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Hi I have been a Papier Mache artist for a number of years and have recently started to work again. I usually make masks but not the kind you would wear to a party. I guess they are art masks. I live in London Ontario canada and would love to talk to artists that might also make masks. I hope to have at least one mask up in the gallery as soon as I can find it. I have it packed away somewhere. I used to work with pulp but find its to hard to make now. If anyone knows of a commercial source for paper crumble please let me know.
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What is paper crumble?
DavidO
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dried paper pulp. just add water and you have a product ready to use with a little mixing.
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If you want a ready-made mix (just add water), you can try Celluclay. It's sold in Canada.
Sue
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I know what you mean now. I did have a sample a long time ago of milled newspaper. That was a very fine crumble and made a good mix. More recently (just out of curiosity) I have searched for a similar product but failed to find anything.
Anyway, I am very satisfied with my own method of turning newspaper into a very fine, strong pulp. I'll send it to you, in case it is of any interest.
DavidO
P.S. I don't really look like a giraffe!!
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Hi Rhyan, Fast Mache sold at Michaels art and craft supplies is great! I've been using it with much success, though it took some experimentation to achieve the right consistency.
Please post your mask(s). I want to get into maskmaking myself in the near future.
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I am working on a mask now and not sure how long its going to take me to finish. But first I have to find the battery charger for my camera before I can post anything. LOL Thanks for the Fast Mache suggestion. I live not to far from a Michaels and will check it out the next time I am there. The current mask is made with Toilet paper its taking longer then I thought as I was sure it would dry fast then its has been so each layer takes me a couple of days. Oh and Christmas got in my way.
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Well here it is almost April and still my mask is not finished. I have Rheumatoid arthritis and have been in a lot of pain so have not done as much on my mask as I had hoped but its getting there but as I added more layers I found that the bottom edges were starting to curl out. So before I can add a last layer to the mask and start trying to decorate it I have to find a way to get those edges back down. I think the problem is not enough glue. I will try a few things and see what happens. And I still cant find the charger for my camera so might have to borrow a camera from someone to take the photos.
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Did you make the mask on a former of some sort? Yes, the laminate can peel back if not secured. If you were making it on a plastic form, for example, you would use masking tape to secure it to the base, then take the laminate over the edge. You finally cut it away when fully dry.
Otherwise, to reshape a free form, you can dip the edges in water, push them into shape and retain them there somehow. You can then add a bit more laminate, being careful to hold it in the shape you want.
It's a bit like laminating a bowl. You take the laminate over the edge until it is all finished, then cut away and finish with a smoothing layer to protect the cut edge.
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I use a wig head. great for making masks and it usually sticks to the foam till I can release it. this time it lifted at the bottom edges. I just got them wet again and they stuck down well. its working. Payday I am getting a new charger for my camera so there might be photos soon
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Well I did it I opened a Gallery and posted my current work in progress. Lots of work as I started with cheap toilet paper. now I am almost finished with the base and am going to have to make some blacks( laminated pieces of toilet paper) so I can work on how to apply the feathers. with me luck.
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Hi Rhyan,
Creaturiste is a fellow Canadian artist/puppeteer, puppet and mask maker who may be of interest to you. He shares his techniques generously. You can find his blog here:
http://creaturiste.blogspot.com/ Click on the little knome to see some of his work.
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Creaturiste is a very talented PM artist. His creatures have a lot of personality, and have had for years.
Sue
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