This is what 9 rolls of toilet paper and 200 pounds of clay will make. Not pictured: a dragon skull, a toucan on a branch, two otters swimming in sea weed, a baby seal, the almost life-size torso of a deer, a fruit platter, three hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil monkeys and another veiled figure. Did you catch all that? Am I missing anything? Oh yes! We dipped, dunked, and schmeared paper clay on an assortment of leaves, feathers, egg cartons, pasta and even a loaf of bread.
The students of 171 Cedar Arts Center had free reign since I knew a little secret. The center would soon be getting a new kiln with a grant from the Community Foundation. So why not fire anything and everything under the sun.
The addition of paper pulp makes a very sturdy clay which builds quickly and thinly. If it wasn't possible with regular clay, paper clay could do it. Wings, single strands of hair, standing soft slabs, twisted kelp, a hollow branch, skinny giraffe legs, nothing could defeat the power of pulp. We attached to fired bisque ware and bone dry paper clay. We patched cracked or broken pottery with it. The clay fired up fabulously and took glaze like regular clay.
In the fall we'll do it again with porcelain paper clay. There is always plenty of clay to reclaim and I saved the toilet paper from the mummy wrapping contest at the library. I can't imagine what people were thinking when I asked to have it.
No comments:
Post a Comment