Since this is a blog devoted to paper mache, what I’m about to say may seem like blasphemy–I’m going to suggest that paper mache may not be the best craft material for very young children. First, I’ll tell you why I think that’s true, and then I’ll tell you why I think paper clay is a better alternative.

Paper Clay - A Craft for Very Young Kids

I realize that traditional paper mache, (strips of paper with a paste made with flour and water), does has two very positive points in it’s favor: it’s really cheap, and it’s wonderfully messy.

But I think there are also reasons why it’s not the easiest or most intuitive craft material for very young kids. First of all, paper mache needs to be layered around some kind of form. Balloons are often used for this purpose, but they’re difficult to handle, (they slide around and jump off the table), and you can only make something that is shaped like a balloon.

Also, traditional paper mache needs several layers to make it strong enough, and the second, third and fourth layers of paper strips can get a bit boring for young attention spans. (OK, I admit it – I get a bit bored after the first few layers myself).

Some preschool and kindergarten teachers have asked if my paper mache clay recipe would be a good alternative for toddlers and kindergartners, and my answer is always “no.” This home-made “clay” is made from products normally used in the construction industry, and the hardware store is not a place where you’re likely to find child-safe materials with a non-toxic rating. The clay was developed to replace traditional paper mache, but it should be used only by artists who are old enough and mature enough to know they can’t eat the stuff. It looks a lot like cookie dough, so it would be perfectly natural for a young child to sneak a taste when teacher isn’t looking. (I don’t recommend using wall-paper paste with paper strips for this age group, for the same reason.)

Plus, the paper mache clay still needs an armature, just like paper strips and paste, because it won’t stand up on it’s own. It can be spread over a found object, but that has the same problems as I discussed before. And although it’s fairly easy for an older child or adult to spread the clay onto an armature with a table knife, this does take a little more manual dexterity than very young children might have – and that can be frustrating instead of fun.

Since all types of paper mache require an inner form, the actual sculpting is done before you begin using the paper mache itself.  The sculpting is the fun part, and I make all my armatures with crumpled paper and masking tape, because it can be formed into any shape you want. I highly recommend that method to all my older readers  – but I do admit that it isn’t very intuitive, and managing the paper and tape can be a real challenge for small fingers.

Give a child a piece of paper, and they don’t immediately think to start crumpling and squishing it to make an elephant or a cat.

But give them a lump of clay, and that’s exactly what they do.

And now I get (finally) to the point of this post: I suggest that paper clay is a better alternative sculptural material for very young children. You make it by mixing ordinary low-fire pottery clay with recycled paper pulp.

There are a number of commercial products with very similar names, so I want to be clear that I’m talking about ordinary pottery clay that has paper pulp mixed into it. A 25 pound bag of clay costs about $10, if you can find it at a local pottery supply store (shipping is expensive, of course). That much clay, with paper pulp added to it, will make a lot of small, child-sized projects.

The paper clay can be made with any sort of recycled paper, although it might be fun to use colored construction paper if you use a white clay that lets the bits of paper show through.

• The clay does not need an armature like paper mache, because it can stand up on it’s own.
• Small children will enjoy playing with the clay and forming it into little animals and people — it’s as intuitive as making mud pies.
• The clay dries quite hard without being fired. The finished pieces won’t be as durable as fired pottery, of course, but they hold up surprisingly well unless there are long skinny pieces, like tails, that could break off.
• When the pieces dry they can be painted with water-based paint.

I found a very good description of the process of how to make paper clay here. I use a heavy-duty paddle-mixer attachment for my electric drill to  mix the paper pulp into the clay, because doing it by hand is almost impossible. The clay needs to be kept covered with plastic before use, to keep it from drying out.

You would need to make up your clay at least a day before your young students start their projects. If you use a red clay with a high iron content, the clay might stain clothing, so the kids should wear old t-shirts on their project day. White clay will not stain. Clean-up is easy (lots easier than cleaning up spilled paper mache paste after it’s dried onto the floor).

The little pinch sculptures the kids make will take several days to dry completely, and once they’re dry, the little artists can paint them with water-based paints. Dry the pieces again at least overnight. If you want to go one step farther, teacher might want to give the pieces a final protective finish of acrylic varnish. You’ll be quite surprised by how well these little sculptures will hold up without being fired.

