Paper Maché Anthropomorphic Pumpkin Phase 2

I have been having real trouble getting and keeping pictures on my blog since Blogger changed to the new interface.  My apologies to readers if you have been getting the blog post without the pictures.

Current state of the project.

 

It has been two weeks since I posted.  Between  paper mâché being such a slow medium and not having much time, things just get away from me now and then.  I can remember when I was regularly posting twice a week on progress on my projects.  I keep saying I will do more, but I have to wait for my last layer(s) of  paper mâché to dry before I can add more.
At least I have made some measurable progress on the pumpkin.  The eyes have been installed.  The  paper mâché has been added around them.  That area is ready for sanding and painting.  Teeth and lips have been added.  Tomorrow I will be adding the first layer or two of  paper mâché around the lips.  At least I have something to show for my time. 

The project two weeks ago.

Actually, I have done some work on the project that you cannot see.  Some of my time in the past two weeks has been used to repair a colossal mistake.  I am not ready to call the project a total reject yet.  At this point I am still hoping to salvage the project as a pumpkin.  If I can't fix it well enough, the project goes to a Plan B.

This pumpkin is not very tall.  When I added layers above the eyes for the brows to give the face more expression, I intruded on the area that would be used to put the stem in the center of the pumpkin.  At first, I thought, no problem,  I will just cut a small hole for the removable top.  So I cut it, without giving it too much thought.  Then I found out what was wrong with the plan.  The hole is so small that I was going to have difficulty getting a paint brush in there to paint.  Even the handles on my smallest brushes were too large to get through the hole.  So I had to cut a more or less rectangular section out of  the back of the pumpkin in order to be able to paint the inside.  My plan was that once the painting was done, I would repair the area using hot glue to hold the cut piece in place while I covered the area with more layers of  paper mâché.  Then I planned to use a sponge to paint over the new area of  paper mâché as best I could.
I cut the area as small as I could, because I did not want much of it to be very visible when looking into the pumpkin from the front.  After making the cut, it was still somewhat difficult to get the paint brush inside, but I managed to get the inside painted.  I still have to put more layer of Gesso on the teeth.  After that, the teeth will be painted their final coats.  After that, I will do any touch up to the pumpkin's inside as needed.  Then I can try to put the cut piece back in place and paint that as well as I can reach.  It may not be my best paint job ever, but I am hoping that it will not be that obvious when all is complete.
If the pumpkin does go back together well, I will proceed to painting the exterior.  If the pumpkin does not go back together well, my Plan B is to cut the front half off and add  paper mâché to the cut edges, then paint over all of it.  The face will be mounted to a wreath and used as a door decoration.  The tiny initial cut into the center of the top of the pumpkin and its stem will be painted to look like a top hat.  One way or another the piece will be used for a Halloween decoration.  I would prefer it was a pumpkin, but only time will tell.
That is where the project stands at the moment.  It is not the way I would normally do things.  It is just one of those times where I have to be flexible.  Check back in a week or so for the latest on the project.

Starting a New Anthropomorphic Pumpkin in Paper Mâché

Since my last blog post, I have started a new anthropomorphic pumpkin in paper mâché.   It is only in the beginning stages.  At the moment it does not have a lot of detail, but I thought I'd share a picture.

Regular readers might remember that I have started casting pumpkins on a mold I created.  I cast a pumpkin on each half of the mold.  When all the first three layers are finished, I pull the pumpkin off the mold and use hot glue to hold the layer together before adding more layers of paper mâché.  This gives me the option to make several pumpkins from the mold rather than starting each one from scratch.  I don't really plan to make too many pumpkins this size as finished paper mâché pieces.  Once the weather turns cooler, I plan to make some pumpkins from hypertufa (a lightweight form of cement) and will use this form to make molds for those pumpkins.  However, until the Coid-19 crisis calms down more, I am not going out to get materials so I am contenting myself with making some paper mâché pumpkins.

I always like to experiment when I make something.  In my last blog post I had written about using some thin-set mortar ad mix to see if it might waterproof the paper mâché.  It worked quite well.  I had made a ball using a paper mache flour paste mixed with the thin set mortar ad mix.  No other paint or sealer was applied.  The ball was wet all over and set in a pail of water for two hours.  After the ball was removed from the water and allowed to dry is was as hard as it was before being wet.  No edges came off or even loose.  The experiment was such a success, that I decided I would try using the product on this   paper mâché pumpkin.  For more information on the experiment or for how I built the form, scroll back to the previous posts from earlier this year or view the blog at http://folkartbycaroljones.blogspot.com/

So far, so good.  When I cut open the eyes, mouth, and top with a craft knife, the layers of paper mâché seemed to have bonded together slightly better than they do when just a plain flour paste is used.  There seemed to be less dust falling when the areas were cut.

I used foil and masking tape to build up the features on the pumpkin.  The tape stuck to the pumpkin with no problems at all. 

Right now, the pumpkin reminds me of a tired old man.  I expect he will look much more sinister once the rest of the details are added.  I still have to add the teeth and the eyes.  The eyes hold a lot of the expression.

Since I took the photo of the new pumpkin, I have put on three coats of paper mâché over the features and the seam where the halves of the pumpkin were put together.  I have also started working on the eyes, which are being cast separately from the pumpkin so I can work on them more easily.  The lid of the pumpkin has its first coat of paper mâché.

I will be posting more on this pumpkin next week.  Check back then.