Making Papier-mâché

Monday, November 19, 2018

Papier-mâché projects came about surprisingly from ancient times as early as Egyptian times when they created certain masks. Some other cultures also used this to create boxes. Then later they used these creating light artistic and ornamental structures with functional uses such as trays and chair backs. Even later they were used in dolls.

They are often used to create masks and sculptures. There are a few ways to make a papier-mâché. One way of doing so is just taking paper and gluing it together with adhesives. This normally needs an underlying structure to place the paper strips on. The alternate way is using paper pulp, shredding them into bits and adding glue to the paper pulp that is created via wet soaking and boiling of the paper. This second way created a light formable pulp which can be put inside another structure. Either way there often needs to be additional items to help reinforce the soft structure. Wires, cloth, balloons and other shapes can be used.

A lot of Papier-mâché mixes uses water and flour or other powders to create a goopy mess. (Checked Wikipedia for this article and found out that salts and certain things can be added to this to prevent formation of molds).

After the strips or pulps are added to the desired shape and left to dry the material can be sanded, cut, painted.

It is also popular in Mexican culture including in their holiday masks and pinatas. They are often used for school projects and also have been used in light building structures, firearms, and small boats.