Pretty In Pink

So a few of you astute readers of this blog have noticed that the clay being used in some recent projects has a pinkish hue and before you ask, the answer is not that I’m trying to get into touch with my feminine side.

The reason that my clay is pinkish in color is that the cellulose fiber insulation I am using contains a lot of red paper fibers so when it’s mixed with the paste it tints the whole batch a lovely pink shade.

"Pretty in Pink" is one of my favorite movies….wait, wrong topic.

Red paper fibers equals pink clay…simple explanation.

One more thing, and this goes out to Chris Davis from Davis Graveyard….you won’t be seeing any pink glitter anytime soon, I’ll leave that to Martha Stewart.

Witch Sculpts Revisited

A few years back I used the technique of papier maching over clay sculptures to create my trio of witch characters.

While reviewing these photos it struck me that I really would like to play with this technique again, it was fun and I enjoy sculpting with clay although it’s something I don’t do very often.

The technique is dependable as long as you use a good release agent so the papier mache does not stick to the clay; otherwise it becomes a tedious mess trying to scrape the clay from the dried paper.

I’m thinking some new creatures, not witches but something different for the 2010 display.

Kitty Clay

Several people have asked me if there was an alternative to using cellulose fiber insulation as the paper source when making homemade paper clays. The answer has always been to make your own paper pulp by boiling, shredding and straining recycled newspaper.

Making your own paper pulp is a fun and rewarding experience but it also time consuming and somewhat messy which is why I now use the cellulose insulation for all of my clay needs. Another option is to buy commercially available products available at craft, hobby and art supply stores.

Tonight I had the chance to experiment with another paper source that could be used to make paper clay, the source is cat litter or more specifically Purina Yesterday’s News natural cat litter made from recycled paper products and is 99.7% dust free. The dust free aspect is a positive because cellulose fiber insulation generates quite a bit of dust when making into clay. Purina Yesterday’s News natural cat litter comes in a 15lb bag and cost me $6.99, it is available at major pet stores and many large grocery stores.

The product comes in the form of paper pellets and the following are the steps I took to turn the pellets into a paper clay useable for your papier mache projects.

The pellets were soaked in water for several minutes to soften.

The soft paper pellets where then shredded with a hand blender.

The water was then removed from the pulp by placing the mixture onto a piece of cotton fabric (old t-shirt) and wringing out the water.

The shredded paper pellets were then mixed with papier mache paste (flour + glue + drywall joint compound) and blended until achieving a firm, moldable clay.

The “Kitty Clay” mixture was then used on several experimental props including a shark and human skull. My first impression is that the clay is very useable although it is a slight bit “grainy” compared to other paper clays I have used. This clay accepts texture and smoothed out quite nicely by using a paint brush coated with papier mache paste.

The pieces will need to dry completely until I can say 100% that this technique works but right now I can’t think of any reason as to why there would be any problems.

Q&A: Cracking Clay

Questions regarding my projects and papier mache regularly fill my mailbox. In an effort to answer these questions and share information some of these questions will be regularly featured on this blog.

Judy wrote:

“I tried to make your clay, but it came out runny. It wasn't thick enough to roll out at all. I am wondering if while adding the cornstarch if I need to keep it on the heat? I don't know what else I may have done wrong.

Maybe you can give me some hints..? "

Unfortunately I mix up mache recipes the same way I cook and that’s to never measure anything and keep adding ingredients until it works.

My guess on the cracking clay recipe is that it was a combination of heat and lack of cornstarch. When making cornstarch based clays the heat will cause the mixture to congeal, the clay almost takes on a gel type of quality.

The mixture needs to stay on the heat until it congeals, if it’s not happening try adding some more cornstarch. The paste and clay recipes I use are based on a lot of trial and error so you may have to experiment a little to make it work.

Here’s the link to the Ancient Skull tutorial which uses the cracking clay.