WINSOME PAPER MACHE

Himself.

I have just finished a paper maché rooster that was commissioned by my brother, who is a member of the local golf club. The club has a very popular competition on Fridays, when the prize is a frozen chicken. Good-natured competitiveness bloomed as even the golfers’ wives would hold thumbs for a win, which would mean something special for the pot – hubby’s frozen chicken prize.

Giving us a little smile.

My brother wanted to use the rooster as a trophy, which was going to be a surprise for the year-end function, when it would go to the overall winner of the chicken game.

So I started sculpting Mr Rooster two months ago, saying nothing about its destiny when friends and family came to look at what I was doing.

As the deadline loomed nearer, I became more and more thankful that I had started so early. Building such a sculpture is a drawn-out process, as the many layers of wet paper need to dry thoroughly as the work progresses.

Beginning stages.

I started out with a shape built over a balloon, on to which I built up the tail and neck, and then the head and comb. I used a round cake tin at the bottom, as the sculpture had to be positioned on a wooden trophy base. Details were more simplified at the bottom so that the form of the rooster could be integrated with the base. The head and comb and the tail feathers are therefore quite detailed in shape, but the lower parts of the rooster are simplified and the legs are painted on the sides of the cake tin to look three-dimensional.

My support act.

 A paper maché sculpture like this is very labour-intensive. It is built from scratch, using a very slow process of layering pieces of torn newsprint over the structure formed in various ways.

The balloon was covered to get the basic form of the body. Balls of crumpled paper was then used to build up the tail section, neck and head. The comb was cut from strong cardboard and fleshed out with homemade paper clay, which was covered with many layers of paper to strengthen it sufficiently. The tail feathers were formed with paper that was rolled up and twisted into shape.

 

Another late night...

Then the really time-consuming part started – covering the figure with layer upon layer of pieces of torn paper. I use maize flour as a glue paste, as it is processed to death and never get weavels like bread flour. If you use bread flower, weavel worms could hatch in humid climates and devour the piece from the inside. Nasty surprise for an art buyer.

So I take care with the materials I use and make sure that the layers of wet paper dry thoroughly as I progress. I also work up a strong and smooth finish, as my paper maché items are meant for sale and should be durable. The whole surface is checked again and again for weak spots, which are strengthened until every square centimeter of the outer layer is solid and need not depend on the structure for strength.

Depending of what I am making, I sometimes also use plastic bottles, cardboard boxes or polystyrene shapes to build up a structure. These materials are stronger than a shell built around a balloon or balls of crumpled paper, but I still keep in mind that the outer shell of the shape should be strong enough on its own.

Paper sculpting complete.

Regardless of what I use for the structure, I also fill the sculptures with something to give them weight, and therefore a feeling of substance. I have used pebbles, flattened plastic containers, discarded paint tubes and crumpled plastic bags. You can stuff a LOT of useless plastic bags and packaging into a pototoe pocket which is going to be turned into a paper maché cat!

Base coat. Now for the
paint job!

Once the paper sculpture is complete and thoroughly dry, the painting starts. A paper maché item such as this is actually two artworks in one: A paper sculpture as well a painting of a single object. I used acrylic paints and inks.

The wooden base was stained with a mixture of burnt umber oil paint and clear satin varnish. Both the rooster and the base were given four coats of varnish, and brown felt was glued on to the bottom as a final finish.

The other side.

And would you believe:

The brother won the trophy! Nice, because I do not have to totally part with it so soon.

Fynbos Golf Club Manager, CJ Mulder, with trophy winner
Johann Kemp at last night's year-end function.

ALL PHOTOS: Susan Kemp