The typical setup of a papier mâché instructional book usually involves the step by step construction of a specific subject, resulting in a generically finished product. However, in this book, you pick the subject, and each section will take you through universal steps necessary for the construction of your creation.
This book has been written as a reference for the creative, whether you be an aspiring or professional artist. You may be simply curious to see what more you can do to enhance the inherently bulky medium of papier mâché.
After you read through the chapters with their many diagrams and thorough descriptions of material uses, you will begin to see that anything can take shape by following these alternative methods, opening your mind to many possibilities! This is a resource to help you decide what to make, where to find materials and how to use them within an internal structure. Layering techniques, sanding and finishing tips for the piece lead you into the final stages of your work. It is a truly unique approach in that it encourages you to trust your own creative process by way of providing a toolbox of skills for the papier mâché artist!
Monique has worked in the museum industry and on commercial and fine arts projects for many years. Natural creative abilities, extensive experience and a willingness to experiment with a variety of media have resulted in her unique artistic style. Noted as a small child for her pencil crayon illustrations, she has since developed an uncanny sense of anatomy, light dynamics and subject composition which define her work.
Born in Ottawa, and having lived across Canada, she took up residence in the Northwest Territories in 2005. Over the years, world-wide travel has continually inspired her work.
View Monique’s collection of sculptures, murals and paintings at:
www.MoniqueRobertStudios.com
Concept and Action Plan
Gather together as many pictorial views of your subject as possible,
whether they be photographs or accurate drawings. Front, rear, and
side angles are recommended as minimal requirements. If you find
yourself unable to come to a decision regarding your choice of subject
even after you have read this book, there are several ways to be
original and stimulate your imagination through visuals.
Once you have chosen your subject, you will need to decide on its pose
and size. Afterwards, a step-by-step process will be carried out in
order to meet the specific needs of the work.
These steps consist of taking castings from basic shapes, and then
assembling and gluing them into a structure. When the structure is
complete, proceed by draping the structure with papier mâché strips to
form the ‘skin’. Before and after this draping is applied, you will
define the piece with details in the form of eyes, lips, muscle tone,
etc. This is the point at which you can choose to take as much time
and creative license you need to breathe life into it! The final
stages involve sanding the whole piece to give it a smooth, clean
finish, followed by painting or adding textures or fine papers to your
creation. Each step will be thoroughly explained as you progress
through this book.
Why Build Papier Mâché Basic Shapes?
Why bother making basic shapes out of papier mâché to make the
structure? Can’t I use ‘anything’ instead? You may ask yourself these
questions. Fair enough. I feel the reasons below are excellent:
The internal structure is the basis upon which the piece is built and
therefore needs to be strong without fear of collapse. It also needs to
be light-weight because moving it into workable positions will
inevitably test its structural integrity. This is also a consideration
for transportation and packing. The glue/water castings have a very
high strength to weight ratio.
Keeping your work light if you plan to hang it, is also very important.
It has to withstand significant stresses from a hanging position.
Integrating random materials may not be suitable for use in a structure
intended for papier mâché, as it may become too heavy and may lack
lateral strength. When you build your structure from a homogeneous mix
of mâché shapes, it is much easier to cut into your work for the
inevitable shaping that you’ll want to do as you perfect its form.
Using wire, metal, wood or hard plastic makes cutting and shaping far
more difficult and cumbersome. If you combine materials with varying
densities you may easily puncture the surface or crack the structure
when you move it for any reason.
Most of the basic shapes you will build are of a spherical shape which
is perfect for simple structure building. The dimensional strength of
round objects is superior to most other shapes in papier mâché because
pressure is spread throughout their form more evenly.