Made by Connie Kulow
Jonni, I finished up Maddie, my first paper mache project. While I shared pictures while making her, I wanted you to see her all finished up. Now, I think I might be second guessing myself, and wondering if I should have put more than one coat of varnish on her. Your thoughts? And, does varnish inhibit any mold growth? I made her with joint compound. Thank you.
Hi beautiful!
I looked for a horse pattern but didnt find any on the site. Is there one and I’ve missed it?
Hi Efrat. I think Maddie probably made her own pattern (I’ll let her tell us, when she gets a chance). You can make your own pattern using the instructions in this video. Or, if you’d like to make a foal, you can try a pattern I made years ago. You’ll need to scroll down that page to see the link to the image. There’s also a horse in my book.
If you make a horse, please come back and show it off!
Hi Efrat. I’m Maddie’s “Mom”. I did not use a pattern as she was created by touch and feel. If you go to page three of the Daily Sculptors, you’ll see other pictures which show her backside and round belly. This was my first paper mache clay project and overall, even with all the challenges to make my vision come alive, she turned out pretty good. As Jonni mentioned below, she does have some patterns of the horse that might be interesting to you.
She’s beautiful, Connie – and placing her right next to a saddle is perfect. Nicely done! What did you use for her mane? Is it real horse hair?
As for the varnish, I often use just one coat, but other people use more. If she was completely dry before you painted her, you shouldn’t have any problem with mold unless you live in a very humid area.
Thank you Jonni! Maddie is in my guest room, which is decorated in equestrian decor. I really enjoyed creating her. The mane and tail is synthetic hair that I purchased on line. My sister had offered to clip strands from her horse, but I really needed Maddie to have the full mane and tail look. I did find your video that talked about mold, and I feel so much better now. She was completely dry before I painted her, and Maddie is in a temperature controlled room. Thank you so much for your advice, all the videos, and very nice comments!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone use hair like that to create a mane. It looks great. Do you have any new projects you’re working on?
Thank you! The synthetic hair pieces worked really well on Maddie’s mane and tail. The local beauty supply house only sells human hair extensions, which were very expensive. The clerk suggested synthetic, which was perfect. I am thinking about making a full size fox or a small dog next. I want to rewatch your videos again first as I really want to focus on how to make the paper mache clay smoother.
Have you tried the smooth air dry clay yet?
No, I haven’t yet. I have only worked with paper mache clay as Maddie was my first project. Thanks for your link! I will definitely read it as my next goal is to make a dog or fox much smoother.