside the resin, and the other end was then laid over the first layer of paper mache, pasted down, and then covered with more of the shop towel mache. It feels like it has bonded very solidly.
Next – fur. Then add a finish, and I’m ready to make another one – as soon as Nancy’s mask is done, of course.
Any ideas about how I can create a stand for this guy, to replace the plastic tub he’s now sitting on? Something I can afford, you know…
Closeup of hands – baby poo-colored wet potter’s clay wrapped in plastic.
[img]http://ultimatepapermache.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/001.jpg[/img]
Chimpanzee bust with three or four layers of shop towels and fast-setting paste, ready for paper mache clay fur when he gets dry.
[img]http://ultimatepapermache.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/004-1.jpg[/img]
This has turned out wonderfully Jonni… very artistic and playfully life like…
I am not what your plans are for the base… but I think that it would look nice on a wooden plinth that is a half round of a log with the bark facing forward, I have attached an image of a log, to give you an idea of what I am talking about. Thought it will need a little base on the bottom to make is stable.
This maybe a cheesy idea, with all the browns and blacks you’re going to us to paint your sculpture… I think it would add a little charm to the sculpture as a whole to add one or a few paper mache bananas to the sculpture to give it a splash of colour.
Maybe find a log with a branch sticking out of it and hang them on the branch, or if you’re a person who likes functional art– you could hang real bananas from it and have it as your fruit tree in your kitchen! ha ha ha or I should say “ooh-ooh-ooh-eee-eee-aaa-aaa!â” 🙂
Thanks, Douglas. I like the bark idea. (Not too sure about the bananas, though. 🙂 ) I do plan to do a future sculpture with the full figure and a supporting branch – but I haven’t decided if it should be a real branch from my wood pile or paper mache. That’s a long way into the future – I have to get this one finished first.
For a pedestal, I would suggest anything you can afford (a nicely shaped upside down small trashcan?) and you can cover it with complementary fabric. I live in L.A. where we are blessed (?) with copious yard sales – all kinds of stand-material there.
I also have a question. How do you all account for the slight increase in size the papier mache causes; especially like on the chimp’s face Jonni? With little creases and details, it seems there would be a chance of running out of needed room.
Actually, the face is Aqua-Resin, not paper mache. I used the Flexwax re-usable mold material to make a mold from the original modeling clay master, then used the resin layered with burlap instead of fiberglass. This latest try, I made the resin head first and then made the hollow wet clay body, with the head actually propped up on the clay neck. That let me see how it was really fitting together. To make sure the fingers didn’t get too fat with the extra paper over the clay, I went back over them with a tool and removed clay and deepened the cracks between the fingers. I also made sure there wouldn’t be ridges where the face and body joined. I’ll be adding paper mache clay to the fingers to get the thick leather look that chimpanzees have on their hands, and to add some fur texture to the body and cheeks.
It would have been possible to get almost as much detail using just paper mache clay on the face, but I wanted to try this method and see how it worked out. I rather like it, but the resin does add about $10 in cost. I’ll make more detailed photos and descriptions of the process when I make the next one. This one was just a very long series of experiments – which is why it has taken so danged long.
HELLO!!! i am so happy i found this awesome website. im a muralist; commercial and residential, but this week i was asked to create a large sculpture this week for nonprofit event. to my suprise, they are wanting a pair of 14-15ft tall cowboy boots. i need help asap. anybody??? do i use chicken wire an some type of plaster? it has to be finnished in 7 days. i also need help in mathmatical dimentions. thank u so much. email shanaynayart@yahoo.com
Wow – you take on some big projects! You might be able to make good use of the monster mud recipe. I’ve never used it myself, but many of my readers have, especially with their outdoor Halloween projects. I thought the original recipe was on the stolloween website, but for some reason I couldn’t find it there. Anyway, it seems to be one gallon of latex paint added to a five gallon bucket of drywall joint compound. You’ll need a heavy-duty electric drill with a paint mixer attachment to mix the mud. Burlap is dipped into the mixture, I think, and then draped over the chicken wire form. (I really hope someone who actually knows what they’re talking about will jump in here and correct me if I’ve got the directions wrong). If you get the right weather it should be dry in a few days, but with that kind of deadline you’ll need to start now.
I can’t help much with the dimensions, though.
