From Wikipedia:
(UK: /ˌpæpi.eɪ ˈmæʃeɪ/, US: /ˌpeɪpər məˈʃeɪ/; French: [papje mɑʃe], literally “chewed paper”) is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, bound with an adhesive, such as glue, starch, or wallpaper paste.
Remembering back to when I was a school-aged girl (you know, when dinosaurs roamed the earth), I have fond memories of doing papier-mâché projects both in school and at home. My mom was a professional artist and art teacher in a public school, so art supplies were always in abundance. When I headed north from Florida to Rochester, NY this summer to spend some time with my two granddaughters (Blakely, age 7.5 and Raegan, 4.5), I had a nostalgic moment and decided to introduce them to this medium. I always try to have some fun projects for us to do together. It gives us quality time to create and talk and catch up.
In the weeks leading up to the visit, I asked them if they might be interested in learning how to do papier-mâché and explained briefly what it was and how it was done. They kind of giggled when I said that it meant chewed paper, thinking we’d be putting the paper in our mouths. I try to entice them with small tidbits of information about the projects I hope we do but also listen to detect any lack of interest. I never want them to feel as if they can’t decide this project isn’t for them.
When children are mandated to do something, it could potentially take the fun out of it and doesn’t allow for creativity and imagination to take center stage. I try to model these experiences the same way a Montessori guide would in the classroom and thereby reinforce how options and choices are delivered. It’s most important that, as grandparents of Montessori children, we do this so that the children don’t receive conflicting messages.
So off I went, with a suitcase packed with huge sheets of unprinted recycled newsprint (large white sheets of the thin paper used by printing companies) and my fingers crossed that the children would stick with the project. I waited until they asked when would we begin before I helped them don their aprons, put up long hair, and set up their art table. We covered the table and the floor with those table clothes from the dollar store. Papier-mâché can get quite messy!
We chose to do simple globes. Because papier-mâché has many steps and can take several days, choosing a simple shape is probably a good idea. We started by wadding up the paper and then taped it into a circular shape, holding it together with some masking tape.
In two small pails, I mixed equal parts of flour and water and let them stir until the consistency was nice and smooth. In this way, each child had their own supply of the paste.
The newsprint was torn into strips and a few at a time put into each pail. The girls were taught how to use their fingers to squeegee the excess paste off each sheet as they picked it up. This takes quite a bit of manual dexterity, but each girl quickly mastered this step. Each strip of paper was then wrapped around their globe shapes, overlapping and smoothing out wrinkles and air bubbles with each successive strip until the entire globe had been entirely covered.
Once this step was completed the balls were set on some wax paper and put into the sun to dry. This took a day to accomplish. Since the next day was sunny and warm, we decided to do the painting at their outside table. Using tempera paints, each girl went to work deciding what their globe would be. Again, we left them in the sun to dry and they were able to play with the globes later that evening when they had cured.
They enjoyed this project so much that they were anxious to show the finished pieces to their three cousins from Connecticut, who had just arrived for a visit. Caleb is 10, Sydnie is 8.5, and Brennan is 5. They all looked at me and said, “We want to do papier-mâché, too. Will you show us?”
The next day, I gathered empty plastic milk containers and empty plastic bottles of water. Once again, I explained what papier-mâché was and even went into some of the ways throughout history in which papier-mâché had been used. I kept it short and light. The big table was now covered, as Blakely and Raegan wanted more of a challenge this time, feeling they had done pretty well with the simple orb.
The gallon containers made the perfect body shape of some animals and the water bottle would be transformed into a great vase. Usually, papier-mâché is totally made of paper but we felt like experimenting a bit. Each child molded bunched up the paper and, as the animal began to take shape, they declared what it was. Again, we used masking tape to hold the shapes together.
Because their cousins only had that day to work on the project, we tried something else with the color; we used colored tissue paper. It was a little thin and messy, but it quickly got the job done. When they finished, we put their projects on a baking sheet and put them in a low-temperature oven (225°) for about 2-3 hours. Each child now had a ‘pet.’ When they left, the cousins hugged me tightly and remarked how this was such a cool project and they couldn’t wait to come back next summer and do another one together.
Papier-mâché was a regular art activity growing up, but I know schools don’t often do it anymore. It’s kind of a great way to repurpose those plastic milk containers, water bottles, leftover tissue paper, and newspapers, so why not experiment with your (grand)children and try it?
Tomorrow’s Child/ November 2017/ Pg 28
