Sculpting with pulped paper  (Cellulose Cement) -rudimentary synopsis

Pulped paper is a form of the traditional papier mache technique, but does not use the layered strips of glue and paper approach much beloved by primary school teachers. 

In this method, paper is shredded and then pulped mechanically before being mixed with cement and a cement conditioner to create a malleable modelling material that hardens into a weather resistant medium that can be left outdoors if treated with an appropriate sealer.  

This mixture is then applied to the armature in much the same way as one would apply clay.  The cement then sets through a chemical process, a method that fortuitously saves the need for and cost of a kiln.  Paper is a form of wood cellulose and once reconstituted in this way, like wood, the surface can be sanded and carved.  The great benefit of the pulped paper technique is that it is malleable and relatively light.  It is also quite strong although like bisquit fired clay it can be quite brittle. It Unlike fired clay though it is readily repaired.     

Surfaces can be sealed with clear outdoor sealant, painted with good quality PVA paint, or dealt with several other surface treatments depending on what the artist wants as an outcome in the final sculpture. 

As the unworked surface texture looked a lot like rough cast bronze, the surface treatment I use most often with the smaller sculptures at least,  is to apply a verdigris craft paint which has bronze particles suspended in it.  This is then hit with an acid to create the  patination effect of weathered bronze.

For a detailed desciption of the method click here:

This technique of mixing pulped paper and cement has been around for some, time but I had to redevelop it from scratch as information about it is near impossible to find.  Using the ever popular  "trial and error"  technique (quite a bit of the latter as it turned out) I developed a formula that seems to work and last. A good starting point for papier mache work is to have a look at    http://sutherland-studios.com.au/free/papier-mache.html