So there you have it – my recommendation for an easier, more intuitive alternative to paper mache for very young artists. Let me know what you think — your comments are always helpful.

So – let’s say you’ve finished the manuscript of your illustrated art book. Now what? How do you transform your manuscript from a file on your computer into a real-life book that’s available for you to buy and sell yourself, or for the public to buy from Amazon.com?

The company discussed in the video is actually the printing firm owned by Amazon. They can take your PDF file and have it available within a few short weeks. And your book’s listing will always say “Available for Immediate Shipping” because Amazon’s printing company will print it as soon as an order is placed on their website.

The book I mentioned in the video is Aiming at Amazon, by Aaron Shepard.

You can find CreateSpace.com here.

The printing company that will be printing our own book is Lightning Source Incorporated. They work only with publishers. Now class – how do you become a publisher? That’s right – you purchase your own ISBN.

CreateSpace has lower printing costs for books with interior color, Lightning Source (LSI) is less expensive for black and white books. Books printed by LSI are available to online and offline bookstores — they even sell directly to Amazon.co.uk, something that CreateSpace doesn’t do even though they’re owned by Amazon.

The downside of LSI, even for black and white books, is that they will give you very little help in creating your files and setting up your account. They don’t want to work with people who don’t have good computer skills, and they aren’t set up to offer much technical assistance. This is the company that prints all the books for author services companies like AuthorHouse and Lulu.com.

This is the second video in this series. In this one, I show you the software that I’m using to create my illustrated art how-to book. These are not usually recommended by self-publishing “experts,” (they usually prefer the much more expensive Adobe versions), but my total software investment was $100. Compare that to the total cost of Photoshop and InDesign at $1400, and you can see one of the reasons why I went with another brand.

I actually prefer the PhotoPlus X3 over Photoshop, and not just because it’s so much less expensive. I used Photoshop for years. It always made feel a bit incompetent, because there are so many fancy functions that I never learned how to use. I did learn how to do basic stuff, though — but I can do those things in PhotoPlus, too — and I think it’s actually easier to use.

Before you jump into self-publishing in a big way, remember to do some research first. This is especially important if you want to sell your book to the public. Certain types of books, like novels and illustrated childrens’ books, are not usually very easy to sell when they’re self-published. Non-fiction and how-to books are said to do better. However, there are lots of reasons to make a book, and profit is only one of them. It may not even be the most important one. But still, do some research before you start so you don’t run into any major surprises.

The book about creating a manuscript in Microsoft Word that I recommended in the video is Perfect Pages by Aaron Shepard. He also has a book that is geared towards new self-publishers who want to sell their books on Amazon.com.

Do you know of an art book that’s been self-published, or do you have one you’d like us to know about? Tell us about it, so we can take a look. And please tell us about your experiences with the process too, good or bad.

This video is the first of a short series showing you the tools I’m using to build my new book about paper mache clay (coming soon – I promise). If you’ve ever considered writing or illustrating a book, but you let the idea drift away because you thought it would cost too much money or it would just be too hard, be sure to watch this series.

If you have an idea for a book and you’d like to discuss it here, we’d love to hear about it.

Bluebird Ornament, Made with Paper Mache Clay

A few weeks ago, Donnisha asked for some tips for making the 7-hr paper mache bluebirds into Christmas tree ornaments. What a great idea! I wrote the bluebird tutorial almost exactly 1 year ago so folks would have a fast, easy way to create a present for someone who loves handmade gifts. (I think most of the bluebirds actually ended up on wedding cakes–a use that had not occurred to me until I read your comments.)

Today’s post is all about little bluebirds that can hang from a tree. They look almost exactly like the ones I made last year, but the one I made today took 4 hours instead of 7. If you wanted to, you could probably make enough for a small Christmas tree in half a day.

I cut down the time with two new techniques. First, I used my paper mache clay recipe instead of torn paper strips and paste. The clay goes on in just one layer, and it doesn’t need to be sanded because it goes on smooth. (You only need about 2 tablespoons of paper mache clay for each bird. The recipe will make about a quart, so you can make lots of birds.

Then, I found a way to hold the birds so the entire surface could be covered in one go. That cut down a lot on drying time.

I know you figured this out already, but all your birds don’t have to be blue. Canary yellow and cardinal red would look lovely on your tree.

