Lesson 6

 Pre-packaged paper mâché

Last class several people, including me, mentioned having pre-packaged paper mâché. Celluclay by Amaco is one brand but Activa is another. These packaged products advertise that you just need to add water and you end up with a paper mâché clay that you can then mold into the shapes that you want.

I decided to put my product to the test.  I had one product from my local dollar store and a package of Celluclay.  I decided to give both a try.  The dollar store product had absolutely no instructions at all, so I used the ones that came with my other product and decided to apply them to both.  That worked reasonably well, though the $store product seemed to require less water or didn’t have any sort of binder in the product itself.  When dry, my vessel felt more like a cast paper product than a firm, papier mâché product.  I would add glue to my water the next time I use my $store paper pulp.

Basically, you add your pulp to water and mix until you have a thick pulp and no air bubbles.  You want all the paper pulp to be wet and to have absorbed the water, but you don’t want it to feel sloppy.  You want it to stick together in a ball, like dough.  I kneaded mine with my fist after mixing it with my fork. I wanted my fibres to mix together and mesh. The Celluclay gave precise measurements of water to pulp. I found that product dusty and would recommend good ventilation or wearing a mask so that you don’t breathe in the powder.

Video: Making the Pre-Packaged Paper Pulp Product

Once you have your dough, you can prepare your mold in the same way that you have for your other vessels and begin applying the paper mâché.  You will find that it is a bit moist and therefore does seem a bit more susceptible to gravity.  It will also take longer to dry. If you plan to texture it in any way, it is best to wait until it has begun to firm/dry up a bit before doing that.  I waited several hours before planning and working on my handle areas on my first vessel.

Video: Making a Vessel with Pre-PackagedPaper Pulp

My second experiment with pre-packaged pulp was with Celluclay and that proved to be a little firmer, though still not quite as firm as the DIY paper mâché.  To be honest, I may not have been as accurate in following the directions as I could have been but the vessel did seem strong when released from the mold.

Lesson 5

Making Paper Pulp

Step 1 – Soak the paper

Making Paper Pulp - Step 1 - Soaking the paper

• Gather up paper from your recycle bin if you want (if you want your paper pulp to be white, then use printer paper)
• Tear it into small pieces – about 1” or less  ( or put it through your shredder)
• Soak for 24 hours ( at least) in hot water to start

Step 2 – Blend the soaked paper

Making Paper Pulp – Step 2 – Blending the Paper

• If possible, blend the soaked paper until fibers have broken down (it can be done by hand but it a lot of time)

Step 3 – Strain the blended paper

Making Paper Pulp – Step 3 – Straining the Paper

• Strain the resulting mush, through a cloth, into another bowl.  Twist the cloth to squeeze out as much water as you can.  (Throw the water away outside if possible – it will probably have fine paper particles in it, and you don’t want them in your drain if you can help it)
• Put the resulting fiber mass into the original bowl (now clean) and break into small pea sized pieces.  This can be stored in an airtight bag or container until class time.

Step 4 – Adding glue

Making Paper Pulp – Step 4 – Adding glue

• The final step in making your paper pulp mixture is to add white glue or paste to the pea sized pieces of paper fiber that you have created from the above steps.
• You are going to use the glue to reconstitute them into a fibrous mash or pulp and that is what we will use to make the vessel
• Pour the glue on to the raw paper pulp pieces and begin kneading the paper with your fist.  Disposable gloves are useful for this part of the process since the glue is quite sticky.  Continue kneading until you have a fairly smooth, consistent, dough-like mass.  Add glue as necessary.
• You should not be able to feel or see individual pieces of paper.
•  Continue kneading until all the pulp stays together in a ball and feels smooth.

 

Preparing Your Mold

• Wrap your mold (plastic bowl) in plastic wrap and secure with masking tape on the inside of the bowl.

 

Applying Paper Pulp

Making a Paper Pulp Vessel

• You can flatten larger pieces of pulp in your palm and lay/press them on the mold with your thumbs
• You can break off pieces of pulp and press them on the mold with your fingers or thumbs
• Try to keep the application depth regular to aid in the drying process
• You can lightly dampen your fingers and pat over the applied pulp to smooth out the applied pieces of pulp
• You can use a piece of damp cloth to pat the surface of the pulp to smooth out the texture of the pulp after you have applied it
• If you plan on having holed for stitching or design work, you need to create them while the pulp is still wet. 
• You can create stitching holes using an awl working from the outside of the mold.  Once the vessel is released it is then easy to finish the hole while the interior of the vessel is still damp.

