Professional Paper Mache Maskmaking
By Monica Roxburgh
www.GoblinArt.com

All text copyright 2004, Goblin Art LLC

• Brown paper bags. These are vastly stronger than newspaper, (and just a lot nicer to work with). Use heavy bags for big projects, small ones for small detailed projects.
• Scrap office paper.
• Paste. Look for Elmers Art Paste at your local art supply store. It comes powdered in a box, and I recommend mixing small batches at a time. If you can't find that, look for Golden Harvest Vinyl Wallcovering Paste (red or teal box) found at hardware stores carrying the Do it Best products. I used to use Holmans Shur-Stik Wallpaper & Vinyl Wallcovering Wheat Paste (which was the best glue ever), but it is no longer being made. Important: Make sure to avoid the vinyl pastes, or any that are full of fungicide, as they will do horrible things to your skin.
• Bowl (for paste).
• Water spraying bottle.
• Paper towels.
• Pam spray-on cooking oil. (Optional)
• Scissors.
• Gaffers tape or masking tape.

The first thing you need to do is create a release layer over a sculpt, (over-casting), or inside a plaster mold, (plain old paper macheing inside a mold). You can do this with paper towels or toilet paper and water, (NOT paste), OR you can coat the mold with Pam spray-on cooking oil. The release layer allows you to actually remove your project from its mold later on.

For the paper towel method, lay dry overlapping towel pieces over areas of the sculpt or mold, and then gently spray them with water so they stick and flatten out. This method is best for molds you intend to use with neoprene at a later time, as neoprene will not work with oil-saturated molds.

Next, take big ripped up chunks of paper bag, and dip them into the big bowl of paper mache paste you already mixed up. The thickness of the paste is a personal preference. Some people like it more like thick rice-milk, others like thin oatmeal. Smear the paste thinly all over both sides of the paper. Now, rip smaller pieces off the big piece, and press them onto the sculpt or mold, overlapping all sides of each piece, and pressing out all air bubbles. You may also scrunch up the paper to squish the glue into the paper fibers.

Once you have a complete covering, proceed onto the next layer. To keep track of what layer is what, alternate with another kind of paper, your counting layer. White scrap office paper works nicely. Try and stay away from newspaper, it is too weak.

Now if you are paper-maching inside a mold and you have detailed hollows that are hard to get at, you can now scrunch up wads of gluey paper and stuff them into these areas. Now when you paper mache over them, you should have a more even surface.

Note: If you are over casting, you have to take care with every layer, to make sure the paper mache stays smooth. If your are working inside a mold, the first layer needs to be done carefully, then you can rush through the rest.

Once you have 3-4 layers (for a small project) or 5-6 layers (for a big project) you can let it dry. Somewhere warm and sunny or in front of a fan is ideal. Make sure to let it dry longer if you do have hollows full of packed gluey paper.

Now that it is dry, you need to remove it. If you over-cast it, you may need to take an exacto knife and make cuts that will allow it to be pulled away from any undercuts. Use zig-zag-shaped lines so it is easier to line the sides up again. One the mask has been removed from the form, tape the cut edges back and paper-mache them back together.

One the paper mache piece has been removed, if the paper towel release layer is untidy, spread another layer of paste over it and let it dry. Use a couple of layers on each side of any cuts you need to repair, and maybe to reinforce any remaining edges after you have trimmed the excess off them. Make sure that the piece doesn't curl and deform as it dries.

Once dry, you can get that final smooth finish by coating the surface with vinyl spackling, sanding it, and a final layer of artist's gesso. Once that is dry, it is time to paint and decorate. Enjoy!