You’ve got it right, tho, like paper mache, it’s definitely tweak-able. Rich mentioned he uses regular fabric, vs. burlap. And you can drap it over any form, not just chicken wire. It sticks, tho, so expect whatever you drape it over to stay embedded in the piece. I’ve seen folks different ratios (1 gallon of paint : 4 gallons or even 3 1/2) depending on how thick / thin you want it.
The ‘original’ recipe has been around a long time. The Terror Syndicate has a basic how-to …
http://terrorsyndicate.com/demos_page_8.html
Honestly, with that kind of timeline/deadline … I’d look at building them out of cardboard, and doing a simple, quick, sheet paper mache over top. 1 Week for 15 foot boots, yikes!
Thanks, B. I agree about the deadline – that’s really a killer. When people put together things like that for parade floats, they start months in advance.
There is a show called monster man on A&E and the man is a maker of monster props. One of his projects was to make boots the height that you are needing to make. He made the huge boots out of foam and sculpted them. He had only two days to make those two 12 foot boots. I wish I knew the episode number for that. It would have been the answer to your question.
Anesha,
Yeehaw! 15 ft. cowboy boots!? Dang, that’s a challenge. For something like that I would actually build a wood frame for the “tower” part of the boot using 2×2’s, using cross-bracing to keep them sturdy. You don’t want something that big falling over and until it’s completed it’s going to be rather unsteady. The wood will also ensure that whatever material you do place over the top –whether it’s paper mache or “Monster Mud” — it won’t collapse the structure.
Once you have the 2×2 form built, I’d make a plywood “sole” and attach the tower to it at the heel end. I would then use chicken wire to get the boot shape you’re looking for, stapling it to the wood. Once again, it provides support for the overall structure.
For something like this and with so little time, I would use Monster Mud. Jonni had it right and I would go with the 5:1 ratio of joint compound-to-latex paint because it will be more liquidy and will be easier to handle. Then I would use old sheets — you can cut them up into more manageable sizes, but I wouldn’t go too small: after all the benefit is that it covers a large space in a small amount of time. Wrap it around the chicken wire form and smooth it out with your hands. If you need to you can use a heat gun to help speed up the drying time, but that will take time out of your day and you’ve got two of them to build! You can apply a second layer after the first since the first one will probably show the chicken wire pattern underneath.
After the layers dry, if these will be outdoors, I’d give them a coat of Dry-Loc. It’s a basement sealer to keep water out. Then you can paint over the top of that when it’s dry.
Good luck since that’s a pretty massive undertaking in such a short amount of time.
Rich
Hello Anesha!!! That good it defied!!! I am going to say to you since it I would do. With wire of henhouse you do the structure, then you line it with you bandage wettings in a mixture of tail vinilica and chalk in powder. (It dries rapidly) and then you give him a cap of paper maché, doing all the details. I hope that it serves my information you. A lot of luck!!!! Mònica
OMG!!! :0 That’s amazing. I could never do something that great. ( although i’m only 12) U have got some talent. good luck on any other sculptures you make in the future!
Really great tree Gea! Are the leaves paper mache also? The paint job looks lifelike!
Thanks Terry
I ordered the Ficus leaves from ebay. Used about 250 😉
This was my first attempt and I learned as I went along.
I might try making the the leaves for the next tree from paper.
There is a change a have to make one for a decor/ stage for a performance group soon.
I had so much fun making this one. . Looking for nice trees in town, stopping at the once I liked, feeling and looking at it’ s bark .. hahaha
The challange with this tree was that it needs to come apart and the branches should not harm anyone ‘s face or eyes when you walk past and it space should not take to much. Also the smaller branches have be changable in to the seasons if wanted and that is possible now
Bye
Hello!!! Thank you for the comments for my wrist. Now I they go it is necessary to write in English, this way we can communicate better. I like much your tree, Gea., I wait to see it prompt finished. Fondness Mònica
Hi
I have been working on my tree for some time now and I am taking it to it’s final destination.
I wanted to cheer up my working enviroment a bit.
I will mis the tree in my house an might make an other one.
Here are some pictures of my live size tree . I realy enjoyed the proces and using differtent techniques on it ( PM clay and strips)
Wow – the tree really turned out nice. We get a lot of questions about how to make a paper mache tree, and I’ve never been able to answer them. Now it looks like we have an expert. I’ll be sure to point any new tree questions to this comment. Thanks, Gea.
don’t know about beeing an expert 😉 but I have got some tips if ever needed
Hello Gea. I want to make big trees like that for decoration for my wedding but I don’t even know where to start. What do I use as a base so it won’t topple over. Also I want to make some tree centerpeices what do you recommend I use as a base for that? Please get back to me.
