Hello!
There are lots of recipes out there for making paper clay. I have tried quite a few different recipes but have boiled my own down to one that works great for me. The finished product is hard and has a texture that I love. It can also be made to be smooth but I love the texture.
It starts with preparing your paper. I reuse all kinds of paper, except for cardboard boxes. I use shredded bills and junk mail, paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls, egg cartons and sometimes newspaper. When using junk mail and bills you have to be sure to not shred the cellophane windows. Plastic and paper clay will not stick together. The integrity won’t be as strong where that shred of plastic is. So go through all the junk mail and the envelopes and tear or cut out all those windows out then put them in the trash. Then shred everything else. I use an office shredder and I store it all in a garbage bag until ready to use. For the paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls, rip them down to about 1.5in x 1.5in. Any paper based product is fair game. I also use drink holders from fast food restaurants, egg cartons etc. If you can rip it with your hands into small pieces and it is made of paper then it will work. Cardboard will work but it is hard to get into small pieces. So I just don’t use it much. Instead I use it to supplement the armatures if needed. I also don’t use anything that feels like it is coated with wax.
Get a 5 gallon bucket and fill it with your shredded and torn paper. Fill it to the top because it will shrink down once you add the water. Then fill the bucket with hot, hot water. I get very hot and steaming water out of my sink but you may need to boil water. Stir it around to make sure it is all wet. I put in enough wet paper to fill about half the bucket.
Then fill it more with hot water so that the water is about 3 or 4 inches above the sunken paper. I added more water after taking the above picture. The water will turn dark from ink. Don’t worry about it because there is nothing you can do The clay will be a blueish grey color with colored flecks. Unless you used a lot of newspaper then it may be darker in color.
Now for the hardest part. Waiting…. It is best to let it soak overnight but I never do.. I will go check it after a few hours and see if it will blend up. If it won’t then you soak it for longer.
For blending I use a commercial immersion blender. I was burning out the motor of the small kitchen ones and having to replace them to often. The one I got is a Vevor brand and you can’t help but feel like Rambo when holding the thing.
Blend, blend, blend. Until everything is as small as possible. It will look like oatmeal. Scrap the bottom and sides to get anything sticking to them.
You then need a piece of muslin or another thin, strong fabric even an old sheet works great. I tried a towel but it was harder to get the water squeezed out and my hands cramped. So the muslin is what I use. If you buy it, it is pretty cheap at JoAnne’s*. About a yard squared is all you need. It will cost about $2.50 a yard or $1.50yd if on sale. I lay it across a colander and then scoop out the paper mash into it. I work in a utility sink but you could use a bathtub, or any other sink. You could even do this outside if you can keep the dirt out of it. I use a really large scoop to move it from the bucket into the muslin that is laid across the large colander.
The colander keeps it contained in the muslin until you start to twist and squeeze. When you have a good amount in the muslin then pick it up and start twisting all the ends together and squeeze. I squeeze and twist until I don’t have anymore water coming out.
When you open the muslin up then the paper will be in a clump (above) and you can easily put it in a bowl or a gallon size Ziplock* baggie. It is easy to scrape the bits from the muslin with your fingers. Do this for all of the rest of the contents of your bucket, then picking up the bucket and using a scraper to get all the little bits at the end.
Store the pulp in an airtight bowl or do as I do and use a gallon Ziplock* baggie. (Above photo, 5 gallon bucket yields about 1 gallon of pulp) You can then refrigerate it until your ready to use it. You want it to stay damp and not dry out for easiest mixing. So if it gets too dry then add a tiny bit of water. Though if the bag is airtight then it wont dry out. The muslin can just be hanged up to dry until you need it for the next batch. Oh and try not to get any pulp down the drain. It could stick and harden in your pipes.
This is the base for my art, both indoor and outdoor. I will go over the outdoor formula in a different post.
For the indoor clay I take out a handful of the pulp and tear it up into small pieces putting it in a bowl. I use about 4 cups at a time. Once it is in small pieces I put on gloves and add in some wood glue. I prefer the Gorilla* or Titebond brands of wood glue. I tried Elmer’s* wood glue but I just didn’t feel that I got as strong results. I start with about 1/8 cup and start mixing it by hand. I don’t measure and I just add a little more as I go. How much is up to you. Too little and it wont be strong enough and may crumble. I have used too much before. It worked but it had lost some texture and was sloppy. I like to just be able to see the white of the glue. It will hold its shape and will sound “squishy” as your mixing it.
Then I use small amounts at a time pressing it into place on the armature. Remember it won’t stick to plastics and some Styrofoams. Here is a piece that I am working on now. I got the circle forms at the dollar store and the paper clay will just not stick to it so I paper mached it with a water/glue mixture and paper strips for a first layer. Now the clay is sticking to it.
This one I am just starting to add the paper clay. If you have leftover clay then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Be sure to label it so it isn’t mistaken for food and those containers will not be used for anything else again. That goes for all utensils you use for this. They will be strictly for the paper pulp.
If you want a smoother clay then use a hand mixer to mix it up with the glue. It will smooth out the lumps better than your hands.
Let it dry. It will take a few days to dry completely. Sand it if needed to remove any sharp areas. Then I brush it with Golden GAC 100* to seal it. It is then ready to varnish if leaving natural or gesso it and paint.
Other products that I use are Nova Color Paints*, Golden Paints* and Golden High Gloss Varnish*.
* – I am not affiliated with any company so there are no links to products in my blogs.