So – here’s how to make the new 4-hr Bluebirds:

Step 1

For each bird you want to make, form a teardrop-shaped ball from 1/2 of a page of newspaper and wrap it completely with masking tape. (If the sheet spans two pages, you would use only 1/4 of the sheet). Tear another 1/2 page of newspaper into four pieces and use one of the pieces to make a flattened ball for the head.

Step 2

Tape the two balls together to form your bluebird. The pointy end of the teardrop-shaped ball is the tail end.

Step 3

This part is going to seem a little rude, but it really does help. Take a sharp stick, (I used a 6″ long bamboo skewer), and poke it into the underside of your bird. It won’t hurt, I promise.

Step 4

Cut out two triangular wing tips and one M-shaped tail from a scrap of cardboard.

Step 5

Tape the tail on first , and then tape the wingtips so wing tip overlaps the other.

Step 6

Cut a triangle out of light cardboard for the beak. Use the kind of cardboard they use to make cereal cartons. Make the triangle about twice as long as you think the beak should be, and cut tabs in the wider end. You’ll use these tabs to tape the beak to the bird.

Step 7

Crease the beak so it has a ridge down the center. Clip off the sharp point, as shown. Tape the beak to the bird.

Step 8

Now twist a thin wire into a loop and securely tape the ends to the bird’s back, leaving the loop free. You could also use fishing line, a twist tie you used to find in a carton of garbage bags, or heavy thread.

Step 9

Mix up a batch of paper mache clay. Follow the instructional video you’ll find here. The recipe makes more clay than you  need for one bird, so be sure to keep the left-over clay in an airtight container. You can use it tomorrow for another project.

Use a knife to apply the clay in a thin layer to the paper and masking tape form. Start with the underside and work up. Your clay only needs to be about 1/8″ thick. Smooth the clay as much as you can so you won’t need to sand it later. If necessary, you can dampen your knife.

Step 10

Be very careful when covering the cardboard details – the edges of the cardboard need to be covered. Use your knife to make the lines around the wing tips nice and straight. Don’t use too much clay or you’ll lose the details.

Step 10

I have a resident art critic helping with this part…

When the entire bird is covered with a thin layer of clay, pour some dried beans in a cup and push your stick down into them. You can now make some more birds, or go have lunch. Your birds will need to dry completely before you paint them. Put them over a heat register or radiator, or place them in an oven set no higher than 150° F (65° C). (The plastic in the glue will burn at a higher temperature, and the fumes probably aren’t good for you.) My bird took 2 hours to dry in a warm oven.

Step 12

When your bird is dry, mix up about 1 tablespoon of joint compound and 1 teaspoon of white glue. You’ll have these on hand because they were used to make your paper mache clay. Then mix in enough blue acrylic craft paint to give you the color you like for your bird. This will make a home-made version of tinted gesso.

Step 11

Paint your gesso on the bird, leaving the underneath area unpainted. The gesso is quite thick. It will smooth out the surface and create a smooth finish for your bird, or you can go back over it after it starts to set (in just a few seconds) and use your brush to make a feathery texture. Then put the bird back in a warm place for the gesso to dry. It won’t take long.

Step 13

When the tinted gesso is dry you may find spots where you can still see the white paper mache clay peeping through. You can give your bird a second coat of the original color, or you can do as I did: Mix a darker blue into your bowl of gesso, paint it on a small area of the bird, and then wipe it off. This creates a surface that seems almost luminous. Then let your bird dry a few minutes longer.

Step 14

Now you can remove the stick.

Step 15

Mix up another small batch of joint compound and glue, and color this batch with white acrylic craft paint. First cover the hole left by the stick, and then continue to paint the remaining underside of the bird.

Step 15

Make a nice feathery transition between the blue and white by running a dampened finger over the dividing line, to bring a small amount of the white color over the blue.

Step 17

The last step is to color the beak and eyes black, (I used a permanent marker pen). When the black is dry put a pinpoint of white on the eye as a reflection. I literally use a pin for this purpose – it’s much easier to dip a pin into white paint and dab on a spot than it is to do it with a small brush.

Your bird is now done. If you made lots of them, you should now have a whole flock of birds. They should eventually be finished with a protective coat of matte acrylic varnish, but it would be best to wait a day or two, just to make sure all moisture has escaped from the clay.

