Experimental Paper Mache Solar Dryer
My latest chimpanzee bust is helping me with this experimental solar paper mache dryer. If you ever took a high school science class, you’ll recognize that this is not a very scientific experiment. But hey – it only cost me $4.95, and it was fun. It isn’t scientific because there are no controls, and, to be honest, I suspect that my chimp would dry faster if I just put him on top of the dryer so the sun and breeze could do their work. But I’ve seen this type of solar collector in the Mother Earth News for years, and I always wanted an excuse to make one.
The top of the collector is an old 12″ x 36″ poster frame. The sides and back of the collector were made with foam board taped together with masking tape, so this will be a temporary experiment unless I take it apart and cover the foam board with paper mache and marine varnish.
I found two plastic tubs in the garage, and used one of them as a support. The top tub was painted black (another reason for this to be totally unscientific – if the contraption works, I won’t know if it was because of the solar collector or the black paint on the tub. Oh well…). There are holes at the bottom of the collector and the top, where it connects with the tub, and I drilled holes in the tub’s lid as well. The basic idea came from this plan for a solar dehydrator.
Inside the Paper Mache Dryer, with Chimp
As you can see, my latest chimp bust is trying out the new dryer. He’s sitting on a wire support. The dryer might be more effective if I put some bricks or sand in the bottom of the tub for a heat sink, but I’m not sure I’ll get that carried away.
The chimp was almost finished before I took a short trip to Bellingham. (Check out the video we made last weekend, starring my dad and his concrete leaves. The link will take you to my dad’s website.)
Video - How to Make a Concrete Leaf
I made the chimp hollow, just as I did when I made the experimental chimp bust last week. Before I left for Bellingham I removed the water-based clay from inside the new chimp, and allowed him to dry while I was gone.
The bust is very strong, even though it’s hollow. However, I didn’t like the gaping hole at the bottom so I did one more experiment – I filled the inside of the paper mache chimp with expanding foam. Oops – I now know that expanding foam continues to expand long after it’s been sprayed out of the container, so I used at least twice as much foam as I should have. Here’s how it looked when it was first applied:
Foam Inside Paper Mache Chimp Bust
In a few hours the foam had escaped the bust and expanded into a giant blob that was almost as big as the chimp himself. I let it cure and then cut it off flat on the bottom with a serrated knife:
Upside Down Chimp Bust, Foam Cut Off
Once the foam was flat, it provided a nice solid support for the final application of paper mache clay to the bottom of the sculpture, making the bust appear solid. This final thin layer of clay is what’s now drying in the solar contraption:
Paper Mache Clay Chimp - Clay Applied to Bottom
As soon as it comes out of the dryer I’ll start painting the beast – I’ll let you see how it turns out. Then, when the dryer is empty, I’ll do a “real” experiment to see if the dryer actually works better than the sun alone. I’ll make two same-sized geometric-shaped thingies using paper mache clay on the outside. Then I’ll put one on the inside of the dryer and one sitting on a fence post where the breeze can move around it. I’ll keep you posted on the results.
In the meantime, if you have ideas for drying paper mache sculptures fast, let us know in the comments section. What works, what doesn’t?
- My favorite online bookstore.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve experimented as well. My first try was an ‘oven’ made from an old packing box from Uhaul (the medium size, I think), a large clamp light with a 100 watt bulb, and a 10″ fan. In this first try I left the front of box open and clamped the light outside the box but shining in. It worked ok. I’ve never put my creations in our kitchen oven, so I had nothing to compare, but things seemed to dry within a couple of hours, or overnight.
Once the fan died, I replaced it with a small 6″ fan ($6 at walmart), and a smaller clamp light ($6 at lowes) placed inside the box. I cut out a hole for the fan in the front of the box and holes at the sides near the top to allow the air to circulate. I also added a little sticky-back velcro so I could velcro the box closed.
I have an oven thermometer so I can check the temperature … but it’s not great at registering the lower temperatures … and I’ve never gotten it give me a real reading. I have put my hand up to the hole at the top and can feel warmish, but not hot air coming out. I could insulate the box with foam and keep more of the heat … but it’s working fine for my current purposes.
And these days I’ve been drying things overnight propped in front of a large standing floor fan. I’ve got enough partially completed projects that there’s always something else to work on. : )
- Beth
I wonder what’s more important – heat or the movement of air? This might be a good assignment for an artistic high school science student…
Hi Jonni
thank you for your recipe for paper mache………using the joint finish….just waiting to see if it works on thin paper……….have you tried using wool in your paper….sheeps wool, alpaca or goat????
Hi Meryl. I have not tried using wool, but it would be interesting. I don’t happen to have any spare alpaca wool sitting around, though…
Hi Jonni
I JUST FOUND THE MESSAGE….I would be happy to send you some wool to try…I live in sheep country in Australia where they used to claim the country “rides on the sheeps back”!!!!
