Paper mache bowl

Hi all creative people,

Paper mache bowl

Many people are not new to paper mache art form. Paper mache is an ancient art form, which was used all over the world in different ways. In Kashmir,India paper mache has been used to manufacture small painted boxes, trays, cases, bangles etc. When i visited Kashmir some years ago, that was the time i got to know about this art form. The most important and interesting feature/characteristic about this art is, the object made with paper mache is extremely light weighted and easy to handle and also though it's very light but still it becomes very stiff and durable after drying completely. Its very easy to paint on a paper mache object. 

There are two main methods to do paper mache art, one makes use of paper strips glued together with adhesive, and the second one uses paper pulp obtained by soaking paper to which glue is added later.

The traditional method of making a paper mache adhesive is to use a mixture of water and all purpose flour or other starch, mixed to the consistency of heavy cream. 

Here in my paper mache project, I have used the first method, in this method a form for support is needed on which to glue the paper strips, I have used balloon as my base form for support in this project. paper is roughly cut or torn into pieces to make paper strips. Equal proportion of white glue(fevicol/Elmer's glue) and water is used to make adhesive. Paper strips are then glued with the brush on the form and allowed to dry completely. Several layers of paper strips are glued on form depending on how much thick you want your object to be.To do this paper mache project you really need to be patient and while you stick your paper strips to your form, make sure that no air bubbles remain. After the object dries completely, pinch the balloon and take it out. 

To give my bowl a finished look, I sticked newspaper rolled strip on top border of my bowl.(as shown in the below picture).

 
You can use acrylic colour to paint you paper mache object and then apply a layer of Gloss lustre mod podge to make your paint durable. So paint and decorate your object in your creative style. It can be used as a great home decor with a very minimal cost. 

I hope you liked it,
See you soon with another creative project,
Enjoy crafting.

Thanks for visiting.