Papierdog

By: PapierDog Mood: other Date: 01/14/2008 15:54:14 Music: None

I like the idea of this site but I want more information on the work I'm looking at. Anyone else feel that way?

I've been asked a couple of times what medium the dogs are so I'm going to stop assuming no information is enough.

The dogs (and now some cats) are built of lots of recycle-ables. The process has changed and continues to change but currently the armatures are created from cardboard boxes. 

Once I have the basic shape down I 'flesh it out' with good old newspaper balled up, wadded up, squished around and held in place by masking tape.

Then I start the paper mache strips- usually 4-6 layers is enough to make a good hard shell. I don't have an exact recipe for the glue- just white flour, white glue and some water.

This is the place where things change the most. The 'skin'. the paper stripped dog can be pretty rustic looking so I was looking for a way to sort of top-coat it. Something that would fill in gaps between strips or holes left after cutting off a sharp corner. Ideally this would be something that could be painted on that would sort of even out all the hills and valleys without having to work it inch by inch as with clay. I haven't found anything yet and am happy for suggestions if anyone has any to share.

So in my quest I've made my own paper pulp by shredding newspaper in my handy paper shredder, boiling it, and pureeing it in my now unusable food processor. (if you're in the market for a food processor-it was a Sunbeam I'd had since 1982 and was still going strong when it made the ultimate sacrifice to the arts). I've used store bought paper pulp where you just add water. Both can be difficult to work with.

I have to stop now and go harvest branches that the power company has left in neat bundles on lawns as they massacre the beautiful old trees in the area that threaten to come within 50 feet of their lines.

Thanks for reading-Will it be evident if this blog is read or will I just keep babbling on unheard? If a blogger goes  unread in the woods are they really blogging?