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My Recipe:
Papier mache is French for "chewed paper." The following recipe is one that I have tinkered with over the years. It is a great, practically free, way to make strong light weight sculptures.
As for the molds of the puppets, be creative. Look in your recycling bin and basement for things that can build off from. I have used soda bottles, yogurt containers, egg cartons, shoe boxes, balloons, chicken wire, a yoga ball, books wrapped in plastic bags, pretty much anything. For masks, I often use a Styrofoam head and molding clay to sculpt the features of the puppet, including the fine details, before I apply the "chewed paper" to the mold. |
You will need:
Paper
1 part cornstarch
5 parts cold water
A medium to small sauce pan.
The best paper I have found is supermarket paper bags. I rip them into large, palm size pieces and then crumple them up. Next, I flatten the pieces out and soak them in a large container of cold water (warm water makes the paper disintegrate). Do this step before you cook the glue and set aside.
The Glue:
Place 1 part corn starch and 5 parts cold water in the sauce pan (no more than a 1/4 cup of corn starch since a little goes a long way). Stir completely. Cover and put on medium low heat for 4 to 8 minutes. The trick is you don't want it to cook too fast on the bottom and not the top. The mixture will turn cloudy white and have the consistency of corn syrup when it's done. Transfer to another bowl and apply to paper immediately for the best glue effect.
Now that you have the glue ready you can apply the first layer. Helpful tip: cover your mold in tinfoil so you can remove the puppet from the mold more easily.
Take a piece of paper out of the water, squeeze it mostly dry and lay it flat on your palm. Next, scoop a dollop of mache out of the bowl and spread it on the paper, covering both sides. Then, tear the paper into small pieces (the smaller the pieces, the stronger each layer will be) and apply to the mold. Overlap the paper generously. Go past the edge of your mold as you can always cut it back. Once you finish covering the mold, let it dry completely before you apply the next layer. 3 to 4 layers makes a solid mask: 5 or more and you could play in the NFL.
Take the puppet off of the mold. Cut as needed and mache back together.
Paper
1 part cornstarch
5 parts cold water
A medium to small sauce pan.
The best paper I have found is supermarket paper bags. I rip them into large, palm size pieces and then crumple them up. Next, I flatten the pieces out and soak them in a large container of cold water (warm water makes the paper disintegrate). Do this step before you cook the glue and set aside.
The Glue:
Place 1 part corn starch and 5 parts cold water in the sauce pan (no more than a 1/4 cup of corn starch since a little goes a long way). Stir completely. Cover and put on medium low heat for 4 to 8 minutes. The trick is you don't want it to cook too fast on the bottom and not the top. The mixture will turn cloudy white and have the consistency of corn syrup when it's done. Transfer to another bowl and apply to paper immediately for the best glue effect.
Now that you have the glue ready you can apply the first layer. Helpful tip: cover your mold in tinfoil so you can remove the puppet from the mold more easily.
Take a piece of paper out of the water, squeeze it mostly dry and lay it flat on your palm. Next, scoop a dollop of mache out of the bowl and spread it on the paper, covering both sides. Then, tear the paper into small pieces (the smaller the pieces, the stronger each layer will be) and apply to the mold. Overlap the paper generously. Go past the edge of your mold as you can always cut it back. Once you finish covering the mold, let it dry completely before you apply the next layer. 3 to 4 layers makes a solid mask: 5 or more and you could play in the NFL.
Take the puppet off of the mold. Cut as needed and mache back together.