Hi sarah
You can go to a carpet store and ask if you can get an empty carboard tubes.
That will be the base. They have it in various sizes . It is solid
The support can be anything. Mine is from a mannequin standard with a flet square( heavy) base and a pole. It come’s halfway inside the trunk but supports it just fine
I am not sure what you mean with” some tree centerpeices” ( don’t know the word) so I f you can explain that for me than I can try and answer.
If you mean little tree’s for on the tables? there is someone that posted that a while ago. Perhaps Jonni can help you on that!
For the branches I used rolled up newspaper but also empty toiletrolls and layers and layers of newspaperstrips. Just the water and flour paste works fine!
In the weak parts of the branches I made some holes and filled it with some polyuthane foam . That will make it much stronger.
The carboard tube is a bit straight so you have to form the trunk and give it bumps etc. I used the papermache clay to make bark but after painting you could not see it verry well so paper stripes are fine and you can wrinkel and form those as well. It will save you some time
You can get leafs in any colour on ebay or you can make them from paper or fabric.
For the bendable branches you need iron- wire. Oh and lots and lots of maskingtape. Don’t get the cheap ostuff but the one that will stick better for it will save you lost of work. I did not use floraltape this time , found out about it to late, but I will use it a nex time. If you do use floraltape! please tell me what your findings are !
Hope I have been of some help and it can start building your tree for your Big day!
Is your wedding soon? I would love to see your tree
Gea
Gea has some excellent ideas – I knew she would! I might add just a note here on the issue of making sure the trees don’t fall over. To make sure my giraffe didn’t fall over from the weight of the head, I weighted the bottom of the neck, which was built over a cardboard tube. I show how I did it here, step 7. In the three years since I made him, he has never fallen over. That should work for your table centerpieces, too. For a full-sized tree, like the one Gea shows in her comment, I would advise bolting it to the wall.
These posts are such a life saver. I was already creating my paper mache tree before coming to this site and I just finished my base. So excited to see I am not the only one in love with paper mache trees. I know my post is a bit late as the original was posted 6 months ago, but I am really interested in Gea’s posting above, but the links to her images are not working.
Hi Cat. We had a problem with the image upload program a while back. I fixed a lot of images, but I missed these. They’re working now – and she did a great job on that tree, don’t you think?
Hello!
I would like to use this forum to ask its readers and writers some advise!
For a while I am thinking of giving workshops to people but I do not quite know how to go about this.
I do have to mention that I have the qualifications to work with children and groups of people. Perhaps community center worker is closest name to my qualifications.
I could also work as an assistent teacher according to my education. I do not have artschool background.
a quick intruduction might be handy 😉
I am female 41, living in The Netherlands and my current job is working in after school daycare.
I give “workshops†every day to the children introducing them to various techniques, materials etc. I love fabrics and sawing, mixed media techniques and of course Papermache.
But I do not have experience in “teaching†adults . That idea is kind of scarry but that is the group I want to focus on or the elderly people.
Unfortunately people will loose jobs in the childcare for it is getting to expansive for parents in our economy. My job might be on the line as well or at least big drop in payment will arise soon. Therefore I am thinking about ways to make an income.! I am very creative but my level of art is amateur, which is fine by me for that is not my strongest quality. Mine are in organizing and caring for people and making them enthusiastic and motivated.
I would love to hear what you think. Any tips or advise would be helpful and I would appreciate it hugely
* gea
Hola Jet
Te cuento que yo doy clases de papel maché a adultos y comienzo enseñando ha hacer la masa y luego voy planteando trabajos sencillos.
FÃjate en los tutoriales de este blog, por ejemplo los pájaros.
Estoy a tu disposición, cuando lo necesites.
Aqui le dejo mi muñeca terminada, en esta semana
Cariños
Mònica
[img]http://ultimatepapermache.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC00044.JPG[/img]
I dont speak spanish but she is realy nice Monica!
Love the detail in her shirt and bag!
I did an English translation from a translation software. I too was interested in what Monica had to say and I agree, that starting from the beginning is the best place to start. I usually assume the stance that people that come do not have experience and when you start, you find out the level of experience of your audience as you go along. Some people will come with some preconceived ideas and are looking for more.
Hi Jet I tell you that I teach paper mache adults and has taught beginning and then make the dough I raise simple jobs. Look at the tutorials on this blog, such as birds. I am at your disposal when you need it. Here I leave my wrist finished this week Give my love Monica
What a great doll Monica!
