Paper Mache Sunday...

 we are making paper mache figures next week for art group and i just couldn't wait.  my daughter and i started making figures and wall plaques right after i got home from art group last month.  courtney showed me a magazine article by Sarah Hand in an old issue of Somerset.  we stayed up until 2 am making paste and glopping paper mache all over the counter.  today the weather was just perfect, we opened the doors and spread out our paints...
i wanted to take a few work in progress photos~

i used a small hand sanitizer bottle from the dollar store.  this is the figure after making a tinfoil head, wire ears, and rolled foil arms.  i covered everything with masking tape.

after the paper mache strips and still wet!  i put it in a warm over overnight to dry.  {turn oven on warm hold for a few minutes, then turn it OFF}  use a cookie sheet with a cookie rack inside to lay your figure on.
the large wall plaques i just put in the oven on one of the racks.

next day all dry....
add some gesso and let dry again....   lots of steps here, it is more fun to make several at a time so you can use your paste and then gesso everything together.

more fun than i thought it would be, i just pencil sketched right on the gesso to get an idea of what i wanted her to look like.  i was a bit worried about a few places where the paper strips had dried with gaps.  it was easy to sand them down a bit with a nail file, the coarse ones you can get at the beauty supply store for fake acrylic nails.

 close-up of the face.  after painting i used a pencil to add details

here is a wall plaque with gesso.  i started with a cardboard cut out.

pencil sketched design.  oops, forgot a photo of the finished plaque.  this one is about 2 feet tall.

it was fun experimenting, learned a lot and now i feel more confident moving forward with some new pieces.  it was easy for the kids to dive right in with me.  who doens't love making a mess with paper mache?  my daughter made Finn from Adventure Time.  Now the kids want to make Totoro....
time to make another batch of paste :)
Julie