Paper Mâché Carousel Animals - Tiger and Rabbit -Part 23

I have made some slow progress on this project this week.  The holidays have kept me busy, and I only had a small amount of time to work on the animals.  Now that the New Year has arrived, I am looking forward to having a few more hours in the studio (also known as my spare bedroom).  It is not a fancy set up, but it gives me a place that I can work without having to pick up and put away everything at the end of each session.

The tiger finally has his tail attached.  It has an unfortunate bulge in the middle, but it is not enough to want to make me want to rip it out and do it over again.  There is a color difference between the body and the tail, but that will not make any difference once it has layers of gesso and paint on it.  The difference is due to my having tried one cotton clay recipe for the body and another for the tail.  

It is hard to see in this photo, but the tail has some texture on it to try to make it look similar to the body. It is not as bulky as the body fur, but I did not want as much bulk in the tail.  Once it is painted, the tail texture will be more apparent.

I have completed the first coat of cotton fur on the rabbit.  It still needs another coat of the cotton fur.  I just have not had time to sit down and get to it.

I wanted the fur to be smoother on the rabbit than it was on the tiger.  I used a different clay for this animal.  It was much easier to apply than the clay that I used for the tiger.  Basically, the fur is just cotton that is brushed onto the paper mâché with a fifty-fifty mixture of water and Elmer's Multi-Purpose glue.  

I will say that this mixture was much easier to work with than the other clay recipe.  It will give a smoother coat.  The clay recipe I used on the tiger allowed for a heavier, more textured surface.  (Scroll back to previous posts on the tiger for that recipe.  If you cannot reach it from here the blog URL is folkartbycaroljones.blogspot.com).

By the end of the week, I should have reached a milestone on the project; all the animals will have reached the first stage of their creation.  I had hoped to finish it by the end of the year, so I am not so far off the goal, considering that every once in a while, life had decided to give me a good shake and leave me dealing with unexpected situations.  

Check back next week on Monday or Tuesday for the next post.  

Paper Mâché Carousel Animals - Tiger and Rabbit - Part 22

I made some progress this week on my carousel animals.  The tiger has his tail attached to the body, and the rabbit has received additional coats of paper mâché and most of its first coat of cotton fur.

The tiger's tail came out a little larger than I hoped, and it still needs some more texture, to make it look more like its fur, but at least it is on the animal now. I still have to add one more layer of cotton fur to make it a little fluffier.  There is more texture there than this picture shows.  

 It came out a little wider than I had hoped.  I had initially planned to use a wire as the support for the tail, but it proved to be too heavy and the paper mâché took so many layers that it became too large.  

For my second attempt, I used twisted aluminum foil as the substrate for the tail.  That worked better, but I had difficulty getting it to keep its shape while I was adding the layers of paper mâché.  It developed a bit of a kink about mid-center.  If it proves to be too much of a distraction after the next layer of cotton, I will have to add some decorations on the tail to hide it.  I will cross that bridge when the time comes.

Most of the rabbit has received its additional layers of paper mâché and its first coat of the cotton fur.  The top, bottom, and Romance side of the creature are covered.  I had to sit it out to dry in front of a fan for several hours, so the final side is not covered yet.  I will be working on the far side of the rabbit today.  The second coat of cotton fur will get put on later this week.

I also added its cotton tail and a little bump on the face to further develop the nose.  You cannot see it from this angle.  

I first blogged about starting this project on March 10th of this year and I have been working on this project and my pumpkin project ever since.  I completed the pumpkin in October in time for Halloween.  The carousel project will be ongoing into the next year.  I think I at least hit my target of having the animal's forms completed by the end of the year.  (Just barely, but still, it is nice to know that I was able to keep to some sort of timeline.)

My next post will be on Monday or Tuesday in the New Year.  I wish all my readers a Happy New Year.

Paper Mâché Carousel Animals - Rabbit - Part 21

If you think this photo is the same as last week's photo, you would be right.  Due to a very busy week, I was not able to get into the studio for long enough to have time to work on the paper mâché.  