I also am wondering if you can suggest a simple figure that I could try making as a beginner?
I put most of the easiest projects in the Paper Mache for Kids category. However, the best one to start with is the one you would most like to have when it’s done. Click on the Paper Mache Projects link at the top of the page, (right under the pig’s nose 🙂 ) and I’m sure you’ll be able to find something that you’d like to start with.
Just a quick note Jonni…
it’s really just a little bit of silliness on my part… But I love the fact I just read “Click on the Projects link (right under the pig’s nose 🙂 )” it made me laugh… how often in life does one get to read something like that or in your case write it.
I hope your day is going great… here in the Canadian arctic; it’s been a wonderful few days with 20 hours of sunlight and warm cool-ish summer weather 🙂
Hi Douglas. It was rather fun to write that sentence, too. 😉 Our rain finally decided to give us a break, so we’re having a great day here, too. No 20 hour sunlight, though. But we also didn’t have to go through three months of no sun at all, so it all evens out. Cheers.
I’m new to your website and to sculpting, so I have not read this blog yet, but I will enjoy learning about this craft as I read. I’m interested in learning how to make my own flexible and plaster molds. Are there tutorials on your website that tell how to make these? Also, I made my first batch of paper clay yesterday, and I think it’s probably too thick. Can I just add water to make it more spreadable? Thank you, Jet
It depends on why it’s too thick. If you added more paper than the recipe calls for, you would want to increase the amount of glue and joint compound. If it’s the added flour that’s causing it to be too thick, a bit of water should work just fine. Before adding anything, you might try spreading it onto something, just to see how it feels. Also use your knife to experimentally form an eye or other little detail, and see how it works. Then play around with the recipe to make it work the way you like.
Hello everyone, I have been following Jonni’s videos and have read most of this blog recently (or maybe not most of it, but much of this part of it). I am getting acquainted with papier mache though I use any appropriate material/technique in my work to achieve what I intend.
I will weigh in on the ‘art’ and gallery world discussions as I am immersed in that question as well. Firstly, anyone can call themselves an artist Jonni! The IRS doesn’t even had a real code for ‘artist’ though there are many, many wealthy artists.
I don’t know when the term ‘artist’ came to imply quality – but there is more than one use of the word. When a chef is so good as to transcend the ordinary bounds of cooking, we might say she’s an ‘artist’ in the kitchen to imply quality. I’ve heard people call Martha Stewart an artist but that is surely not her goal. That seems to me to be a different use of the word and it is ALWAYS confused with the simple noun. There are great artists, good, bad, terrible, mediocre and unjustifiably successful and unfairly unsuccessful artists, etc.. It’s like any other job in my world; except in it we want to get paid/be supported for doing exactly what we want to do. Is it any wonder it is very hard to be successful artist? It’s the best ‘work’ in the world.
I have friends who quit making art/trying to be an artist because 1. they no longer enjoyed it for various reasons (including the pressure) and 2. they never acquired what critic Dave Hickey has called “a community of desire” to receive their work. The longer I practice, the more I understand the “community of desire” concept. Jonni has one – we are all here because we like her work, her teaching, the discussions and/or all of the above. I hope you don’t mind if I use you as an example, Jonni. While we might be a small community here at UPM, the minute a gallery asks to show Jonni’s work, that community has expanded because the gallerist is investing in Jonni by turning over his space to her work for a time (time=money here) and publicizing her. If a collector buys Jonni’s work from the gallery, the community grows exponentially as now the collector wants her investment to grow in value. The ‘art market’ that I have just described is not so much the only community of desire that counts (I think critical support is more profoundly important), but it is evidence of demonstrable ‘success’ to and within a capitalist society. If an artist can sustain the support of this networked community through time, they will likely have a career.
Wow, I’ve gone on too long, especially for my first comment. I wanted to ask if any of you have seen the work of Vincent Fecteau who works in, among other things, papier mache? His pm sculptures put him on the map, and his work ‘allowed’ papier mache back into a contemporary art world that, for decades, ignored it as ‘not noble’ enough. Ken Price (who recently passed) did the same thing for ceramics. One good thing about the anything-goes art world now is that material judgements are no longer valid.
The hard part is getting your work in front of someone who wants to do something for you! My advice, even to myself, is to do what you love because it is probably what you’re best at.