 

Drying Time

Paper pulp takes time to dry.  Wait at least 24 hours before trying to release the vessel from the mold.  Once released the vessel will need at least 48 hours to dry thoroughly.  Keep turning the vessel to make sure that all surfaces are exposed to the air.  The thicker the layer of pulp, the longer the vessel will require to dry.

 

Adding Colour

Colour can be added to the glue.  Acrylic paint or dye can be added to the glue and mixed into the pulp at that stage. The colour would then be throughout the entire vessel.

The vessel can be painted once dry with acrylic paint if desired.

 

Extra –Paper Pulp Dipping

Lesson 4

Adding Stitch to Paper Clay Vessels

Unlike with the paper mache vessels, with paper clay, you need to have pre-planned for stitching on your vessel.  You can make holes after the fact but it isn’t easy and you definitely run the risk of damaging your vessel – a fine drill bit will work but you don’t want to do it too close to the edge of your vessel or too close to other holes.  It can take out more clay than you anticipate on the other side as the drill bit exits so making the holes while the clay is wet or damp is the best solution.

Piercing holes for a border edging

The edge of your vessel remains a delicate area, so you will need to manage it with care.  As the clay dries, it can crack.  You want your clay to be a uniform thickness if at all possible.  The edge can be the most delicate area when releasing your vessel from the mold.  When you are making your holes with your awl, make them at least a ¼” from the edge of the clay and ¼” to 1/3” apart.

Remember to pierce the holes from both sides of the vessel. If you paint your vessel or varnish it, you may need to use your awl again to make sure that the holes have not been clogged with paint or varnish.  Spin the awl, or use a drilling motion –DO NOT PUSH.

Stitching the Edging

Once all the edging holes are complete, it’s time to do a Blanket/buttonhole stitch around the edge.  I use the term Buttonhole and Blanket stitch interchangeably even though I believe there is a slight difference between the two.

All knots are on the inside and secured with full strength PVA, then the tails are trimmed.  I use crochet cotton #10, mainly because I then went on to crochet an edging into the buttonhole stitch.  Perle cotton, or embroidery floss would work as well if you were not planning to crochet.

One thing that you can do if you wish is crochet – that is completely optional.  For anyone interested, this is how I began to do the crochet work on my vessel edging.  I used the loops that I created with the buttonhole stitch as the foundation row for my crochet.  I held the tail of the crochet thread along the edge of the vessel and wove it in as I crocheted along the vessel edge so that there would not be any loose threads.  You can see all this in the accompanying videos below.

PBV Paper ClayVessels and Crochet part 1                how to begin

PBV Paper ClayVessels and Crochet part 2                continuing around the vessel

PBV Paper ClayVessels and Crochet part 3                skipping stitches, freeform crochet

PBV Paper ClayVessels and Crochet part 4                changing thread colour, finished vessel

 

I’ve included some How To Crochet videos if you want to brush up your skills.

Video – Beginner’s Single Crochet 6:19 is where the actual crochet stitching starts

Video – Beginner’s Double Crochet  1:43 is where the actual crochet stitching starts

If you didn’t wish to crochet, you could use the buttonhole stitches as link stitches to allow you to couch fibres to the edge of your vessel.  You could take decorative fibres that might be too thick to stitch through the paper clay and couch them to the vessel using the legs or loops of the buttonhole stitch as anchor places to attach the fibres.  Additional touches of PVA could also be used to secure the fibres if necessary.

PBV Adding Cord to Paper Clay Vessel

You could also choose to do a form of needle lace using the buttonhole stitch as an anchoring stitch for your work.   Another possibility is to do a type of string art stitching using the blanket stitch as the anchor stitch for the “string”.  See the video example below.

The decoration on the edge is up to you and your imagination.

