In The Beginning...

2007-06-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

HELLO

I was sitting here a moment ago viewing blogs and thinking of what I might do with my own. So I clicked a few times (under 10) and presto~~here I am. Computer-savvy I am not; I prefer to rely on my old manual typewriter which is my constant companion. But my goodness, how can one NOT enjoy this technological ride. On I climb.

I am a self-taught what I call outsider artisan. I love papier mache and I've worked with mainly two different types. One is where you use the paper strips and layer them using some kind of sticky stuff. Some use thinned glue and others prefer acrylic medium. There are probably as many different ways of doing this kind of paper mache as there are people doing it. I make my own glue with flour and water and bleach and that's pretty much it. Oil of cloves when I feel fancy. I do use newspaper for some applications but I do like the industrial paper towels that you find in public washrooms.

I make my own molds by sculpting with plasticine (I can't think of the real name right now), and then pouring a mold using plaster of paris. Then I line the mold with a release agent (vaseline is my fav.), start applying the bits of paper starting with the paper towels for the most outside layer as it bends and gives good detail, then moving on to the newspaper, and then finishing off with strips of velvet applied with full strength wood glue. This gives a strong papier mache structure.

Well wouldn't you know it. I start a blog~~here for the first time and I find that I can't stop talking! Yikes! Well the sun shines and the garden fountain begs to be turned on and I must prop up the hydrangea. More later! Hugs to you all.

Norma

fairyyellowbug

In The Beginning...