Be merry!

This post shows the new tabletop photo studio I set up for taking pictures of my paper mache animal sculptures. The total cost includes a new Fujifilm FinePix S1500 camera, new daylight florescent bulbs and colored fabrics to be used as “seamless” backdrops.

My little makeshift photo studio seems to work quite well for close-up photos of my sculptures. Since I spent the smallest amount of money I possibly could and still ended up with a very workable setup, I thought you, as a fellow artist, might be interested.

The total cost of my new “studio” was $247.55. Some of the parts were rummaged from my garage, so the costs of those items are not included in that total.

New Tabletop Studio for Photos of My Animal Sculptures

Camera:

Before I could even begin setting up my little table-top studio I needed to buy a new camera. My old one couldn’t take photos at a high enough resolution for large prints, which are needed when taking photos that will be printed in a book. My 4 megapixel Canon Powershot A520 simply wasn’t up to the job, and its limitations were slowing down the creation of my new how-to book about using paper mache clay to create animal sculptures. (13 completely new projects planned – stay tuned…)

According to Steve Meltzer’s book Photographing Arts, Crafts & Collectibles, (a great book – highly recommended), I needed a camera with at least 8 megapixels, but my Canon has only 4. Some online research pointed me to the Fujifilm FinePix S1500, a 10 megapixel camera that has some of the automatic features that I really need.

Oddly enough, the Fujifilm camera cost me $160, plus another $19 for the 8 GB memory card, while the Canon is priced at $350 – about what I paid 5 years ago. There are probably good reasons for the price difference, but I’m not an expert on cameras so I have no idea what those reasons are.

The features of the new camera that I’m using most are the image stabilization and the 2-second delay.

Lights:

The next thing to buy was lights. My sculptures are too large for those nice little softbox tabletop studios that come with lights. I’ve also read that the lights that come with those setups aren’t really bright enough. I read Mr. Meltzer’s recommendations on lights, and all his suggestions were pricey. The most reasonable lights he mentioned in his book were the Lowel EGO Tabletop Fluorescent Light Unit, which cost about $100 each. I would need two of them, so I won’t be buying them any time soon.

However, when I looked them up on Amazon.com I saw that they sell replacement bulbs for these units. The bulbs have a 5500deg. K (daylight) color temperature, which should help me get true-to life colors on my sculptures. I also discovered that another company sells bulbs that appear to have the same specifications, but which cost half as much. They may not be an exact duplicate of the Lowel bulbs, but when you buy four of them, $7.99 ea sounds a lot better than $15.75.

The bulbs are only 45 watts, but they put out the same amount of light as a 225 watt incandescent bulb.

The bulbs arrived by UPS yesterday. (We don’t have a camera store here in town – that’s why I had to order everything online).

The next problem was how to actually use the bulbs, since I didn’t buy the fixture that goes with them. I rummaged through my garage and found three clip-on shop lights and an old toilet plunger. I’m not proud. I clipped the fixtures to the plunger, and set a piece of foam in front of the lights to act as a deflector. The foam is about 1/4 inch thick, and is left over from a small remodeling project I did last year when I replaced my carpet with Ikea laminated flooring. The foam is intended to be used as padding under the flooring planks.

I used another shop light fixture on the other side of the panda, with a make-shift foam reflector in front. Three lights seemed to be enough for the little panda, but I will probably  need all four when I shoot larger sculptures.

Note: I would not even consider using this set-up with incandescent lights. That would be a good way to burn down a house. Although the florescent lights don’t get very hot, I still won’t be leaving them on very long. I tend to be overly cautious when working with things that can cause fires, but that doesn’t seem too unreasonable.

“Seamless” Backdrop:

Next came the backdrop. I’ve been making do with various things as backdrops for photos on this blog, but I decided to splurge and buy some colored cotton material in several colors that I could use behind the sculptures in the new book. I bought 5 different colors, and the total cost was about $22.

To get the nice smooth “seamless” look, I first emptied out a closet in my office and hung an old 36″ wide window shade on the back wall. A table was placed in front of the shade. When the shade is pulled down and over the table top, it creates that nice smooth bend where the wall and table meet. I then clipped the top corners of my new colored cloth to the shade’s hardware, and it lays very smoothly over the shade. The hardest part was finding my iron so I could get rid of the fold marks.