PBV Alternate Stitching for Paper Clay Vessel

Additional Information for Working with Paper Clay

As I’ve continued to work with paper clay, I’ve learned a few more things:

I took Janis’ suggestion and got a silicon art mat for rolling out my paper clay.  It has made a difference.  I no longer have to tape down parchment paper which seems to defy masking tape and will crease and leave creases in my paper clay.  The art mat (not baking sheet)is smooth, large enough to roll a reasonable piece of clay, and easy to wipe down with water.  It rolls for storage (around my rolling pin) when not needed.

Since trying it, I have become really fond of the glass bowl as a mold. I am able to make regular shapes and irregular shapes depending upon whether I cut a circle to place inside the glass bowl or simply use an irregular piece of paper clay and fit and piece it as I want the vessel to appear.

Using a glass bowl, lightly dusting the inside with cornstarch and pressing my paper clay inside the bowl to form my vessel is working extremely well.  I can still use my awl to make holes from the inside to the outside – they will barely be pinpricks showing on the outside at first but that is not a problem.  Leave the vessel to dry for at least 24 hours (possibly more depending upon drying conditions).  When the inside appears whitish (somewhat dry and hard enough to keep its shape), lightly press down on the edge of one side of the vessel.  If the vessel begins to move within the glass bowl, you can gently continue pressing on the edge (as long as it does not deform) until the vessel slides up the side of the glass bowl and you can remove it.  At this point, you can widen the holes from both sides and turn the vessel over to dry on the other side.  If extra cornstarch remains on the back of the vessel, it can be gently brushed off with a soft brush.

Adding embellishments to paper clay vessels definitely seems to work best if you wait until the vessel has been released from the mold and is dry.  Now that I am creating more of my vessels by making them inside of my glass bowl, the outside of my vessel is the last part of the vessel to be released from the mold so it makes sense that I can’t add embellishments until I have released it.  Earlier though, I was making vessels on the outside of my plastic and silicone molds (and will continue to use those shapes).  I discovered that the flexing that happened during the release process created enough stress to cause embellishments to detach from the vessel (even if the precaution of adding glue had been used). 

When I waited until after removing the vessel from the mold and then added the embellishment – with a bit of glue – it adhered beautifully.  I did use a bit of “delicate” (purple) painter’s tape (from which I had removed a bit of the tackiness) to make sure it remained in close contact with the vessel during the drying process.  I didn’t want it to lift during shrinkage.  That was just on the ends because the pieces were long feathers, and I was leaving it overnight. I was able to remove the tape easily, with no damage to the embellishment or vessel.

I painted the vessel using copper acrylic paint and gave the feathers a watered down black acrylic wash so they would stand out.

 

I used a copper metallic perle thread and black crochet cotton for the stitching.  The larger spacing for the holes around the vessel meant that the spacing for the crochet was larger to start with than on other vessels.

Lesson 3

Inspirational Paper Artists

Video - Show and Share Lesson 2

Video - Inspirational Artists Presentation

Ines Seidel      Ines Seidel(@ines_seidel) • Instagram photos and videos

Cecile Meraglia           Textile Adventures(aventurestextiles.blogspot.com)

Joy Norman                 Home | Joy Norman - Mixed M

Mary Button Durell     Mary Button Durell          Mary Button Durell (@marybutton) •Instagram photos and videos

Traudl Stahl                 (traudelstahl-papierkunst.de)   

Ria van Krieken           riavankrieken.nl

Patricia Chemin          Patricia Chemin - tissue papersculptures (ultra-book.com)            Patricia Chemin(@patricia.chemin) • Instagram photos and videos

Judy Barrass                Judy Barrass- Artist         

Andrea Cook               Andrea Cook- collages with handmade paper (exto.org)

Kay Sekimachi

Petra Poolen                Petra Poolen -paintings and sculptures –Paintings, sculptures and other pieces of art

Anne Marie Desaulniers         ONN member

Angela Mainz              Home – Angela Mainz - Art made of paper

Ann Symes                  Ann Symes (@symes.ann) • Instagramphotos and videos

Leslie Avon Miller

Marlis Maehrle           blauvogelbuch+papier+zeichen(@mmaehrle) • Instagram photos and videos

Debbie Wijskamp        DEBBIE WIJSKAMP // Designer • Artist -Debbie Wijskamp

Gelliarts blog               homepage - Printing Projects(gelliartsblog.com)

Hillary Bravo                HilaryBravo: Papier-Mache Bowls (etc) Tutorials - 2023.(hilarybravopapiermache.blogspot.com)