I’m headed to check on some of yesterday’s experiments with Jonni Clay 2. Carry on, good people.
Thanks, Barbara – you’ve given us a lot to think about. Please let us know how those experiments come out.
Hello Everyone,
here are the next few photos of what I have been working on… its almost time to paint 🙂 YAHOO!
P.S.
If your wondering what the white stuff is… I call it TP Paste… its the mask makers equivalent to auto body filler… all purpose glue and shredded bathroom tissue sometimes I add a little dyer lent or sawdust. I have used something like Jonni clay before, but its just to heavy for using on mask.
Hi Douglas
I am looking forward to see Bazile when he is all done and painted.
I enjoyed your photo’s of the process and I also like his optical side.
Gea
Gea,
thank you I am so happy to here that you like the photos… I have to admit I have worked almost as hard on the photos as I have on the mask… 🙂
I have never photographed the making of a mask with so much “How to make” detail and it got me thing I may like to try my hand a making a book. Kind of my own text book for students in my mask workshops or like a teachers guide for schools.
Thank You for you feed back
Cheers
Douglas
Is the TP Paste on the inside Douglas? Is it to smooth it for wearing? Or to strengthen?
Your work is awsome, too.
Terry,
TP Paste is strictly for strengthening the mask on the inside… I mostly use it in the nose because it is the most abused part of the mask. In the photos I have also used the TP Paste in the ears, around the eyes and in the bottom lip. Its very sticky to work with and doesn’t really make a good mask on its own.
Jonni Clay would be the best use for the exterior use of a mask… but you will have to build cardboard armature for that. Jonni’s how to make mask book shows the process in detail.
I am going to make up a batch of Jonni Clay 2.0 and mess around with in soon… I will post photos of the process.
p.s.
Thank You for the complement about my mask work… “Blush”
Douglas, I just got an email from an art teacher who wants to use modeling clay to make a masks, but she doesn’t know how to get it nice and smooth without using anything toxic, like alcohol or mineral spirits. Do you have any advice for her?
I haven’t posted much lately, but I have been busy. Chimpanzee is coming along. The body parts are being built in pieces, as you can see below, using the shop towel paper mache method over wet clay. The torso was covered with plastic wrap, while the arms were coated with petroleum jelly. They all seem to be drying quite well, and I fit them back together temporarily to make sure all the pieces will work when they’ve been removed from the temporary clay armatures. I’ll be reinforcing them from the inside, maybe with wire mesh, maybe just with burlap and more glue/plaster paste. The head is sculpted with Super Sculpey, but I’ll make a mold of it and make the final head with the aqua resin. Then put it all together, add fur, and finish. (That makes it sound like I’m almost done, doesn’t it? Don’t I wish?)
[img]http://ultimatepapermache.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/chimpanzee-pieces-1.jpg[/img]
OH! wow this is turning out great Jonni… very inspiring work.
Thanks Douglas – but let’s wait and see how it turns out. I don’t want to jinx anything. 😉
Amazing!!! I’ve missed hearing about your latest adventures with your projects. I hope you keep us updated on what’s going on with your chimp. Do you have a name for him/her already?
WAUW Jonni
Your chimp is absolutly beautifull ! ! !
I can’t wait to see how he looks when he’s all done!
You mentioned that you were thinking of making a femal chimp as well 😉
If so ! will you make video’s or tutorials about your working proces?
I would love to see you work on it and how you use the aqua resin on the final head
* Gea
I do hope to make a mama and baby chimp – we’ll see how all the parts fit together with this one, first. If I can get it all to work, I’ll do a video for the next one. Today I’m busy moving my studio out of my living room and onto the back deck – I’m looking forward to having my house back. And I’m waiting for some wax material to show up in the mail – it’s supposed to be a re-usable mold material, which would be great. Silicone is wonderful stuff, but it’s too danged expensive. I’ll make a video of the wax mold-making process too, if it works. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Lots of good news 😉
Hey Jonni,
The chimp parts look phenomenal! And looking forward to hearing about your wax material. I have something similar, tho not wax … called Composimold. I’ve been using armatures vs. molds lately … so haven’t used it as much as I thought I would. But when I get back to masks I’ll use it a bunch. You melt it in the microwave, and then it hardens to a flexible mold material. And like wax, you can remelt it to create a new mold whenever you want.