However, I was able to spend some time doing research on how to make the carousel animals go up and down as well as going around.  The good news is that is easier than I thought it was going to be.  Easy might be a relative term here, but it appears that I was overthinking the process.  That had been causing me a bit of anxiety.  I think that I had hit a point that I was slowing down on the project because I was not sure how the next part was going to work.  Now I am much more enthusiastic about getting the last animal finished and moving on to the next segment.

The rabbit needs a few more coats of paper mâché, and then its double coat of fur to be completed.  The tiger still needs its tail.  I have been working applying paper mâché on the tail while working on the rabbit.  Once all of that is complete (hopefully this week) they will join the other animals in the next phase.

Before the animals are sanded, I have to drill holes for the poles to go through the animals.  Before I did that, I needed to know just how the mechanism was going to work so I would know how large the holes had to be, hence my research this week on how the mechanism was going to work.  Once the holes are drilled, the edges of the holes need to be sealed, because paper mâché tends to fray around an area that has been cut.  Then it is on to sanding the pieces that need sanding.  The animals with the cotton fur on them will not need to be sanded.

After sanding, the following phase will be to add decorations, saddles, bridles, and reins to the animals.  These will all be made from clay.  I like to experiment, so I will be trying another clay recipe when I get to that part.  The animals are small, so I don't expect that to take as long as it took to make the animals.  

From there, it will be a matter of making the platform for the animals and attaching it to the mechanism for making it spin and go up and down.  The final step would be to figure out how I am going to cover all of the mechanical workings.  I already have some ideas for that.  What I have not yet figured out is how to do it and have an opening to reach the on/off switch.  If it is remote control, there will need to be able to "see" the beam.  If it a simple on/off switch, it will have to have an opening for access or be wired to the box covering the motor mechanism.  (I have no plans for something that can be turned on using a phone.)  I will work out the details as I get there.  At this point, I don't know exactly what the covering will look like, so I cannot plan for that yet.  

I think a lot of people are wondering at this lack of crucial planning because many people would plan out the whole thing from start to finish before starting the first animal.  I like to experiment, and being able to change my mind on any part of the project is more comfortable in that situation.  For me, being able to take a project in a new direction whenever I choose is more fun and less frustrating.  I think people would be surprised at how often I change my mind about something in my work.  

Anyway, I am out of my doldrums, and once the holidays have passed, I will be entering the months that I have the most time to work on my project.  I look forward to making some quick progress.  

Check back next Monday or Tuesday for the next blog post. 

Paper Mâché Carousel Animals - Rabbit - Part 20

The next layers are at least started.  I covered the rabbi form with tape and added the first layer of paper mâché on the rabbit.  With the busy winter holiday season, I only had time to put on the for one layer of paper.  

The first layer of paper mâché is the hardest one to apply.  It does not want to stick well.  My motto for the first layer is "Just get it on there."  To make it a little easier to stick to the form I generally give the area I am working on a thin coat of the paper mâché paste and let it set up for several seconds.  The tacky bed of paste will help the paper to stay in place.

Each layer after that will be much easier than the first layer.  Newspaper has a grain to it and a slight bit of texture.  The paste will bond with the grain of the previous layer.  

When working on a project the small size of the carousel animals, it is not as important as on larger projects, but I still like to change the orientation of the paper on each layer if possible.  When paper is pasted on opposite directions on each layer it strengthens the piece.  If all the layers go in the same direction, it would be easier to tear.  By going in opposing directions, it does not allow a tear in the paper to follow a grain line very far.  

This is pretty much where things stand on the carousel project right now.  I had to divert some time to making some small paintings to send with holiday cards.  I paint artist trading cards to put into the cards for a few of my friends that collect them and one for my mother, who has been a big supporter of my creativity.  I guess that is the trouble with starting a tradition, people expect you to continue it.  This year I just have not had the time.  I should have had them in the mail already, and I have just started. 

The paintings are not coming out as well as I had hoped this year.  I had trouble coming up with inspiration for the paintings.  Finally, I thought of something I wanted to paint that would be fairly quick.  I remembered the silver foil Christmas trees that were popular in the 1960s.  I decided to paint them, but the silver metallic paint was not shiny enough.  I decided to add iridescent glitter. It helped a little.  As a general rule, I dislike glitter.  It makes a mess.  However, in this case the glitter added some depth and texture to the paint so that is had some dimension to the tree.

