Comments on: Papier Mache Design Book – A Review

By: Jonni

Jonni — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:27:33 +0000

Hi Sharon. I don’t know what kind of foam Monique uses. I know it’s impossible to get off a brand new down jacket – I learned the hard way about 15 years ago.

I use crumpled paper instead of foam, but I’m starting to think about using the foam instead, just because it would sometimes be less expensive than all the masking tape. And it should go faster, too. I get impatient. I don’t know how big your piece is (you probably told me, but I forgot). I think I made four of my little vintage chickens out of one recipe, which uses less than a cup of both the joint compound and the glue. I keep my left-over clay in the fridge, covered with plastic, so it will last at least a week before mold finds it. You only put on about 1/8 to 1/4 inch of clay over the armature, so it should dry in a day or two, as long as it’s in a warm place.

My chickens are Light Brahmas. They’re wonderful birds. They don’t have the sqabbles among themselves that so many chickens do, and they talk all the time – but quietly. They only make noise when they’re thinking about laying an egg. My neighbors love seeing them out in my yard. Tell your sister to get her some – they’re great.

By: Sharon Turner

Sharon Turner — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:42:42 +0000

Thank you Jonni, I read his blog about his technique and I agree, I believe that this will be the best way to go about it. I was quite interested in his unique approach to filling all the little nooks, crannies, wrinkles and fingers. I would never have thought about the window foam. I researched the foams on the Home Depot site and ruled out the first one I saw for &6.00+ which said it covered about 500+ linear feet, because according to their disclaimer, it might not be safe to use, or to be around heat (a Christmas tree has a certain amount of heat due to the lights). That left two others – one for $5.00+ and one for $11.00+; neither one addressed the coverage per can, but the $5.00 can had the largest capacity, so I believe I will go with that one (he never addressed the amount of foam he used, nor tape, so I am not sure how much to purchase of those items, however I am hoping that you can tell me how much of your wonderful Papier Mache Clay I would need; one plastic pail or two? My disability requires me to be horizontal many hours of the day – due to medication for pain- so If it takes me longer than I anticipate, would it be a good idea to have an extra pail on hand (non-mixed up) in case the mixed one dries out? How long is the shelf life, sealed, after mixing? Also, another point, is it necessary to have both the crumpled newspapers AND the foam? (As I believe I said, I have never worked with this medium). I will be happy to share my progress and bumpy roads with you. I appreciate your taking this time with me – I know you are a busy Lady – which reminds me, I’ve meant to ask before, what kind of chickens have you? They really are quite beautiful. I’s love to send a photo of them to my sister and partner in crime, JoClare. She is really besotted with them. Doesn’t own any of them but loves them dearly. .: Sharon Turner

By: Jonni

Jonni — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:56:14 +0000

Sharon, one of our readers, Michael Jacobson, sent in a guest post showing how he built an armature for a figure sculpture, and it may be just what you need. You would need to find someone willing to let you cover them with plastic and duct tape, of course.

If I did a full-sized figure and I didn’t have a handy model, I think I’d use cardboard patterns, just like I did in the book. If you hold the knees, elbows, and other joint together with pins or something that lets you move them around, you could position the pattern the way you want her, and then pad her with crumpled paper and masking tape. If you want, you could even use a plastic mask form to get you started on the facial features, although most mask forms that show women’s faces don’t seem very realistic. It would be a start, though.

Good luck with your project. And be sure to let us see it when it’s done.

By: Sharon Turner

Sharon Turner — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:35:40 +0000

Hello Jonni, My name is Sharon Turner from Sacramento, CA. I have been “lurking” around your site for some time, now. I have been reading your blog in eager anticipation about larger projects and have your book on papier mache animals on my Kindle. I am a novice at papier mache, having NEVER worked with it, but I am a good study when I put my mind to it. I really appreciate your wonderful recipe.
I have a rather large project coming up and it must be completed by October 2012. I am required to make a ‘nearly’ life-size Mermaid for a Christmas tree decoration. I do not have many constraints regarding this figure. It can be an adult, a pre-teen, child or infant mermaid. I had been looking for a manikin to use for part of it and had planned to adapt the form with other media. Manikins are not conducive to this project. I have decided to do it, instead, must be papier mache. I will need only to create a head, neck, shoulders, arms, bust, and on down to hips. The tail will be posable and of foam wire and fabric, and will be adheared to the torso. Do you have any suggestions for me regarding size, type of armature, kind of paints to finish the figure? I really admire the level of sophistication in your craft, heretofore nearly every item I had seen made of papier mache looked like it was made in pre-school. My project is not for sale or profit, but a voluntary project, however. I am insistent on doing as professional job as possible, The fact that one is not being paid for something does not mean it should me half-done. I would like to have pride in its acomplishment. Thank you for any advice you can share and thank you for your blog and all you have shared with us.

By: Latif

Latif — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 10:13:09 +0000

like all these idea to creat new design for my collection.My own company United Alamgeer Exports is dealing with Papier Machie items and I have 50 artistic workers and i really enjoy my work and welcome all these creative work.

By: Joanne Gennarella

Joanne Gennarella — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:36:22 +0000

Will do – my next Monique-like project will be a repro of my cats Lucy and Bella!!!

By: Jonni

Jonni — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:30:53 +0000

Hi Joanne. I'm afraid Monique might not see your comments here on this page, but I know she'd love to know how much you enjoyed her book. (She'd probably appreciate a review on her amazon.com page, too). If you'd like to send your comments directly to Monique so you're sure she reads them, you can contact her through her website at MoniqueRobertStudios.com

By: Joanne Gennarella

Joanne Gennarella — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:22:29 +0000

Hello Monique – I love your book and the resulting sculpture that is possible following your steps. I immediately tried your method and made my version of a snow leopard that is completely hollow and light. I think it came out presentable. Let me know if you or anyone on this site would like to see it. Not all of your suggestions were utilized but many were. There are about eight hollow pieces inside my leopard that were hot glued together and then covered with strips of the wood glue paper. I used blank newsprint to keep it less messy, and it actually looked pretty good unpainted – kind of like wood. Then I painted it – thanks for the “adult” method of doing paper mache.

By: Jonni

Jonni — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:02:10 +0000

I’m not sure how “green” it would be, but I suggest that you make a chicken wire armature, because you need strength without weight. I normally make my sculptures with armatures made out of crumpled paper and masking tape, but they can get heavy when they’re as large as you need. If you make the armature with chicken wire instead, then cover the wire with masking tape and then at least 10 layers of paper mache, your sculpture should be strong enough to be moved around if you’re reasonably careful. In case of rain, the sculpture would need to have a strong protective coating, and marine varnish (spar varnish) that is used to protect wooden boats is the most waterproof. However, it’s made from plastics or petrochemicals, so it might not fit your needs. If preventing damage is really important, I’d suggest that you use it anyway, just to be safe.

I hope your event is a great success.

By: Manisha D Nirmal

Manisha D Nirmal — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 06:15:27 +0000

Hi!! This is Ms. Manisha from India. We would be celebrating Lord Ganesha festival in India next month.

We are planning for eco friendly idols of the lord for this ceremony.

Since our concept is to go green, we have planned for Paper Mache idol, but we have doubt about how stable would be the 2-3 ft idol, it should be flimsy and easy to carry.

The event will be for 2 days, but from the day the idol is made till the immersion which would be idealy min 5-7 days should not get damage as we belief that this leads to bad luck.

Pls advice if any special care or instructions are to be taken while making the receipe or the idol and during the celebration.

await to hear desperately from you, kindly revert urgently

Thanks and regards,
Manisha D Nirmal.
INDIA.