— b
B, how did you like the Composimold? Their website does make it look good – like silicone molds but without the expense of buying new material for every mold. I only want to use the mold once, so spending $30 for each mold is really unreasonable. I hope that the wax will also be flexible enough so I can get away with undercuts – but we shall see. When you used the composimold material, what did you cast in the molds? Were you using paper mache?
The arms got a little distorted when I removed them from the clay – I should have waited longer and let them firm up more. I think they can still be used, though. I’ve put him back together (still without his head) and it’s drying now.
I like the composimold. It takes some getting used to. It’s very sticky when melted (like tree sap almost) … and I have a tendency to want to wipe it off at that stage … (not a good idea, wait till dry, then peel.) So now I wear gloves.
I have used paper mache strips and clay in test mold (small 1/2 ball) , and liked it very much. I especially like being able to melt and redo, since I’m not very good at mold-making yet. I did use a release, but I’m not sure you’d have to. I’ll do a small test and report back.
I was making molds for resin, so had some trouble with small air bubbles. They recommend saturating your original with watered down elmers glue to prevent air bubbles — I haven’t gotten the balance of that yet. I also had a problem with making the mold perfectly level (again, that’s me, not the composimold product.) And since the resin is liquid, one end ended up thicker because the mold wasn’t level.
I ended up casting the resin in an existing shape instead.
My real intention for the composimold was for mask-making where I want to make a cast of a face, and then make a set number of identical mask forms … but then not need to store the box mold forever (or to have to decide to throw it away.)
It feels a little like a suicide block printing technique … where once you’ve printed your series, you destroy that block (and reuse it) by carving it further. Once you melt the mold, you can’t remake it exactly.
Composimold breaks down in water, so it might not work for a very wet (paper dipped, dripping in flour water) technique, but it works for plaster, cement, and you can freeze water to make ice in it. So no problem with the PM clay.
I’d say worth experimenting with. Especially for the free sample for the price of shipping — that would give you enough to make a small mold and test.
Thanks – I think I’ll order some today. Then I can compare it to the Flexwax that should arrive sometime this week. I might try Sara’s wood composition recipe, too. I still seem to be in experimental mode for some reason.
Hi Jonni
Is it an idea to take your chimp proces to it’s own page, like Harry has
I do believe it is worthy of one 😉
and it’s much easier keeping up with the reading and the following of it’s making
Just as soon as I get all the technical details worked out, I’ll definitely put up a regular post. I did create a Flexwax mold yesterday (should have followed the instructions a bit better, though) and I got a very good resin casting from the mold. It isn’t as “good” as silicone, but it’s reusable, and therefore much cheaper. I actually appreciate a few unexpected textures and flaws, because I think it gives a piece a bit more character.
Now the problem – since the head and body were developed separately, the body is too big. I thought I had everything measured correctly, but it doesn’t work. But that just gives me an opportunity to do it over – and I’m actually looking forward to it. I have a few more things I want to try, anyway.
Good luck with the body.
Are you making a new body or are you adjusting this one?
I started over. This is about the 8th time I’ve redone this guy, but I figure it’s all part of my self-training program. Once I figure it out, the next one should go really fast.
Wow Jonni, fantastic work! I can’t wait to see him finished.
I just had to share a larger version of this photo… sometimes when you get the mask off the mold it does this really neat optical illusion… where your brain thinks you’re looking at the front of the mask… when you’re really looking at the back.
I made a short video clip and I will post the link here once I get it uploaded to YouTube.
Disney’s attraction “The Haunted Mansion” uses that exact phenomenon to great effect. In one particular room there are busts all around the room and it seems that as you’re walking past them all the heads are turning to look at you.
I’ve even seen it used during Halloween where you take just a simple large concave bowl (clear), paint an “iris” in the bottom, and place it in a window. When lit from behind, it looks like a giant eyeball that follows you as you walk past the house. It’s very cool to see and I await your video to see how it looks with your mask.
Rich
Hi Rich,
I have seen this optical illusion in my work before… and I just love how it looks, this mask seams to do a really good job of staring back at you… I think it has triggered a few new ideas with doing some gallery work.
Bazile is a strange mask… its an optical illusion face… Check out this quick little video I made of the inside out face
http://youtu.be/rUV-leYLDKA
Great video, Douglas. The illusion is perfect.
Hi Everyone,
Here is the next set of photo of taking the mask Bazile off its mold… some of the photos look painful, but as you see by the end of the set the mask is back in one piece and all is right with the world 🙂
I love working with paper it’s so forgiving.
Very cool!!! Thanks for the update. I like to see how your work develops.