The pictures are not finished yet; it is just where I had to leave off to get on with the day.

Anyway, as soon as I get cards in the mail, I will be back to working on the rabbit.  I hope to at least finish the layers of paper mâché this week.  Then it will be on to adding the fur.

Check back next Monday or Tuesday for the next update on this project.

Paper Mâché Carousel Animals - Rabbit - Part 19

This week I have been putting the rabbit pieces together to make it into a three-dimensional animal.  In order to do this, I have to do some math.  I am working on one-eighth scale.  The directions I am working from are for wood carving full-size animals and is given in inches.  

Naturally, it starts with dividing the measurements by an eighth.  At this point I change over to the metric system.  I find that I have more accurate measurements by switching to centimeters and millimeters.  Up until the point that I needed to switch to the metric system, I had been doing it the old-fashioned way by using a pencil and paper.  Once I had all the measurements figured out, I head online and use programs set up on the internet to just plug in my numbers and get an instant answer.  It saves time.  

There are more measurements on the paper than I will use to cut the support pieces.  However, they do come in handy later in the process, when I need to know how wide or thick a certain part, such as a leg or the hoof should be.  It is a nice guide, but for the most part, I just keep working at it until I think it looks right.

Once I have my calculations complete, I cut out pieces of corrugated cardboard to the size I need the support pieces to be.  Several of the measurements will be the same, and it is easier to cut one piece and use that to mark the measurements for the rest of the pieces. 

For a quick recap for new readers, I had previously cut out the two rabbit shapes for each side of the animal, glued toothpick supports and then glued the second shape on top of the first to cover the toothpicks.  Scroll back to the previous post for more detailed information or visit the blog at 

folkartbycaroljones@blogspot.com

I start the next part of the process by hot gluing the support pieces to the underside of one of the pieces as seen in this picture.

I have been experimenting with how best to place the supports.  In this case I have glued them to the very outer edge of the shape.  In other animals, I have glued them further into the body of the shape.  Both ways work, but I think that it is a little harder to get the hard edge off the ones that are glued right at the very edge.  

I do not cover the entire edge with the supports.  I just need a few here and there.  

This photo shows the second rabbit piece has been glued onto the supports.  It does not stand on its own.  The legs are not exactly equal, and it has a little bit of a lean to it.  One support that is just below the shoulder seemed to be the main culprit.  I had to snip the support with some scissors and glue it back together.  That helped a little bit.  There is still a little bit of an imbalance, but I think I will be able to correct that at the point that I put the animals on their poles. 

The next step is to cover the supports.  I use a strip of a manilla file folder.  In this case I have marked the strip at intervals because the front of the rabbit is wider than the rear of the rabbit.  The marked lines gave me a little guidance on where to cut for the narrower sections.  

If you look closely, you can see that I have also glued on some bits of aluminum foil to help fill out the hip area.  I wanted to add it on before I started the next step, which will be to cover the entire animal with masking tape.

I need to end here for today.  I still have a few steps to do before the rabbit is ready for the tape.  Check back next Monday or Tuesday for the next blog post.

Paper Mâché Carousel Animals -Rabbit - Part 18

 Today I wanted to show the next step for changing the rabbit from two-dimensional into a three-dimensional animal.  I did not get as far along as I would have liked for a couple of reasons.  First there was the Thanksgiving holiday.  I was busy cooking.  Then, I cut my thumb and forefinger while I was working on this project when my craft knife slipped.  It did not require stitches, but it is hard to use my thumb to hold anything.  My finger is also pretty sore, and I am having to hunt and peck while typing this.  I have been touch typing for many years, and it is difficult to switch methods.  

This is the last animal to be made for the carousel.  I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to starting the next phase of work on the carousel.  I wanted to get all the animals to the next step, which will be drilling and sanding. But, for now, on with creating this animal.  

I expect my readers are getting bored with the repetition of the steps for each animal, but I have been putting the complete process on each animal because new readers are always coming to the blog.  If they are only looking at a post or two, they may be missing steps in how to make the animals.  It is easier if the information for each step is available for them to see.

