Paint Party Friday: Papier Mache

 Linda and I are the decorators for an October banquet.  

In preparation for the upcoming banquet my classroom has become the crafting center.  

We are creating a tree! 

This is the beginning.  

I will post additional pictures as we progress.  

The photo here is of the main trunk.  Branches will drop down from the ceiling as if the tree grew through.  Only one branch has been constructed so far (not pictured).  So far, I have done this with one small roll of chicken wire.  I need another for the branches.

The assignment for a few of my advanced students has been to assist me in the making of a papier mache tree. We started by measuring out the chicken wire and creating an armature of sorts from it.  (In retrospect I would now start with wooden slats or something more substantial and attach the chicken wire to that so it would be sturdier. As it is, we have had to make wire hangers along the edge of the tree to catch nails to secure to the wall.  This will have to be moved on a trailer and set up on location.)

 Next we taped full sheets of dry newspaper over the chicken wire to completely cover it before beginning to paste anything.

The paste is flour and a little salt mixed with water about as thick of pancake batter.  

The paste is applied directly onto the tree, layering dry newspaper, paste, dry newspaper, paste, etc.  Smoothing as you go.  We did several layers and then allowed it to dry overnight before adding more. When enough layers are applied to make a hard surface when dry it is ready for the next step which will be to apply colored paper an /or paint the surface.  

More next week.

Oh, the painting in the photo is the work of one of my Art IV students.  It is his first attempt at watercolor and the white part is the bridge that has not been painted yet.  It is going to be beautiful.   

There are so many different projects going on in this room it is hard to photograph the room without catching other projects in progress.  What an exciting time to be a teacher!

Happy Paint Party Friday!

View the completion of this tree! 
Here!

We now change it seasonally. 
Right now, we have added willow leaves and hanging moss and that is my favorite look so far. I will have to update the photos.