K Henkel                      Lettingin the Light: Bowl Making ..... Again (khenkel.blogspot.com)

Anna Bower                Anna Bower (@annabowerartist)• Instagram photos and videos

Patricia Valentini         Patricia Valentini Art

Jocelyn Chateauvert   Jocelyn Châteauvert(jocelynchateauvert.com)

Sandrine Beaudun       Artworks - Sandrine_Beaudun(sandrinebeaudun.com)

Mary Merkel-Hess      Mary Merkel-Hess |Artnet

Mona Waterhouse      Mona Waterhouse

Kerry Toomey              Kerry Toomey (@kerry.toomey) •Instagram photos and videos

Recyclart                     Recyclart - Thousands of Upcycled & Recycled DIY Ideas!

Jackie Abrams             Jackie Abrams - Home

Natalie Wargin

Lia van Elffenbrinck     Bowls, Unique Piece ofArt, Colorful Design, Paper Mache Art. (liavanelffenbrinck.com)

Wilma Simmons          Wilma Simmons(@empress.wu.designs) • Instagram photos and videos

Flavia Lovatelli            Contessa Flavia Isabella Lovatelli(flavia-lovatelli.com)      Contessa FlaviaIsabella-Lovatelli (@filovatelli) • Instagram photos and videos

 

Getting Started with Paper Clay

While there are a number of DIY recipes for Paper Clay on the internet and some excellent videos for making it on You Tube ( Make Paper Mache Clay WithWurth Joint Compound (youtube.com)), I’m choosing to use a prepared paper clay, Creative Paper Clay.  It’s an air dry clay that must be kept in an air tight container once opened.

We are going to be making very simple bowls.  Correction – I’m going to be making a very simple bowl, using another small bowl as my mold.  Taking a portion of the clay and using a piece of parchment paper that I’ve taped down to my work surface, I’m using a non-porous rolling pin to roll out my clay to an even thickness.  My clay is about 3/8” thick and roughly 7 – 8 “ in diameter.  I am going to drape that over the small silicon bowl that I am using as a mold.  I am using silicon because it has some give and flexibility which means that I should be able to remove it from the clay reasonably easily.  (I hope).  If it were a harder surface I would have covered it in cling wrap so that I would have had some way of separating the clay from the mold.

When you press and shape the clay to the outer side of the mold, you may get cracks or tears and you will need to patch these up.  This is when you may need to dampen the clay to smooth out the cracks. While the clay is moist you can use your tools, to smooth the side or add texture to the side, whichever you wish.

If you plan to stitch into your vessel, you will need to add the stitching holes before the clay dries.  If you plan to have a stitched edging, you will need to add holes along the top edge of the vessel.  You can use the awl to mark the placement of the holes while the vessel is still on the mold, but the holes will not go all the way through. Once you have molded the vessel into the shape that you want and the vessel has had some time to partially firm up ( not long), you can release the vessel from the mold, and it will retain it’s shape.  You can then use the awl to complete the holes that were marked along the edge of the vessel.  Re-pierce each hole, from the inside to the outside, making sure that it is large enough for your needle and thread to go through.  Use a twisting, drilling motion if necessary to make sure that the awl goes through – do not use force.

If you plan to add stitches at any other points in your vessel, you will need to add the stitches holes now.  It is much easier to do when the clay is still damp.

Leave your vessel to dry.  There may be some shrinkage.  Your vessel may be painted and or decorated before stitching.  A varnish can be used to protect the surface.

Making a PaperClay Vessel

Resizing Holeson Your Paper Clay Vessel

 

 

Extras

 Paper String

I didn’t mention paper string in my class description because I hadn’t found it in my stash at the time, I was writing the proposal.  It was only when I began playing with the paper mâché that I found it, began unraveling it to see if it would work as a paper to use in the process and then began to wonder about what else I could do.

Not long after I began playing with it, paper string, paper twine and raffia began popping up in my feed. My search algorithm for paper artists who made vessels was finally starting to get results and my poor efforts were put to shame as you will see in Lesson 3 – Inspiration.

What I am sharing here are some of my efforts using “extras” not mentioned in the official class description in case you might want to experiment.  I’ve included the links to the demo videos that I made as I played.  Have fun. – it’s all completely optional.