In Italy it is called carta lana…the wool paper used in mask making……took years to discover that little secret!!! Cheers Meryl
Hi Meryl – Your offer to mail me some of your wool is very generous, but I just remembered that a friend sheered a sheep years ago and never found a purpose for the bat. Since she’s an art teacher, this might be the perfect time for her to get it out of her basement and give it a try. She did an entire section on mask-making last year at her school. Is there a book that gives instructions for using the wool in masks? If not, perhaps you should write one!
I have made two batches of the recipe for paper mache clay. I wasn’t sure exactly how I wanted to use it, but I wanted to see how it dried so I covered some styrofoam balls with it. They are different sizes. This is what I did with the first batch. I have been partaking in a workshop using a different kind of air drying clay and the suggestion in that class was to dry at 200 degrees or warm setting for an oven, since that clay that is being used is nontoxic. I don’t know what joint compound has in it that could be toxic to use a home oven, but for the one time I did use mine at 200 degrees for about one half hour to 45 min. It came out great. I have a convection oven my sister gave to me when she moved that I will use from now on for that. Warm oven at 200 degrees for the length depending on how much is drying. I am thinking to apply in layers and to bake each layer before going on. I also on my second batch I didn’t use electric mixer. I mixed everything else in the recipe together and then after wetting the toilet paper and squeezing out the access water I tore it into tiny pieces and as I got a little pile I just stirred it into my mixture, then I went to my other bowl and tore some more until I got another handful and stirred it into the mixture so it would dry out too much waiting for it all to be torn and stirred in. It takes a little patience, but not any more than picking it all out of my mixer blades. After getting it all stirred in I kneaded it a bit and divided it into two balls. I put each “ball” into its own zip lock sandwich baggie and ever so often I squish it a little place at a time to mix the paper up better into the other ingredients. I liked this way better for me. It seems smoother to me than my first batch did. I have to use it now. I am wondering if I want to continue layering on top of my original little balls i covered. Because the inside is styrofoam on these, I wouldn’t recommend the oven for a very long baking. My next objects won’t have this inside, but on these they had been airdrying for a good while, so they were almost dry anyway. I had been using my oven for my other projects and decided to slip these in while the oven was warm. I know they were there for at least 20 min. As I get my next batch going and use my convection oven I will be in touch, but I believe the 200 degrees for even one hour is what i am planning on in it. There was a tiny bit of cracking, not much at all on the first batch. I will be in touch on this one.
Great ideas, Carmen. Thanks!
Hallow I am in the sith grade ,and my teacher used a basking buld in our’e science prodject,it acts as the sun.I think it would work quite nicely if someone made a wooden box,or used a plastic box and put a fan in the back.I would like that so I wouldn’t have to go outside and get eaten up by miskitos!
I hope this helps
Good idea, Ben. It almost sounds like the system they use to raise baby chicks and keep them warm. If you try it, let us know how it turns out.
What do you use to paint your’e sculptures.They look so real.I love sculpting ,but paiting has always been hard.
Thank you
I use acrylic paint. I also use Golden’s Acrylic Glazing Liquid, which I’ve discovered I like a lot. Paint lots – you’ll keep getting better.
What do you like about the glazing liquid? Does it let you see layers underneath? Like more dimension? I have never used it, so I just wanted to see what you had to say on that.
I like it because you get plenty of time to work before the paint dries, you can put on a very transparent layer of color so the previous layers of paint show through, and you can wipe most of the color off with a paper towel, leaving just a bit of color in the grooves and dips you made when you sculpt details. This is especially helpful around eyes, because you get a natural line around the eyes without using a tiny paintbrush. It’s also just fun to play around with…
HELLO, JONNI….I´ve been checking all your work and letme tell you that is the best sculptures ever seen…they are perfect and beautifull…..I make some figures of papermache, and I would like to ask you, WHAT IS THE VALUABLE PRICE OF YOUR PIECES?? lets pretend that I want to open a store….should be the price on weight of piece or size or difficulty….I dont have idea..(considering that I live in Mexico, near Tijuana, border with San Diego, Ca)
Thank you for sharing your recipes….always been gratefull (excuse my english)
Hi Olivia. Pricing is probably the hardest questions for artists. Most “experts” suggest that you find as many examples as you can of comparable work that’s actually selling, then figure out what formula they use to price the work. For an oil painter, for instance, they might base their prices on a certain dollar amount per square inch. Then after you have your list of competitors and their formulas, price your work somewhere in the middle.
I’m basing that on things I’ve read. I have no practical experience with pricing work, since I keep most of my sculptures or give them to family and friends. Probably the most important thing you can do before spending any money on a lease or any other business-related expense is to make sure you have a product that will sell in your market. I’m not quite sure how you would do that, but I do know it’s important…
Good luck. Do you have a website, by the way? I’m sure we’d all like to see your work.
Thanks for sharing the tutorial on cement leaves!! I know what I am doing tomorrow!
Dee