Carousel-Part 12-Giraffe and Camel-Photos

In the last blog post I mentioned that I had to remake the giraffe's tail because the first one was too large.  I have completed the new tail and glued it to the animal.  It actually sticks our a little further than I wanted, but I think it looks a lot better than the original tail.  I've decided to remake the camel's tail also.  That piece is still a work in process. 

I began this week thinking I would get two of the menagerie animals painted.  Silly me for thinking that.  I have some work done on the folk art camel, and a put a base coat of paint on the folk art pig, but neither animal is complete.  However, progress has been made, and that is something. 

Part of the reason for the slow progress is that I am experimenting with a paper mache' technique I have not used before.  I always like to try one experiment with each folk art piece I make.  At best, experimenting else it expands my skills; at the worst the experiment fails and I have to remake part of the piece.  I have learned something one way or the other. 

This projects experiment was adding dimensional pieces made from paper mache' backed by fabric.  It is an old technique that was used prior to the invention of fiber glass.  Layers of cloth were sandwiched between layers of paper mache' to give extra strength to large projects.  That was the foundation for my experiment.  There was a second technique that was also used in the experiment.  Some years ago I read an article in Art Doll Magazine by Susan deGeneres in which she had used a combination of fabric, paper, and tissue paper bonded by diluted white glue.  After the fabric and paper had completely dried, she moistened it with water, and then was able to gather and shape the fabric before it dried again to create a hard paper mache' type finish.  The technique seemed like an interesting experiment because the camel was supposed to have fabric looking blankets on it rather than a saddle.  (Note for anyone wishing to try this method:  The magazine article recommended setting the piece to dry on a silicone mat.  I used wax paper and the piece came up without sticking or breaking.)

So I gave the fabric and paper mache' combination a try.  I did make one slight change to the process mentioned above.  I also added some flour paste to the mix.  Adding the flour paste I use when making my paper mache' helped to help keep the material looking more like paper mache' and less like fabric.  I actually think I could have used a little more flour paste.   Anyway, I cut a rectangle of fabric a little larger than I needed to cover the area of the camel's back and glued the paper layers together (I used Mulberry paper rather than tissue paper because of its fibers and inclusions to add texture.)  The rectangle dried stiff as a board.  It did soften when I sprayed it with water.  (Caution:  too much water can cause the layers to become unglued.)  I used a needle and thread to make gathers in the fabric.  Then, while the material was still damp enough to bend and shape, I glued it to the camel's back with full strength white glue.  When the piece dried, it dried in shape on the camel's back.  Every once in a while I had to press down a piece that wanted to come up.  Once the section was dry, I painted it.  Then I added a second piece on top of that using the same method which was painted a contrasting color.  I had only given the rest of the camel a base coat at this point. 

Once the fabric sections were dry I touched up the base coat and then gave the camel a wash of burnt sienna and acrylic glaze, which I lifted off with a paper towel.  This helped give the animal some texture.  Before that, it had looked rather flat.  

I'm glad the experiment worked.  Making that camel was a lot of work.  Anyway, adding the saddle blankets is as far as I was able to get on the project this week.  The camel's face is not complete.  I have just put some dots where I want the eyes to go so I'll have some reference marks for making painting on the bridle.  I am going to attempt to make the reins by using the fabric/paper mache' method.  Those pieces are so small that I may or may not be able to get it to look right.  Time will tell.