ME & MACHE THE WHOLE STORY

Before i begin this post i must just state my answer was a little too big i felt for the comment section so have made my (full) answer into a post here:

GhoulishCop said...

Hey Jonty,

Is this just a desire to recycle and be frugal or is there some other reason, such as your preference for making these mashes. I've only just recently gotten into this paper mache mash business, but I've found Stolloween's method of using paper pulp for blown insulation a time-saver.

A bale of it goes for $11 U.S. at a big box DIY store and lasts just about forever. Mixing it with glue and his paper mache paste recipe also gives a clay that can be molded i just like modeling clay (well, close enough). I've begun using it to make individual finger joints and like the look I'm getting.

I know there are a million recipes out there for pulp, mache, and paste. Just curious why you choose the route of making your own.

Cheers,
Rich

I primerily work with strips of paper or sections of card stock. Folding. cutting & forming 3D forms from flat paper or card which i then strip over. Of course there are times when the need to use a small batch of pulp is required & i won't deny i DO use the 'odd small batch' here & there but it is rare for me. However being able to sculpt or carve pulp allows for finer detailing strips can not always provide so readily.

I always have & continue to love to experiment. Combine that with the readily available materials to experiment with around my own home alone & you get a simple answer, why simply purchase online etc ready made materials that do not always do what you either expect or want. Why pay when you can experiment  whilst recycling doing your bit for the planet, whilst the limitations of your current funds may or may not dictate what you can or can't do. Money is not the only solution especially in toady's 'throw away society'. For me art is not only something everyone can appreciate but something everyone can do, money be dammed. I can use the resources i have at hand to show those who otherwise can not afford to buy online out of convenience. Not all of us can do that. So i choose to combine recycling with creation (art) in a way that i can share (inspire) others who normally would have thought they could not do or especially afford to do.

I recently purchased 2lbs of Claycrete in two separate bags as i require the finest grade of pulp i can get but can't produce (or so i thought) at home. When i received them on inspection it turns out my very own but simple home made pulp was just as refined as the Claycrete was if not bleached as it was. Claycrete reports a drying time of around thirty minutes at which point it is solid & can be sculpted (carved) etc. No simple paper & Cotton lint pulp has those stand alone properties. The gritty fine white grain within the Claycrete (& loose in the bottom of each bag) tells me clearly there is some fine grade sculpting plaster in there too. Now bearing in mind my want to inspire but more so show those  who can not afford a 1lb bag of ready made plaster & pulp mix such as claycrete or anything similar at some £10+ GBP or 14  Euros, 18 USD etc to create something that may turn out badly & be a costly mistake to them. Why purchase online when you can easily make from resources at home something equally as good (especially for experimenting) in minimal time & piratically zero cost? 

Experimenting at home rather than simply purchasing what is readily available means you can create 'exactly' what you require for a particular need/creation. In most cases i use small amounts of pulp as a fast bulking form that i can sculpt/carve where my paper/card folding skills won't ordinarily allow. I have always loved working in plaster & want to explore that field more these days. I however don't want to totally abandon my paper mache either rather i want to combine the two. Even though i have the cash resources to keep purchasing ready made materials as i require them even pulps online. It will eventually become a very expensive set of experiments (even for me) that for the most part will result in failure time & time again as it may take me many attempts to find a pulp/plaster combo that suits 'my' particular needs. Home experimentation combined with my existing years of for knowledge of pulps & plasters give me an advantage i can share with others who may not otherwise have the cash resources to try. Not to mention i will hit on a working answer a lot faster by coming up with my own combinations of pulp & plaster that would eneventually become ridiculessly expensive even though i can easily afford to do so.  Basically i am looking at the bigger picture involving getting others involved in this simple art even if they are working with limited cash resources.