ABOUT FINDING GALLERIES . . .
Everyone wants acceptance of what they make . . . except that those who lie a lot. I’ve a few galleries and expanding their number has been a Herculean task. I spend about half my time a courting; and, a seldom thing is to see the bobber move.
In that we sculpt our work in other than clay, carve it from wood or stone, we have classically chosen a discipline that is less acceptable in the eyes of most of the Art World. Of course, one can carp that this shouldn’t or isn’t true, but that doesn’t much change the reality that we are “craft markers” and rather invisible to the majority of a very well defined and functional educated market place.
This week I got a rejection letter from a very creditable, nationally respected gallery. Here is there comment: “Jim- Thank you for the  submission of your mixed media work for our consideration. Our gallery is in a conservative suburb and your work is not a fit for our gallery or clientele. Perhaps approach more college towns . . . with a more adventurous art mind set”
I’m sharing this well intended tidbit because it tells us that we must continue to work harder and harder to produce work that is acceptable to a very sophisticated and educated clientele.
This just seemed something that needs to be repeated now-and-then, to keep us honest as makers. Or, maybe, it is merely another rant. I guess that depends on one’s own expectations. Personally, fighting the battle fuels my fire and forces self improvement of skills.
All that we can wish for is that ” . . . a more adventurous art mind set” really exists.
Back to work . . .
Jim
Good points Jim. But I wonder if trying to cater to the “buying crowd” might actually hurt us when we go about trying to find the niche that will actually like the particular style and message in our work. Your work is unique, and the gallery is correct when they say it doesn’t fit in everywhere. (They actually think your buyers are better educated than average!) But your work is a huge hit with the kind of folks who “get it.” Shouldn’t we specialize and create exactly what feels right to us, and use that uniqueness as a selling point to the few people who might be interested? If we try to fit in with what’s generally acceptable in the average gallery, don’t we then create “average” art, which will be less likely to excite anyone? Two excited buyers seem better than 200 semi-interested lookers. (Just playing devil’s advocate here – I think this is a really valuable subject for discussion.)
On the other hand, quality is always a paramount concern, regardless of the style or message in the work, and no matter what medium is used, but that’s a whole ‘nother discussion. Your gallery rejection was based on style, not quality, and that’s something that all of us should be aiming for. It’s rather like a publisher taking the time to tell an author that their work is good, but not a good fit for that particular house. As opposed to sending a form letter that doesn’t even get your name right, which is where most authors start out. When I finally get around to submitting work to galleries, I am actually hoping that I get a few letters like the one you got! Then I’ll know I’m heading in the right direction, at least.
I just got my weekly newsletter from Robert Genn (sign up for it – it’s always interesting), and the last sentence seemed to be a good fit for this discussion:
If you need a website and haven’t built one yet, remember that I put up a free tutorial on the subject at http://buildwebsiteeasyonline.com/ . And if anyone has any suggestions about how I could improve the design of that site, please let me know. I’m almost embarrassed to tell people about it because it’s so icky. What kind of image should go in the header to spice it up?
Hi Jonni,
I think that site is just fine the way it is – it’s precise and to the point. I want to thank you for sharing so much valuable information with all of us out here who would like to try making a little money on our creations. I retired from designing houses when the economy left me with no clients, so now I just want to make a little going out to dinner money. [I HATE cooking! 🙂 ] You are so amazingly talented!
Terry
Thanks Terry.
Jim Kransberger May 15, 2012 at 10:34 am
Jonni,
“Shouldn’t we specialize and create exactly what feels right to us, and use that uniqueness as a selling point to the few people who might be interested,†you say.
I don’t disagree . . . however, I think that “failure to place†your work is linked to not so much to content, but to the exactness of your presentation. If your “uniqueness†can carry water, then there will be interest in it. “Two excited buyers seem better than 200 semi-interested lookers,†is interesting. The problem is that it is easier to cull the two excited buyers from an “identifiable 200 semi-interested lookers†than to wait passively on a street corner waiting to be discovered . . . as the traffic and time flash by.
What’s “exactness of presentation?†Not erecting distractions! Distractions are errors in our building that we don’t bother to correct, subject matter that cares no message and having the conceited thought that because our family, friends, church guild or the like are doing they are not an indication of creative ability. Personally, I’ve never had a child who didn’t like what I’ve made . . .
