Mistakes are good, thats what I'm trying to convince myself. Thursday was the day to make a new batch of papier mache clay. This time I decided to follow a new recipe that I had sourced on the internet. It did seem to have a lot of flour in the ingredients but I was willing to give it a go as I'm still in search of a perfect smooth finish. A huge amount was made from a mixture of toilet paper, grout, pva glue, glycerine, liquid cornstarch, water and the above mentioned flour. It looked good after much mixing (good arm workout) that I couldn't wait to start moulding. So I applied to to my newly made papier mache bird. It went on smoothly but did rather resemble pastry. I put it in the oven which is a fan oven so the heated air dries the piece much quicker. After its half hour oven blast I took it from the oven. It had expanded resembling something close to an artisan designer bread! With wings looking decidedly chunky this bird if real wouldn't be able to take flight! Not what I had intended.
Im still hopeful this mixture can be used but I think the problem could have been my old nemesis of speeding ahead of myself. The papier mached bird was still not dry when I applied the clay. The applied clay was a bit thick in places. The oven was too hot, previously I used a low heat but for a longer time. I need to redo a dolls arms today so I will use the clay, giving it a second chance! I will let you know how I get on.
