Paper Maché
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Paper maché is a material that is made up of pieces of paper, occasionally reinforced with fabric, soaked in a paste or glue that is often used to make sculptures and other decorative objects.
Paper maché has been around for centuries and is an inexpensive, fun art medium. It is a great material to work with for both young and old artists alike because it is typically non-toxic and is relatively easy to use.
Despite its French sounding name, paper maché did not originate in France. An early form of paper mache was used in China and other countries for centuries before becoming popular in Europe in the 1700's. It is rumored that the name paper maché, which is French for "chewed paper", came about because the French factory workers who were making paper maché in London at the time actually chewed the paper. Whether this is just a rumor or whether it is true will likely never be known, but it is an interesting suggestion!
Throughout history paper maché has been used to make everything from helmets for Chinese soldiers to dolls, puppets, vases and decorative boxes. Today it is commonly used to make masks for Mardi Gras or for the theater. It is also a popular artistic medium for making light weight sculptures.
Once it is dry, paper maché can be sanded to a very smooth surface and then painted or laquered. The paste for modern paper maché varies depending upon the artist, but typically could be flour and water, boiled flour and water, resin, PVA glue, starch, or plain old wallpaper paste. Wallpaper paste is probably the easiest paste to work with and provides excellent results while being non-toxic.
Want to try a fun project with paper maché? How about building a paper maché character? Here's what you'll need:
- An old newspaper
- Wallpaper paste
- Balloon
- A tin can
- Paint
Start by blowing up the balloon and setting it on top of the tin can. This will be your armature (a structure that will support your sculpture) for the head and neck of your character.
Tear the newspaper into thin strips. Soak a strip of newspaper in the wallpaper paste, then place it over the balloon and can. Repeat this process until the balloon and tin can are completely covered with 4 layers of newspaper, being sure to smooth it with your fingers as you go so you have a nice, smooth surface.
Next, soak newspaper and ball it up/mash it on to your base sculpture to create your nose, eyebrows, eyes, chin, cheeks and ears of your character. Once you have a facial feature shaped about right, layer a strip of soaked newspaper over the top of it to smooth it in with the rest of your sculpture.
Once you have your character's head and face how you want it, allow it to dry. When it is dry you can lightly sand it and then paint it however you would like. Play around with making different types of paper maché heads & faces...men, women, smiling, laughing, big-nosed, little nosed, grumpy, etc.
Most importantly, have fun!