I think your Steven Pressfield book, THE WAR OF ART, got to the point quite well when he opined that some artists are amateur, others professional in their thought process. For myself, I intend to earn a couple bucks, which casts me in the latter group. As such, doesn’t objective self-criticism tend stay the course? It also causes some sleepless nights.
Jim
PS. Oops. Just posted this note in the front page, wrong reply area. No focus tenacity demonstrated in that.
Jim,
Gallery AD’s don’t know much about art… Mostly they just know about selling fad work that is popular at the time but, in the long run its just garbage… I know you probable have heard this a hundred before… but don’t take it person…
Jonni is right your work stands on its own and the people who get it… know it’s true quality.
Cheers
Douglas
They’re doing an interesting series about selling your own artwork over at the Abundant Artist site this week.
Hi everyone 🙂
Here are the next few steps along the evolution of Bazile. I pulled an all-nighter and paper mached for 10 straight hours; I think it’s kind of strange how one can lose track of time over such a simple labor.
Mask making to me is energizing and once I get to this stage of the game. There is a lot of time to start thinking of new mask designs. While working late into the night I found time to take a break and sketch out a few new mask ideas. It’s a very Zen thing paper maching, I zone out of reality for a while and just get into the moment in front of me. I find it a little unnerving I can sum up 10 hours of labor in just seven photos.
Bazile is now front of the fan now for a 12 drying period. The next batch of photos will show how I take a mask off its mold.
He looks great. And I agree about getting into the “zone.” The fine details, getting each piece of paper on just so – that can really take you into a very special place. Do remember to eat, though. 🙂
What an awesome triceratops! I can’t wait to see the finished one! Do you have a gallery online with anymore of your work I would love to see more?
~E
Yes, I have a deviant art page at http://greysummers610.deviantart.com/ with pictures at other angles and other types of work like drawings and paintings.
Jose
Jose….
You are the master of the armature and the tape!!
Please tell us what tape you use or reveal any of your trick and trades!!!
*Gea
Hi Gea,
I use Scotch masking tape for production painting that I get from amazon. http://www.amazon.com/3M-Masking-Production-Painting-60-Yard/dp/B00125V10U/ref=pd_cp_hi_0 This seems to work really well for me though I haven’t tried any other brands to know for sure.
I guess this would be a good time to bring this up since you asked about the way I work. I’m actually at the beginning stages of what I hope I can turn into a book. I’ve discussed the topic with Jonni and she’s provided some insight onto how to go about making a how to book through amazon. I want to do one working with paper mache but with a dinosaur related theme for the dinosaur enthusiast and for those teachers, like myself, who want to be able to bring in art into the classroom by tying it closely to other subjects like science. What do you think? Would it be something that you would be interested in? What do others on here think?
Hi Jose
Great idea! Go for it and make the book.! I have not yet seen a book an papermache dinosaurs. I am sure it will sell well and I may buy one
My children at my work love them and I am getting them interested in paper mache and its endless possibilities.
Coming week I will introduce the kids with making 3D statues using only wire and maskingtape and paint. I needed a quick theme that can be done in a day to motivate the kids.
Your maskingtape skills inspired me to come up with this idea. I am using poor maskingtape so I will add glue into the paint to make sure it will stick together.
I made a few examples to show the kids what is possible:
” reading a book” with ” bronze” painting
[img]http://ultimatepapermache.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/P130512_1436.jpg[/img]
The angry cat in red:
[img]http://ultimatepapermache.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/P130512_141602.jpg[/img]
Jose! good luck with your book
Your examples look great!!! I’m sure you’ll get some very interested children. 🙂
I finished another armature today. Now if only I had joint compound to make the clay to finish it. 🙁
[img]http://ultimatepapermache.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/IMAG0003.JPG[/img]
[img]http://ultimatepapermache.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/IMAG0011.JPG[/img]
How on earth do you get the tape to sit so smoothly over your armatures? This looks almost finished, but you haven’t even started on the paper mache yet? How on earth do you do that? (My armatures always have lots of tape ends sticking out. It doesn’t really matter since they get covered up anyway, but they sure don’t look as nice as this.)
It’s actually not as smooth as it looks. I think what it is is the fact that I have such a crappy camera that it doesn’t take very clear pictures so it looks more seamless than it actually is. I myself am surprised sometimes when I look at the pictures and see how smooth the works in progress look.
this is awesome! I can t wait to see it some to life.
Thanks!!! 🙂
Jose, this is great work-I still love dinosaurs even at my age! I will have to have a go at one for my grand kids-I look forward to seeing your book.