Dan Reeder - Papier-Mâché Monsters: Turn Trinkets and Trash into Magnificent Monstrosities

Perhaps the most common question Ive gotten about my art over the years is, Where do you get your ideas? My usual answer has been, I dunno.

Now, after years of deep introspection, Ive realized that monsters speak to meliterally. In fact, Im convinced that I channel them. Kinda like the infamous J. Z. Knight, who claims that a warrior who lived thirty-five thousand years ago speaks through her. (From what I gather, her warrior friend tells her to charge people lots of money for his wisdom and then buy thoroughbred horses with it.) My channeling is slightly different. No old geezer trying to take over my body. I just notice some little voices inside my head, usually when Im quiet, just before I fall asleep. Mostly they say, Let us out! although sometimes its, Wouldnt a Milky Way candy bar taste great right now? And I do let the monsters out. You will see some of them in this book. Some of them Ive kept tied up, or caged, for your safety and mine.

And I think its about time you let your inner monster out too. There is no greater thrill in the world[]

The truth is that even after thirty-five years of doing papier-mch, Im still in love with the work. And I think everyone should be doing it. Its the perfect 3-D medium for novices and accomplished artists alike. Its supremely forgiving. You can make mistakes and fix them. You can create really fun sculptures without entering the realm of wood or stone, arenas usually reserved for skilled artisans. If you begin your 3-D art experience by making a monster following the instructions in this book, then I guarantee your success. Ill give you tried-and-tested, goof-proof methods.

Now, I realize that some of you may have already bought one or both of my previous books. For the sake of truth in advertising, I need to tell you that the techniques you see in this book are not new. Since I last talked to you, I did explore some other papier-mch methods. But in the end, I decided that I liked my own the best. So you might want to know how this book will be different. Well, this time, Im going to give away all of my secrets. Yes, you heard that right. Ill share with you my vast reservoir of secret papier-mch knowledge, whether you want it or not. And Ill slip in some information thats not so secret, but useful, as well as some fairly non-profound helpful hints and details that will make your papier-mch-monster-making-life much easier. Finally, Ill pass along some interesting facts about life that have nothing to do with papier-mch but might give you something to talk about over dinner. Hows that for jam-packed?

For those of you who need such information, perhaps we should begin with a brief...

Papier-mch has been around for a very long time. Most papier-mch historians agree that it started in China around the second century. Or maybe it was India. It seems that waste paper was molded into all kinds of things, including pen holders and jewelry. Amazingly, the Chinese also used it to make spears and helmets. I would guess that such weapons were used to fight bands of marauding puppets.

Apparently, papier-mch wandered into Europe around the sixteenth or seventeenth century. The French coined the term papier-mch, which literally means chewed paper. I guess there is some evidence that people actually chewed the paper, then squished it into stuff called French art. Around the same period some Germans decided to make furniture out of papier-mch. It was cheaper than using wood. Ive managed to procure a couple authentic papier-mch artifacts to illustrate such uses.

French Papier-Mch Art

Papier-Mch Table and Chair

Eventually, papier-mch furniture factories disappeared. No one knows why. And papier-mch art sort of faded away as well until sometime in the 1950s when a small papier-mch renaissance began. Somewhere in America, a really cool third-grade teacher (Mrs. Sullivan, I think her name was) decided to have her students make papier-mch piggies. They took strips of paper, dipped them into flour-and-water paste, and applied them to balloons. Two weeks and thirty identical piggies later, papier-mch was born anew, although no one seems to know how that process came to be called papier-mch since there was nothing chewed or French about it. Still, such a process is what most adults remember when papier-mch is mentioned.

Of course, this is a book about monsters. Id be remiss if I didnt also give you a brief...

Speaking of the French, the word gargoyle is derived from the French word gargouille, which means throat. The English words gargle and gurgle share the same root. Gargoyles were the beasts that spit the water that came off buildings when it rained. A grotesque is a gargoyle that doesnt spit. Perhaps the most famous gargoyle is the Spitting Gargoyle on the Notre Dame Cathedral, although he is actually a grotesque because he doesnt really spit.

One of the definitions of monster according to Dictionary.com is any animal or human grotesquely deviating from the normal shape, behavior, or character. I suppose that if monsters deviate grotesquely, then they must not be spitters.

Folklore suggests that monsters and gargoyles were added to buildings to frighten away evil spirits. This seems a bit strange to mekind of like taping candy bars to your forehead to protect yourself from sugar.

Considering the French connection between these two historical perspectives, its pretty clear that...

... are related, hence the need for this book.

One thing Ive learned over my long life is that many people genuinely think differently than I do. This realization has been very enlightening! I now understand that I must at least acknowledge other viewpoints despite the fact that my opinion is correct almost all of the time. Still, I think that this realization has made me wiser and has helped me to become a more socially responsible monster maker. In this section Ive decided to tailor my remarks to the various learning and thinking and living styles of people I have encountered. This may appear to some as blatant stereotyping. Rather, try to think of it as an innocent attempt to meet the needs of all the crazy people on this big planet.