The backdrop fabric has to be folded away on a shelf and the shade has to be rolled up after each photo session, to prevent little paw prints from appearing on them. I have cats.

The Results:

I’m still learning the new camera and I doubt that I’ll ever become an expert photographer. Start talking f-stops and my brain freezes… However, I’m reasonably happy with my new studio set-up and the new camera, even though I’m still using the automatic settings.

The photos on this page were altered slightly in Photoshop. The large panda image in the right sidebar was lightened quite a lot, and I used the “sharpen” filter and corrected the color. Once I know more about the camera and play around with the lights, I shouldn’t need to lighten images in Photoshop – as you can see the panda’s belly detail got lost when I did that. If I used my last lightbulb and focus it on the backdrop, I should get a photo that will be bright enough for the happy subject matter of this blog.

Even with the daylight lamps, the color is slightly off – I added a bit of red to correct the background and the panda’s rubber ball. However, I know my own computer monitor’s calibration is off, so I don’t know what the colors will look like in print or on your screen. I’ll do a test print one of these days to see what they really look like on paper.

The new camera makes me nervous, just because my old Canon seemed so simple and bomb-proof. A few weeks ago my 30-month old grandson borrowed my camera and took some wonderful photos of me and his mother (and his truck book, and his foot…). I would not feel comfortable giving the new Fujifilm camera to a toddler. The lens is much larger, and has a lens cap that I would immediately lose if it wasn’t tied on. The camera is much bigger, and the instruction book is full of cautions. That said, even when everything is on “auto,” it seems to take sharper images than the Canon.

The photo below was taken with the Canon PowerShot, while the photo at the top of the page and the panda in the sidebar were taken with the new Fujifilm. Both this and the photo at the top of the page were taken with the camera held in my hand. The Fujifilm’s Dual IS mode somehow reduces the blur caused by the camera shaking, which always happens when you push the button to take a picture. Even with the low-resolution of an online photo, you can see that the photo at the top of the page is more clear, but at this resolution you have to look very close to see the difference. I used the “sharpen” filter in Photoshop with both photos.

Studio, Showing Light Set-up

You can see in this photo how the clamp lights are set up on the toilet plunger. This would not work if the bottom light didn’t sit on the table. What you can’t see is the golden retriever helpfully lying under the table, and threatening to knock over the tripod.

All told, I think my studio is working well. It’s going to be getting a lot of use in the next month or two as I build the new projects for my book. I should spring for a new tripod, since the one I bought at WalMart several months ago is flimsy and my office is usually occupied by myself, two cats and two dogs. We’re all clumsy and I really don’t want that new camera to hit the floor.

By the way – did you  notice I changed the look of my blog? I wanted a less-cluttered sidebar. Tell me what you think.

Lion Cub, Sleeping

My last two life-sized lion cubs are finished. This one is sleeping with her head on one paw. Her brother, below, is stalking one of the other lion cubs from the same litter, which I showed you on a previous post.

Lion Cub, Stalking

This is the last of the big cats, at least for a while. They were supposed to be shown in a pop-up gallery in Bellingham this month, but the show has been postponed until spring. That will allow me to drive the big cats and anything I come up with between now and then to Washington, saving me a ton of shipping charges. (I have a weird phobia about driving across two mountain passes in the snow). And Xan will have a bit more time to prepare an outstanding show.

In the meantime, the big cats and a few other recent sculptures will be for sale here on my blog, and a portion of any sale will still be donated to the feral cat rescue organization up in Bellingham.

I’m taking a short vacation this week, but when I get back I’ll put up a gallery page so you can see what I have available. That way, you won’t need to wait until spring if you have your heart set on a life-sized bobcat or snow leopard or lion cub for your living room. I think I can get the new gallery page up and running by next Wednesday, if I can figure out the best way to do it. Wish me luck.

Lion Cub, Another View

A few weeks ago a reader named Addie sent me an email describing her latest project – a full-sized skeleton made from PVC pipe and paper mache. Just thinking about all the challenges in a project like that makes my brain hurt, so I had great respect for Addie, even before she sent photos of her pile of bones.

Yesterday she sent some photos of the skeleton, and she’s made great progress. I’m happy that she gave me permission to let you all see what she’s done so far. She said she would appreciate any tips, but the bones look great to me. I can’t wait to see the skull.