This photo is where I left off last week.  There are two rabbits for the Romance side (the side facing the public) and two rabbits for the side that faces the center of the carousel.  

The rabbits are cut from card stock.  This project is in one-eighth scale.  The animals are roughly five to six inches wide.  Cardboard boxes would have been too bulky to use in this project.  

The ears are in different directions so that both will be visible when looking at the animal from outside the carousel.  If they were both pointing in the same direction, the second ear would not be as visible for at least part of the time.

This photo shows that bits of toothpicks have been hot glued to one body of each rabbit shape.  Card stock is heavier than paper, but it will still bend and flex.  The glue and toothpicks hold the shape rigid.  Obviously, I am not trying to mimic a skeleton shape here.  I just kept adding a toothpick anywhere the shape wanted to bend.  

The second rabbit shape was glued on top of the shape that had the toothpicks on it.  The toothpicks are completely covered and will never be visible again.  The shapes are now quite rigid and will have enough strength to stand up to the next phase, which is to add the spacers to hold the two sides of the animal together.

Unfortunately, it was during the next step, cutting and adding the spacers, that I cut myself.  Fortunately, I did not drip any blood onto my rabbit shapes.  However, the injury did bring a stop to my crafting for the day.  

My next blog post will be about how measure for the spacers and how to add the spacers and determining their placement.

Check back next week on Monday or Tuesday for the next blog post.  

Paper Mâché Carousel Animals - Rabbit - Part 17

This week I started working on the figure of the last animal that will go on the carousel.  Regular readers may remember that I had at one point said that I was thinking of making this figure a camel.  I changed my mind for a couple of reasons.  The length of the camel seemed large compared to the other figures.  It just looked as if it would be out of scale to the other animals. In the long run, it would also have required me to make a larger base for the carousel in order for it not to look crowded.  This carousel is going to be fairly large, and I did not want to make it any larger.  Not everyone has room to display a one-eighth scale carousel.  

So rather than expand the size of the carousel, I decided to make the last animal a rabbit.  I have plenty of cotton left from making the coats of the cat and tiger.  Having another animal with a fur coat seemed like a good way to use some of that cotton.  

The photo on the right shows my drawing of the rabbit.  It is a little hard to read, but the drawing on the left is the far side of the animal.  The photo on the right is the Romance side of the animal.  Carousel makers call the side that faces the public the Romance side because this is the side that has most of the decorations on it.  Carousel makers generally do not put as much work on the decorations on the inside because it is not seen from outside of the carousel and because it takes so long to make an animal.

The front ear is pointed up, and the far side ear is pointed forward.  That creates an opportunity for the public to see the other ear.  If the ears were in line, it might have looked as if the animal had only one ear.  

The tail is not shown in the plan.  It will be a little round cotton tail.  There was not point of putting it on the drawing because it does not sit on the edge of a side but in the middle.  If I had cut out the tail on the drawing, I would have had a tail on each side.  Not the look I was going for.

The drawing was transferred onto blue card stock.  Regular readers know, but new readers may not know why I used blue cardstock.  The main reason is that I have a large quantity of blue card stock.  Someone had gifted me a mostly full ream of this stuff.  I did not know what I would do with it at the time, but I knew I could find something to do with it.  Other than that, the contrast of the blue on the white background of the plastic covering my work area works well for photographs.

I am a big fan of using what I have on hand.  I try to use up odds and ends of things before I go out to purchase something.  

Once I transfer the rabbit figures onto the card stock, I cut the figures out with a sharp craft knife.  I saved the cutouts of all the animals.  I am not sure exactly what I plan to do with them, but I did not want to toss them out.  They could be used as a stencil in another project.  Or just used for someone to trace around to have their own rabbit to use in a drawing.  I am thinking of children coming to visit that I might need a quick craft for their amusement.  

Sometimes I do crafts with programs for seniors or the disabled, and I think they might enjoy coloring or painting them it as much as the children.

This is as far as I have started on this project.  I hope to have the animal together by next week's blog post which will show the process of turning a two-dimensional object into a three-dimensional object. Regular readers know why there are four animals.  New readers will be able to see the full process of building an animal in the next post.

 Check back next Monday or Tuesday for the next post.