Sarah Hand - Papier Mache: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating More Than a Dozen Adorable Projects!

A step-by-step guide to creating more than a dozen adorable projects!

2021 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.
Artwork and text 2021 Sarah Hand

First published in 2021 by Walter Foster Publishing, an imprint of The Quarto Group. 26391 Crown Valley Parkway, Suite 220, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, USA.
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ISBN: 978-1-63322-892-4

Digital edition published in 2021
eISBN: 978-1-63322-893-1

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I havent done papier-mch since elementary school! say most of my adult students at the beginning of a new class.

It was the same for me. Papier-mch and I became reacquainted when I was 30. I made a hilarious collaborative puppet show for my friends and created all of the puppets. I needed a very specific character, so I decided to papier-mch it. It was poorly done; I used wire, which isnt my ideal sculpting material, and paper towel with a bumpy texture to create the papier-mch. But there was something to it... something lumpy and silly, something charming.

After digging a little deeper into papier-mch, I began teaching it, first to children and later to adults. I was so nervous before my first adult class. I thought the students would expect sculpting fundamentals and professional skills, and those were not things that I could offer!

Fortunately, my fears went away quickly. That class made the cutest things, including a sculpture of a penguin standing on an iceberg. Over the years, my students have created beloved pets, their favorite foods, narwhals, panda bears, and even a giant bottle of hot sauce!

Papier-mch is a wonky art. Its off kilter and askew... perhaps a little kooky. Thats where the charm lies. Its possible to achieve sculpting perfectionsymmetry, smoothness, accuracybut thats not my approach. Using the humblest of materials, I hope to teach you to delight in the chunky, the lumpy, and the fanciful.

I do believe that anyone can make the projects in this book. You dont need drawing skills to make papier-mch sculptures. I find that I can get caught up in perfectionism when Im painting or drawing, but when I put papier-mch sculpting materials on my table, my hands take over and my brain chills out. This happens with my students too. There is an intuitive aspect to the sculpting process. Often, the materials will help you determine the shape of your sculpture. Follow their lead! Curiosity is the most important thing.

Jumping in and making the projects in the book that intrigue you first will teach you the most. Once you learn the basic approach, youll have everything you need to sculpt your own projects. All of the techniques can be translated into different ideas, sizes, and inspirations you may have. Making inspires ideas, so you might find yourself trying one of the projects in this book and wondering if you could take another approach to make something different that only you could imagine. Thats how it worksyou just have to begin.

Lets start together!

Papier-mch is an extremely accessible art formyou may already have most of the supplies you need to make the projects in this book! Here Ive provided a rundown of the necessary items, including specific ones for some projects.