Using Paper String As Is – Twined or Rolled

This has to be the easiest way.  You cut a fairly long length – I can’t give you an exact amount because I’ve only tried this twice, but I must have used at least a meter.  You can always add more.  I made a medium sized vessel on a balloon, and I would suggest a balloon (at least for your first) because this is quite rigid when done – not a lot of wiggle.

You soak or dip your paper string in your water/glue mixture (yes, this is messier than the paper mache). Pull it out with your fingers and wipe off excess glue and begin wrapping the string around the balloon that you have attached to your container (note: the width of the container will be the width of the vessel opening). You wrap from the top of your balloon on an arcing angle down to the neck of your container and back around the other side up to the top of the balloon again and move over a bit and go back down in another arc.  You don’t have to be perfect; they can be somewhat random, or you can try to make them evenly spaced if you want.  My first attempt was somewhat random, my second attempt I tried to space them roughly 1.5” apart.  You keep going until you run out of string.  Random or precise- they both work. 

When you get to the end of your string, make sure the end is glued to another piece of string so that the ending is hidden.  You will find that the string wraps tightly near the neck of the container – this makes the neck of your vessel.

Video – Wrapped Paper String Vessel part 1

Video – Wrapped Paper String Vessel released

Video – White Wrapped Paper String Vessel released

After I played with this, I found that this technique is actually quite common in lighting fixtures.  There are many You Tube videos that will explain in detail, if you search String Lighting Fixtures.

Using Paper String Unwrapped

Another way to use paper string is to untwist the paper string first and then use it.  Apparently, there is quite a resurgence in Paper Twist craft in many areas.  Again, after I began to play with it, I found more and more images showing up in my feed.  Most of them had to do with lighting fixtures (involving LED lights, naturally).  Paper string is sturdy paper – well, sturdier than tissue – and can handle be untwisted with care and glued to your mold.  I did use a little wet strength tissue to reinforce mine when I was releasing my vessel from my mold.  I twisted and untwisted my paper string and bent it into the shape that I wanted it to have.

Since paper string comes in so many colours it opens up many possibilities.

Video – Paper String Vessel part 1

Video – Paper String Vessel released

 

Using Other Fibres

You can add other fibres to your vessel.  I’ve added sisal fibres to a vessel by untwisting a piece of sisal rope and shredding it into its fibre components and then glueing them to the vessel.  I also used the buttonhole stitch at the edge to additionally secure the fibres.

I’ve added lace between layers of tissue with the lace extending above the tissue.  The water/glue mixture is enough to stiffen the lace into the shape that you want for your vessel.   The same can be done with scrim or other textile fibre.

Video – Rice Paper Lace vessel reveal

 

Newspaper Extras

The following videos are not mine but I came across them when I was looking at paper mache and paper related projects.  You might find them of interest.  Take a look at some of their ideas and see where your imagination takes you.

CESTAMULTIUSO DE PAPEL. TUTORIAL (youtube.com)     (not in English but self explanatory)

Recycledmagazine bowls basket - DIY Useful Idea (youtube.com)

(2)How to Make Paper Rope or Cord - YouTube

RecycledNewspaper DIY | Easy to make Home Decor | DIY Creator | nami (youtube.com)

(2) COMO HACER CUENCOS BOWL DE PAPEL PERIÓDICO REVERSIBLE Cuencos de papel paso a paso - YouTube  (not English but you can set English subtitles and watch without sound)

Decorating with Napkins

When you have made your paper mache vessels, an option for enhancing the vessel is to decorate them using images from paper napkins.  Napkins come in all size and some have incredibly beautiful designs on them.  They've long been used for decoupage on a variety of items so it should come as no surprise that they would work well to decorate delicate paper vessels.

Most napkins are two or three ply and you only need the single play that contains the actual image.  This give you a very translucent image to work with. Remove the other layer or layers of paper before you begin to isolate the images you want.  If your fingers are good enough, use a piece of painter's tape on the back of the napkin to pull away the extra layers of tissue.

Rather than cut out your image, which will give a hard edge, use a fine paint brush and water.  Draw a thin line of water around the image you want and gently pull the extra napkin paper away from the image. The paper with feather and tear along the water line.  This ragged edge blends in more seamlessly than a hard edge does when you glue the image onto your vessel.

