An Interesting Craft For The Home Worker

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 81, 5 April 1941, Page 4 (Supplement)

An Interesting Craft For The Home Worker

rtB c T of all il..' i™lif nt Your brown paper inu-t b .talent .-d - ,1 '""! "'«»; Tear it »> M ' l;,W, " s curc that no straight ur -uj ,-!.,- arc !ih better one «.<y .'nan the £..**«: k ?;,- T ; ,b T h iti ,bo=t to .•1μ...- γ-m the *i»l,tfor W -rd bu-in «iiU.mt *„„.„ nr curves. put the basin np-M.- <\<>"» "" „ jiir , or »i.,.ii«. ■•μ-ph,The ,'~ ~t the 1 >a-i ti will in"- 1 - likely ta ve • « vlt . v xvhirl ' bt> ; illoll m will. ..r Hay. gilding *o u* to n, «|iiite HoMtl, «ml levt-1 (H.i- ... iiO i,k tmipwiiryl. p rWCM I to ?»!.■«. Jl.p !.a^.ii--.r thoroughly "ill, va-rln,-. Next takoal-ieeoof ti-M,, ~„,.,.,- h.rj-e enouali to ( -" vor ,lin " , °" 1 ' 1 °" t,K ' outside Civ. »«»'•«•• w '«> feline, ami ipr.-n.l over thc mould, covcrii." »!! "f it outP ide Cut away m.|>v, lU.oii.-s pieces, imt «' re 1,oi "-- '"''' ar,<l tO " Ulke greased ptU.iM- lit closely to the mould. When this i* <1'""' 11,1 >*"" iUP sure the m»»W ic ~ r " wml ov»tv-β-herc vaseline it Tlii- is lo keep the motlol frmii r-f ukitifj in the mould during the process. Have ready s<ollll , piir-ti- nm<lc with—Two |i;u-t- onliimry flour, one |«rt ,K,«-.k.red jiw;. oiif U-a-.pooiifuloi powdered nluiii, a few drop, of oil of i-lovw. Mix well and ii-lil boilmj; walcr. rtuTin? nil thc time, then l.oil. \ useful t|uantily i" nutkc is one dessertspoonful >>f fi/.u and

two dessertspoonfuls of flour, unless one i* winking uu larcro thing?. The paste should he about the thickness of cream, and should be u»od while warm. Dip the fingers of your right hand in the paste, take a strip and draw it through the fingers

Everyone has at some time or another attempted to make articles of papier In this article the process is described very simply. These lovely bowls are strong and durable, and they ccst next to nothing to make. Here are the materials you will require: A good quantity of unglazed absorbent brown paper of the ordinary paper bag type, tissue paper, a small quantity of alum, a little plasticine, vaseline, ordinary flour, fine sandpaper, a small bottle of oil of cloves, about a quarter of a packet of powdered size. As you become more expert some of these items may be omitted. In any case they will all last a very long time.

..'joiit twice. seeing that it it* well-covered with paste, ami put it on tin; mould, working from centre of base to rim. Proceed lo lay oil'strip-! in this way till the mould i* covered, keeping them straight and even, overlapping: each other just a little. Your strips should always be torn pointed. You will lind it Decenary to have some pieces (|u':te short, but still pointed, to til] • and fit the wider part of mould ne.ir the rim. Do not on any account get a lot of overlapping at base of mould; the danger i* in getting a lump here. This must be avoided, and do not get your work too sloppy —a failing with most beginners. As you are laying 011 your strips, press them Jirnilv and smoothly lo the mould, supporting it with the other hand. When you have covered it completely, take the mould from the supporting jar and press it well all over with the hand in order to get it. lir 111 pnd close; then proceed to put 011 another layer of strips in the same way. He careful that you do not repeat a strip on the Mine place, or you will

have uneven tliieklie*s. , Put >>n three layers of stii)>s this way, prpsMnjr well between oaeh. The model, after three layers, >nu>t be left to dry thoroughly. This may t«ke two day*. Avoid drying in an oven, or before n fire, as uneven heat is not good

nor is quick drying. ft it is a line day, the open air does aduiirably, so also does an Hiring cupboard, if not too hot. Slow diving, however, in a warm room is best. When your model dry. take n pair of sharp scissor* and cut pointing towards you) «way waste to rim of mould. t'i'eut care must bo taken to cut

evenly. Next proceed to put on more layers of the paper strips, working firmly nntl evenly all the time. When you have six layers on your mould, ngnin leave to dry as before. Cut away waste to rim in the *ame way, and put on three more layer** as liffore. itn<l dry. You liHve now nine layers. Again cut away at rim. At tliiri ftnge take your flexible f palette-knife and >li|> it round model to jict it away from the mould. (aii , i- needed here not to damage the model. Do not be too hasty over it. ai»d do not attempt to do it unices tlio model is finite dry. It should eome cleanly away from the mould. leaving tlie vtieelined paper K>or-e enough to pull off.

There is no rule ae to the number of hiyeip, but when it i* dry you can test the rigidity of the papier mac-he. It must be firm enough not to move under pressure. The charm of the work i< to got it thin, but firm, and thi* naturally comes with practice. It i* useless to decorate "nt-; the bowl ir> quite firm, or tlu* ;>aint will crack. ■ The bowl iiiiir l ! now have an edging of piece* of thinner paper (newspaper will do). Paste over the edgvn, overlapping each other with no straight edge*. When quite dry, rub it down with s<l n<l paper to get it smooth. Finally dip your finjror in the paste; rub it over the bowl, and allow to dry. * When decorating choose a Minplo pattern for the edge of t lie bowl, or two colour*—one ill-

f-ule and the other ou*«sdc —fetich t\n blue lined y.-'ViW . *ack am' retl. etc. Knnmels and lacquers suitable for papier mat-he can be bought from any artiste' colourman. Careful workmanship is absolutely necessary if you wish for success with papier mat-be, ami this only comes with practice and patience; but when you get pa*t tlie lil*t stage of learning, t!ii« old Japanese art becomes very fascinating. Papier mache is strong and durable and has the advantage of being light and gives a little undcr -tiain without splitting or cracking. W.cnthqjr conditions do not affect it in the least and it doe*not chip or break, or scratch as ilii things made of tin. I*n pier marlie lends itself to many forms of decoration, and when it gets shabby the same article can be redecorated, which giver- it fresh life.