It’s a brand new 12 months and I’m making an attempt a brand new artwork medium: air dry paper clay. I’ve been working with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) based mostly clay (which I’ll consult with as polymer clay hereafter for simplicity) for about 20 years and am completely content material with it as an artwork medium. Nevertheless, there have been sporadic shortages of polymer clay throughout this pandemic which have led me to hunt out another for a few of my sculpting initiatives. These are my first impressions of working with paper clay.
So, paper clay, or perhaps it’s paperclay, all one phrase? I’m truthfully unsure. What I’m certain of is the clay I’m speaking about accommodates cellulose and dries/cures in air at room temperature, i.e., it doesn’t get fired in a kiln. In reality, I’m fairly certain placing it in a kiln would burn it up. No, I didn’t take a look at that principle as I don’t personal a kiln. However I do know paper burns at 451 levels F and that kilns attain temperatures in extra of that. Ipso facto, as they are saying.
The model of paper clay I attempted is Inventive Paperclay. This isn’t a product overview and I didn’t conduct systematic experiments. I simply opened the clay and began making issues. I’m pretty sure my basic observations would maintain true for different manufacturers, simply as I’m certain every model has its personal relative deserves and quirks. Why do I feel that? As a result of that’s been my expertise with PVC polymer clay manufacturers and merchandise. And since it simply is smart that variations in formulations would result in variations in issues like physique, power, work time, and so on.
It’s Squishy: Straight out of the package deal, these things is pleasantly squishy. If you happen to keep in mind Play-Doh out of your childhood, it’s a bit like that by way of firmness. Or like a stiff bread dough. This made it simple to form and easy with little effort. It additionally meant it was tremendous simple to deform my work once I wasn’t cautious. Because the clay begins to dry, it turns into firmer and fewer vulnerable to unintended smooshing.
Because of the squish-factor, I discovered it’s finest for me to work in phases, letting components of my venture partially or fully dry. It was comparatively simple so as to add extra clay to a venture at any stage within the drying course of. I brushed or smoothed a little bit of water or slip (a slurry of paperclay in water) over the floor the place I needed so as to add contemporary clay and smoothed or pressed the moist clay into the dry. The contemporary clay adhered completely to the dry clay.
It’s a Little Toothy: When contemporary from the package deal, this paperclay had a floor texture I’d once more evaluate to agency bread dough. It’s somewhat moist, however not sticky or cheesy. Because it dries, it begins to really feel like, nicely, paper. Not slick like cheap copy paper. Extra like a premium cotton rag paper with a pleasant natural tooth to it. It positively doesn’t really feel like ceramic to me. Nor something like polymer clay, naturally. Additionally, not about texture per se, however I’ll add that paperclay feels chilly because it dries – even when your studio temperature is 62F. I would vaguely recall the physics of why water evaporating makes one thing colder, however I received’t bore you with that right here.
You Should Hurry (and Wait): As you’ll count on, paperclay will get much less pliable because it dries and in some unspecified time in the future, sculpting is not an choice however I might nonetheless carve or lower it. How shortly it dried trusted room temperature and humidity. No, I didn’t run exams of this. It simply is smart when you consider it. I discovered I had about an hour to work out large-scale shapes (if I saved the perimeters moist) and several other hours extra for impressing or carving finer particulars into them. I’ll add that up till it was totally dry, I might by accident make dents in it with my fingernails or dislodge protruding bits of the sculpture. Sure, that occurred. Greater than as soon as.
For me, this implies I must plan forward extra when working with paper clay than with polymer clay. I assume I can lower or carve away cured paper clay if I modify my thoughts about one thing, however I additionally assume repairing that spot will probably be more difficult. It did stress me out somewhat, understanding I needed to “hurry up” earlier than the clay began to dry. I’m certain as I get used to it, I received’t really feel pressured by the clay.
Cracks Will Occur: In line with my analysis, paperclay is vulnerable to growing cracks because it dries as a result of it shrinks because the water in it evaporates. The water content material is what makes it potential to mould and sculpt the clay. It is smart that cracks would occur if, for instance, there have been areas of uneven thickness such that the clay dried at totally different charges in numerous spots. I don’t know for sure what precipitated the cracks in my initiatives. However crack they did. All of them.
Each the piece sculpted flat and the clay fashioned round glass jars developed cracks as they dried. In every case, the clay was rolled to the identical thickness and I didn’t add any water to the clay, aside from dipping my sculpting instrument in water sometimes for smoothing. The crack within the flat piece is barely noticeable and should you didn’t know the way it appeared earlier than it dried, you would possibly assume the crack was an intentional function.
