Has money become tight in your household lately? Are you in need of creative and inexpensive solutions for gift giving? If you are the least bit crafty, a good paper mache recipe may be all you need to fill your Christmas gift list. Paper mache requires very few ingredients and batches can be quickly and cheaply made as needed. For years this type of craft has been considered a kid craft, but clay artists and crafters have expanded on this notion to achieve great works of art or fun bits of whimsy. If you have ever worked with clay or thought about it and decided it was too expensive, this could be the alternative you have been needing.
This basic paper mache recipe becomes a clay when finished and can be air dried or baked in the oven. Tear several pieces of newspaper approximately one inch square. You will need a large bowl full. In a large pot, boil eight cups of water. Add the torn newspaper to the pot and reduce the heat to medium. Continue to cook for twenty to twenty-five minutes, while stirring with a spoon. When the paper breaks down, remove the pot from the heat. Using a hand held electric mixer, beat the paper until it is smooth. Pour the paper into a colander and let the excess water drain. Do not press the water out. Pour the paper back into the pot and add a cup of flour. Mix the paper mache well and simmer over a low heat. Once the mixture becomes the consistency of clay, remove from the heat. Pour the clay onto newspapers and allow to cool. Once the mixture is cool enough to knead and ply you can begin crafting your masterpieces. This recipe will make just enough clay to easily work with at one time. A double batch is not recommended. If more is needed, wait until you have used up the first batch.
Create your projects by forming the clay into the shapes and sculptures you would like or cover cans, jars, wood and wire to create your structures of art. Make ornaments for Christmas exchange parties or as gifts for co-workers and friends. Cover cardboard boxes and you have wonderfully sturdy jewelry or trinket boxes. Shape grapes, leaves and vines and attach to an inexpensive bottle of wine. This paper mache recipe is very versatile. Any project you can envision making with clay can be accomplished with this recipe. Make plaques, jewelry, bowls or boxes. Press the clay into molds for more detailed finishes. Allow the finished pieces to air dry for a few days. The project’s thickness will determine how long it will take. If you are able to put your item in the oven, bake at a low 200 degrees for faster results. Note: Do not put the suggested bottle of wine in the oven.
This paper mache recipe makes a very durable finished product. When you project is completely dry, sand the surface to smooth. Use ordinary acrylic paints to bring life to your art and finish with a protective clear acrylic spray. The end result can be very impressive and professional looking.
By: Wendy Pan
Archive for 2009
Paper Mache Recipe For Inexpensive Art – Fun Crafts to Do at Home
December 29th, 2009Fantasy Art of Exotic Women, My Quest To Find the Passions of Gustav Klimt & Lands Unknown
December 25th, 2009
“Beginning”
“I search for Klimt!” the artist in me spoke spoke boldly.
“Ahhh, then we must start at the Beginning!”, said the Wind.
Pulling out oils, my canvas, poems and stories from an old wooden case, turquoise, silver leaf and jewels thrust past the lid and met the open sky.
The Wind confirmed my journey, “Your fantasy begins now, paint freely beautiful women goddess art “
And so I did.
“Beginning” is the first oil painting I did in my quest for the passions of Gustav Klimt. I wanted my fantasy art of exotic women to be full of energy and determination. Searching out the exotic meant distant foreign lands, birds not normally encountered, perhaps I would come across a magic swan? To search for Klimt meant to know emotion well and not to be afraid of what those emotions might tell me thus far unknown to science. I start my fantasy art woman paintings with music, usually Enigma; Dead Can Dance or something from Loreena McKennitt. Then I open my heart and the fantasy art woman inside of me begins. It feels like a daydream, a magical adventure. It is a dance and I become covered with all the colors seen in my oil paintings and on my palette. My imagining becomes so real that sometimes I can hear them breathing. It isn’t the realism of the brushstroke on watercolor paper or canvas that I capture in this series, ahh no. It is something less tangible than a rendering.
Have you ever met an accomplishment you thought you couldn’t? Then stand back and wonder where the energy came from and like lace and whispers you say, “Did I do that, did this come from me alone?” Sometimes feeling startled by the women and their presence, something imported from another time in space captures me. I pause from the dance, focus my eyes and I see life. I breath in the art of the exotic women I paint. It is all a dance waiting to surface.
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By: Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
What Is Junk Art and Trash Art?
December 25th, 2009
Junk art and trash art are interchangeable terms. This is a sub-genre of found art, where a piece of art is created from pieces that have previously been discarded as trash or junk. There are many national organizations that offer junk art competitions as a way of making the public more aware of the things they discard, that will sit in a landfill. Not only is junk art and trash art a way of creating awareness, but also helps those who are going ‘green’ to erase some of their carbon footprint by reusing objects.
One artist in particular is known for her junk art or trash art, named Nadia Iliffe. Nadia creates found or recycled art pieces such as one entitled Websolated. This piece is said to illustrate the way a person feels when their mate turns to the Internet and computers in general. This piece was made from computer parts and metals, all of which could be considered junk art or trash art due to the fact that they were discarded or no longer being used prior to their use in this piece.
Another great artist named Lane Patterson creates junk art from reclaimed or recycled pieces to create meaningful and unique pieces of art. One piece called Dragonfly, offers a sculpture from plumbing and electrical parts as well as resin grapes from long ago with other vintage objects incorporated. He offers many pieces that are all created from reclaimed or recycled pieces to create junk art that gives the viewer an idea of exactly what he felt when he created each piece.
Mark Langan is another of many junk artists that offer reclaimed materials to create beautiful pieces of expression. One particular piece is entitled Homage to the Scream, and is created from reclaimed corrugated cardboard and offers details much like the original ‘Scream’ piece by artist Edvard Munch. Each piece created by Langan is made totally of glue and corrugated boxes, a true patron of eco friendly living.
A high end junk artist named Gabriel Dishaw offers pieces from back in the mid 90s, and all are made from pieces of metal as well as gears and wires in running shoes. One piece in particular named Frankenstein Terminator is fashioned after the Nike High Terminator shoe and comes with a shoebox, diagram and shoe tags with labels.
With all the junk art and trash art artists that compile the masses, it is hard to find one that you would like the best. Regardless of your stance on eco friendly art, the fact that these artists are making a large impact on the carbon footprint we all leave behind in our trash and items we discard without another thought. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure, and in this case the artists mentioned are able to take that junk and make something that all can enjoy. No matter our eco status, all can appreciate the joys of beautiful art and the painstaking ills that artists go through to make them come to life.
By: Helen Saatchi