Use a wider brush to apply a coat of glue/water mixture to your vessel.  I do this while my vessel is still on the mold so that it will retain its shape while damp. Gently lay the image onto the surface, patting it into place.  I find that if I do this slowly and carefully, I get few wrinkles -- it conforms to the shape of my vessel and I pat it into the vessel's nooks and crannies. I then gently (lightly) apply another coat of the water/glue mixture, starting from the center and moving outwards. 

Video: Decorating with Napkins

Have fun!

Lesson 2

 Adding Stitch

Show and Share Lesson 1 Slideshow 

Now that you’ve had a chance to study your released vessel from all angles, you can decide where you want to decorate with stitch.  For this first vessel, we are going to start with an edging.  Please note that all decoration is at your discretion – you can choose to add it or not.  I’m simply going to go through the steps that I take.  The decision is always yours.

Piercing holes for a border edging

The edge of your vessel, (even though you have reinforced it) remains a delicate area, so you will need to manage it with care.  We will be pre-piercing the paper with holes for sewing.  I find that this makes sewing easier for me and saves my fingers.  It isn’t impossible to poke the holes with my sewing needle, but it isn’t always the most comfortable way to do it and it isn’t the easiest way to go through several layers of glued paper.

Using a paper piercing tool, awl, or pin vise, pierce holes about 3/8” to ¼” away from the edge of your vessel.  You need to support the back of the paper with your fingers, so essentially you are holding the edge of the vessel between your thumb and two fingers and trying to pierce between your two fingers. Try hard not to poke yourself (you don’t want blood on all your hard work – just joking).  The paper needs to be held taut and given support when you pierce it, so it doesn’t try to bend or tear.  You don’t want your finger directly behind the area you are going to pierce.  You will soon find what works best for you.  I also have some small pieces of dense foam that I have cut up and can place behind my vessel edges when I am working, that helps at times.

Follow the contours of the edge of your vessel.  If you feel that an area is too thin or the paper tears, you will need to make a decision and place the hole lower or add a patch to reinforce the weak area.  If you want to keep the tear, place a hole on either side and you can sew over the tear and make it a feature.

Review the video from lesson 1 about piercing holes

Stitching the Edging

Once all the edging holes are complete, it’s time to do a Blanket/buttonhole stitch around the edge.  I use the term Buttonhole and Blanket stitch interchangeably even though I believe there is a slight difference between the two.

All knots are on the inside and secured with full strength PVA, then the tails are trimmed.  I use crochet cotton #10, mainly because I then went on to crochet an edging into the buttonhole stitch.  Perle cotton, or embroidery floss would work as well if you were not planning to crochet.

Video -- Stitching your Edging

The video shows how I stitched the edge of my vessel after piercing it.

At this point, you can leave the edge of your vessel as complete, or you can continue to work on it. 

One thing that you can do if you wish is crochet – that is completely optional.  For anyone interested, this is how I began to do the crochet work on my vessel edging.  I used the loops that I created with the buttonhole stitch as the foundation row for my crochet.  I held the tail of the crochet thread along the edge of the vessel and wove it in as I crocheted along the vessel edge so that there would not be any loose threads.  You can see all this in the accompanying video below.

Video – Crochet Edging

I’ve included some How To Crochet videos if you want to brush up your skills.

Video – Beginner’s SingleCrochet   6:19 is where the actual crochet stitching starts

Video– Beginner’s Double Crochet  1:43 is where the actual crochet stitching starts

If you didn’t wish to crochet, you could use the buttonhole stitches as link stitches to allow you to couch fibres to the edge of your vessel.  You could take decorative fibres that might be too thick to stitch through the paper and couch them to the vessel using the legs or loops of the buttonhole stitch as anchor places to attach the fibres.  Additional touches of PVA could also be used to secure the fibres if necessary.

You could also choose to do a form of needle lace using the buttonhole stitch as an anchoring stitch for your work.  The decoration on the edge is up to you and your imagination.

Other Decorative Stitching

The edge isn’t the only place that stitching can be added to the vessel.  Holes can be pierced at any point.   You may decide on a pattern or design motif and arrange that on your vessel.  You can lightly mark it and then pierce where the sewing holes need to be.  Once again, knots should be on the inside unless you wish to make a feature of them.

