Marionette

I made a robot marionette out of paper mache. It was really difficult and came out fine, but just lays there in my room because I'm too busy making other stuff to use it.

Elemental Boxes #1&2

These boxes are different shapes and color schemes from the previous entries, but the process is relatively the same. The pyramid got "earthy" colors in abstract patterns. It looks "wetter" and drippier than I intended, but the basic idea was to look as if it had been exposed to outdoor weather for a few thousand years. I tried to make the "water" box rippled by taping hemp twine to it before paper mache, but that didn't work very well. I compensated in the paint by using circular items to stamp bubbles on and put some wave foam around the edges with sponges.

Vase 3?

A 6 sided vase in a different shape from the others.

Boxes with color wheel rock borders

I took the "rock borders" idea from my previous box and vase, but this time I used different colors. I made a set of 4. Each box started with a base coat of a color and each successive layer moved counter-clockwise around the color wheel. For example, the red box has purple dry brushing, blue frames, green dry brushing on them and yellow string hinges.

Paper Mache Guitar Amplifier Cabinets

I had some heads from practice amps and some speakers floating around and decided to make something of them. I made the small one first and then the large. I was going for a late '80s early '90s style with the painting. The small one has drips and splatters of primary colors (red, blue, yellow) and the large is secondary colors (green, orange, purple). Had I thought ahead to doing 2, I would have used one small speaker and one large speaker in each to make a matching set to use in stereo. I would also have glued together double layers of cardboard because the sides of the larger cabinet bent outward and were a pain to get flat again.

Calyx Krater

My friend saw the vases I had made and asked for one for Christmas. I told him that my next would be a calyx krater (ancient Greek) and he said that he wanted his to be "legit". We haggled over hero counts, but the figures were easier to do than expected. He got Theseus vs the Minotaur on one side and Perseus with Pegasus and Medusa (with a bonus Kraken) on the other. There may be some type of copyright issue with my figure designs, but I processed them to look "legit" enough so that should not be a problem. My only real issue with this is that the paper mache became heavy enough to distort the top when it was wet.

Vases 1 & 2

I imagened in my mind a cardboard vase that would look like a surrealist painting. It would be angular and have the shading all going the wrong way. That did not happen. This is what came out instead. The outer surfaces were painted flat and then drybrushed, accentuating the edges and ripples in my paper mache. Splattering them got paint all over my desk, another sculpture and my mirror.

Alien with Flying Saucer UFO

This is a character that has evolved through the creation process. It started out as one face from a wall of faces like in FFIX Oeilvert. I liked the face so much that I built a little grey alien body for him. I then tried to make a paper mache robot, but it would not stand and took up way too much space. That got crumpled and thrown away in favor of a simpler UFO vehicle. I saved the driver's seat and constructed the flying saucer much larger than originally planned. The lights around the edge are made from scraps of red-themed neckties wrapped around empty tape rolls. I did paper mache and painted it in my drybrushing combination of acrylic and tempera paint. The silver highlights are enamel model paint.

Grim Reaper #2

I made a Grim Reaper for my cousin. This is becoming my signature piece. It's pretty quick and easy to make. I used a wire frame for the body, pipe cleaner hands and hot glued the animal skull on. An old pair of jeans provided fabric for the robe, which I stapled together. The final picture is of him in his new home.

Sea Serpent

I designed the sea serpent to fit into my 3 billy goats gruff scene. His place is at the bottom of the waterfall where the water he is in provides closure to this scene. After all, the waterfall can't just drop off into nothing. I crafted the structure from cardboard, plastic food containers and tape. 2 coats of paper mache were applied and then I painted the whole deal. Working from dark to light in a mixture of tempera and acrylic, I painted it all black to start. I then used various degrees and techniques of dry brushing to apply color. The flat carboard of "water" curled up in some places, but I am otherwise satisfied with the result.

Rapunzel in tower and Prince on motorcycle

Stinking with the fairytale theme, I decided to make a Rapunzel scene. The story is vague about what type of prince rescues Rapunzel, so I selected the artist formerly known as. I first crafted Prince and worked on his motorcycle at the same time, him having to reach the handlebars. I use cardboard to create the structure for my paper mache items. This involved learning about tempera paint, the cheapest I could find. I also discovered/invented aluminum foil mache for the wheels. The windshield is a plastic sleeve from a record with a bass string support on top. You can't see it in the pictures (let alone in person), but the seat of Prince's motorcycle has 2 types of faux animal fur and is fit for a porno flick. Bow chicka wownt wow. Pipecleaner TAFKA Prince and paper mache motorcycle complete, I moved on to Rapunzel in her tower. The tower came together quickly and easily. After some dry-brushing work on the paint, it was done. I then strove to create a beautiful Rapunzel with shining eyes made of marbles. It was a good idea, but I think she looks ugly and creepy. She may resemble Marilyn Manson a little. The yarn hair took some time and I found out after attaching all of it that her head would not support the immense weight of a full ball of yarn. Also, she requires the aid of a stylist to cover the holes in her head. Overall, I'm relatively pleased with the finished product and can't wait to start work on something new. You can probably look forward to some plastic bag mache, little red riding hood and an Edgar Allen Poe inspired piece.

3 Billy Goats Gruff Scene

This is the largest and most complex thing that I have ever made. I did the goats first with pipecleaners, then the troll and added denim from jeans as well as hemp twine, jute twine and cotton string and some beads. The upper background is purple paper wrapped around cardboard. I then used watercolors to apply a base coat and applied some crayon. Finding this too dull and muffled, I edged with marker and brightened things up with some oil pastel. The bridge is popsicle sticks glued together. I tied them with pipecleaners. The pipecleaner waterfall is on top of a heavily sculpted carboard base section. I did paper mache on it which I painted a dark greyish brown and dry-brushed highlights on.