The only suggestion I made was to try the new paper clay recipe with the aluminum screen mentioned in the video for the ribs, just because it might be easier than getting the Claycrete to stick to her wire form. Photos (and a slightly edited version of her two recent emails) below.

Leg Bones and Arm Bones

Rib Bones and Backbone

I just wanted to show you some progress. It has become quite the multi-media mache. I wanted to try some of that Claycrete for some detail and around that rib cage. The other picture is a pile of arms and legs. …

… I fitted each joint (elbow, knees, hips, etc.) with elbows for the cpvc. The arms have a 45° angle and the legs or knees and such have a 90°. Then when I am completely done I can just pop them back on the “joints”. (I have left room and tested that part as well).

Thanks for the heads up about the screen. I have been wondering what to put around the rib cage. when the Claycrete gets heavy the lead wire doesn’t seem to want to hold up so well. but, live and learn.

I would love to get some feed-back from others so feel free to put it up on your site, and once again thank you so much.   Addie

12/10/09 – I’m editing this post and putting up a new video, because I’ve now had a few months to play with my paper mache clay recipe. The new video will give you instructions that you’ll  need to make sure your toilet paper rolls contain the same amount of paper as mine. The new mixing instructions are also easier to use.

This recipe was inspired by Ronnie Burkett’s Papier Mache Rediscovered (recipe #2) and some comments by readers, especially Bob’s comments on the paper mache pumkin post. Thanks, everyone.

Note: This material does use items from the hardware store that are not rated for use by children, and the resulting clay is not edible. Small children should not use this clay.

I used this clay to make all the big cats you can see on my gallery page.

If you try this recipe, please let me know what you think.

Edit – 11/3/09. While you can speed up drying by putting your sculpture in a warm oven, I don’t recommend using a temperature higher than 150. The heating clay puts out some fumes if you go higher than that. I’m not a chemist or a doctor, but it doesn’t seem like something you’d want to breath for very long. Also, any masking tape that is still exposed will unstick itself in the oven, even at a low temperature. I recommend that you be patient and allow your clay to air-dry naturally.

Yesterday I received an email from a reader that I just had to share with you. When you see the photos of Laurie Baker’s incredible paper mache centaur and Halloween pumpkins below, you’ll know why. I’m very happy that Lauri gave me permission to share her email with you. She has some tips for you, in addition to her photos of recent projects.

Something that amazes me is that she started  sculpting with paper mache as a way to help her stop smoking – and it worked!

And now, here’s Laurie’s email:

Hi there, gosh, I just saw the YouTube video of the paper mache elephant, that was spectacular!!!! I love how you made the pre-paper pattern!!

I subscribed to your website here, I just started doing paper mache a few months ago when I wanted to quit smoking after 33yrs, so far I’ve been a paper maching fool lol!!!

Saw some ideas about shop paper towels and thought I’d share my idea of baby wipes. I buy generic, they’re like 2.00 for 88 or so, you can use them wet if you don’t want to tear them or pull them out of the container, let air dry then they tear to have smaller pieces. These are fantastic in my opinion, they dry fast and hard and you don’t need as many layers of paper then. Sometimes I use a layer of brown grocery bags either before or on top of the baby wipes, they cover little tiny edges that are sticking up sometimes when the paper dries. Well just an idea I wanted to share with you….

Here’s a few pics…a life size centaur that I painted with stone like spray paint so it looks just like a stone statue and pumpkins that we put lights in. The baby wipes are GREAT for hair, beards, tails, and also for the gnarly wood-looking pumpkin stems. I do use glue in my flour water mixture tho….not sure if it would work the same for just flour and water.

Laurie's Life-Sized Paper Mache Centaur

I have 9 pumpkins now ( the biggest is aprox 30″ not including the stem )  4 zombies, a giant frog, a gnome, life size werewolf/man, creepy huge arms with scary hands, and a life sized man I haven’t decided what to do with him yet.

Laurie's Paper Mache Pumpkins

Trying the lights in the pumpkins now using twinkle Christmas lights makes them appear to be flickering candle..here’s 4 lit:

Lighted Paper Mache Pumpkins

And yes I haven’t smoked at all for 5 almost 6 months wahoooo Laurie Baker