The clay fashioned across the first glass jar cracked considerably greater than the sculpture on wooden and in very apparent methods. A lot of the cracks had been across the circumference of the jar close to the highest. I feel additionally they roughly correspond to spots the place I joined items of clay as a result of I didn’t roll out a sheet giant sufficient to cowl all the jar. The excellent news is, the cracks had been simple to restore by merely brushing slip over and smoothing contemporary clay into them.
For the second glass jar, I rolled out a bit of clay giant sufficient to suit all the way in which round. There have been nonetheless cracks because it dried, however they had been fewer and finer and appeared to correspond to locations the place I had added extra clay over the bottom layer earlier than letting it dry. So, it’s potential the uneven thickness was the wrongdoer there. Sorry, I forgot to take images of these cracks earlier than patching them. They’re seen from contained in the jar although.
So A lot Ready: Essentially the most difficult factor for me to adapt to with paperclay was ready for issues to dry. Once I wasn’t ready for the clay to dry, I used to be ready for a layer of acrylic medium to dry. Once I wasn’t ready for the medium to dry, I used to be ready for paint to dry. I feel the answer to this for me will probably be to have a number of initiatives underway at numerous phases. However which will require extra planning and organizational abilities than I wish to apply to my artwork time.
In line with sources consulted, the clay must be fully dry earlier than you can begin portray it. Sounds cheap. Certain, I might depart it white and name it a day. However needless to say if paperclay isn’t sealed, it’s susceptible to moisture and the sculpture is considerably extra ephemeral.
I’m not a painter. I imply, I’ve painted issues, however I’m not educated in the best way to use paints and mediums. However I did learn that it’s a good suggestion to prime your paperclay sculpture with gesso earlier than portray it. So, that’s what I did. I utilized two layers – permitting them to dry in between coats. Once I say “permitting them to dry” I’ll imply I dug my hardly ever used hairdryer out of the linen closet (what, isn’t that the place you retain yours?) to hurry issues up. Endurance shouldn’t be one among my virtues.
After the gesso layer is dry, and after I used acrylic paints to provide my sculptures colour, I needed to await that paint to dry earlier than I might varnish it. Possibly I might skip the varnish? I don’t know. It appeared like a good suggestion so as to add a prime coat although.
Assets Consulted: Earlier than I opened my first package deal of paperclay, I watched quite a lot of movies on YouTube, some extra informative than others. I did this as a result of I prefer to know a minimum of somewhat one thing about what to anticipate, what instruments I would want, and so on. I discovered some very useful data on this artists’s weblog. Her beautiful horse sculptures clearly show the potential of this medium. I additionally purchased a e-book by Rogene Manas, Clever Paper Clay: Methods for Including Dimension to Your Artwork. Her rationalization of the best way to use instruments to outline options in bass aid was easy. And I primed, painted and sealed my initiatives following her course of.
Would I surrender PVC polymer clay for air dry paper clay? Undoubtedly not. Possibly I’m biased as a result of it’s my first sculpting medium and I’ve been utilizing it for therefore lengthy, however I discover polymer clay to be extra versatile than paper clay for my functions. These functions being each sculpture and jewellery. I’m certain there are individuals who make jewellery elements from paperclay. I’m certain as a result of I requested Google and did a fast search of Etsy retailers. Nevertheless, I’m unsure I’d really feel assured that my paperclay items had been sturdy sufficient for jewellery. Possibly after I get extra acquainted and comfy with it I’ll change my thoughts. I reserve the fitting.
Nevertheless, I do see myself preferring paperclay in lieu of polymer clay for making sculptures within the warmth of summer season when it’s too scorching to fireside up the oven to remedy polymer clay. And assuming the pandemic-related polymer clay provide points will get sorted out, I can nonetheless see a spot for paperclay in my artwork provides basically. That place is at present a plastic shoebox holding just a few packages of Inventive Paperclay, one package deal of DAS modeling clay (I purchased two manufacturers of paperclay however have solely tried one up to now), and bottles of gesso and gloss medium. All the opposite provides wanted for working with paperclay got here from the intensive assortment of instruments and media I already had for working with polymer clay.
Thanks a lot for stopping by my weblog at present and following together with this latest chapter in my artistic journey. Honest warning, I’ve received plenty of these empty glass jars (as a result of I devour plenty of salsa) and I purchased extra paperclay. So, you need to count on to see extra experiments with this new-to-me medium. Please depart a remark if the spirit strikes you. And observe me on instagram @PaisleyLizard for extra images of works in progress and tales about my artistic journey.