It is also possible to cut out areas of your vessels and stitch over the openings. This can be quite effective.  When cutting it can be helpful to use an awl to begin a hole for the blade to start.  Always use a sharp blade, a cutting mat and follow safe cutting practices.  The glued paper can be quite hard.

Video – Decorative Stitching

Stitching ideas will vary as widely as your imagination.  One thing to keep in mind when making your vessel, if you plan on stitching, is the size of the opening.  I have a broad hand and a small vessel opening means that I am limited when I try to put my hand inside.

Have fun experimenting!

Lesson 1

Getting Started

Video - Samples of Vessels

Now that you’ve got all your materials assembled, it’s time to get started.

1.  1.  Prepare your adhesive.  Your glue should be the consistency of milk.  What I’ve read says 50/50 water/glue, but I must admit that I’m not that accurate.  I start with my glue (which is usually what I have on hand as all-purpose white PVA – Elmers School Glue or Glue All), then I add water until it is thins to the consistency of milk.  It might be slightly different depending upon the glue that you use – thinner glues need less water.  You just need it to spread easily.

 

2.   2.  Tear your paper into strips.  I usually keep my strips about ¾” to 1” wide if possible.  The length will vary.  I started out using longer strips but began experimenting with smaller pieces 2” – 4” in length.  I find the smaller pieces can give less wrinkling as you are building up layers, but I also find a few longer pieces across the surface of the balloon can be an effective way to begin.  Experiment and see what works for you.  You will find that the WST (wet strength tissue) and most paper, tears better in one direction than the other.  It is better to work with the grain than against it.  Tear a substantial number of strips – better to have too many than too few.

 

3.    3.  Protect your work area – it can get a bit messy.  Have a damp cloth to clean your hands.  Have extra water in case you need to thin your glue as it remains open.

 

4.    4.  Blow up your balloon to the size you desire and secure it with masking tape to a container to raise it from your workspace and to stabilize it while you are working on it.  I use bowls, jars, cardboard rings – anything that will give a firm base.  Use as much masking tape as you need to secure the balloon to the container.  I sometimes have a problem with the masking tape releasing at inopportune moments – not good!

 

5.    5.  Now you are ready to begin applying your paper strips to the balloon. You can give the balloon a spritz of water to hold the first strip and then use your brush to apply the glue on top or apply a coat of glue directly to the balloon and place the paper on the glue and then apply more glue on top.  Either method will work. Overlap your next strip of paper and apply glue with your brush.  Use your brush to smooth down the paper. Keep applying strips (or patches, as the small pieces of paper are called) until you have covered as much of the balloon as you want.

 Video - Making a Paper Mache Vessel

6.    6.  You can add a second layer of tissue without waiting for the first to dry.  You will find that when adding the next layer of paper, the glue on the surface will grab the tissue and make it easy for you to smooth it down with your brush.  Sometimes very little extra glue is needed for the second layer.  Add it judiciously.  You don’t want to make things too wet. I place my strips/patches on in a random way.  I find that adds to strength.  If I put a vertical over a horizontal it is stronger than two vertically seamed areas.  Two to three layers will give you a strong yet relatively thin vessel.  I might have more layers on the base of the vessel for stability and less on the sides but that is purely a matter of personal taste (and the fact that I plan to stitch and pierce holes on the sides)

 

7.    7.  I usually let it dry overnight.  You can always add more layers once it is dry if you like.  If the edges appear too thin, this can be the time to add more layers or define them a bit more. If you want to reinforce the edges, remember to go in the opposite direction.

 8.  The last step is to release the vessel from your mold – the balloon.  I don’t poke the balloon; I undo it so I can control the air release (If you find you can’t undo it, you can stretch the neck of the balloon, pinch/twist it closed and cut off the very top near the knot). You want to slowly release the air so that you can loosen the glue and paper from the balloon and not deform your vessel – it is fragile, and it is stuck to the balloon.  As the balloon slowly deflates, pry the paper from the balloon. Once you start to do this it should come away easily. Once you go all around the edges (the weakest area) you can’t let the air out more quickly.  The balloon will peel away from the paper, and you are left with your vessel.  You can trim your edges or leave them as they are.

     Video - Releasing the Vessel