Deb & Curt Maxwell on tue 14 jan 97
Can anyone give me any tips on how to make paper clay?
Thanks - deb in Calgary, Alberta
You Name on wed 15 jan 97
make it just as you would make regular clay, just add blended paper. Shread
or tear paper, fill the bucket 3/4 full of shreded paper, then add warm to
hot water. (depending on your clay batch paper amt. is usually 30 to 50%)
The temp of the water seems to break the paper down quicker. Then use a
power drill with a long mixer bit and blend until there are no visual signs
of letters or colors from the paper. Then screen some of the water out, and
throw it into the mixer with your other dry materials.
And there you have it, paper clay.
Erin
Marty Cugelman/Gail Pasternack on wed 15 jan 97
At 06:43 14/01/97 EST, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Can anyone give me any tips on how to make paper clay?
>Thanks - deb in Calgary, Alberta
>
>I personally have never tried to make paper clay, however, there are
instructions in a book I have by Paul Scott called CERAMICS AND PRINT. I
purchased this book from Axner's catalog. The description is just on one
page. If you want me to type the description to you, just let me know. I'm
a fast typist and don't mind doing this. The book is full of interesting
information and you might find something else of value. Hope this helps.
Gail Pasternack
Ballantrae, Ontario
Stern HQ on thu 16 jan 97
Erin, a couple more questions about your directions: Do I understand that
you are mixing the paper pulp with dry clay? Is your "30-50% paper pulp
by weight (i.e. 3 lbs paper pulp to 7 lbs dry clay?) Can you add paper
pulp to wet clay? Is the proportion the same of pulp to wet clay? Can
you do this for all clays, lo as well as high fire? Thanks for the
answers. Jeni
On Wed, 15 Jan 1997, You Name wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> make it just as you would make regular clay, just add blended paper. Shread
> or tear paper, fill the bucket 3/4 full of shreded paper, then add warm to
> hot water. (depending on your clay batch paper amt. is usually 30 to 50%)
> The temp of the water seems to break the paper down quicker. Then use a
> power drill with a long mixer bit and blend until there are no visual signs
> of letters or colors from the paper. Then screen some of the water out, and
> throw it into the mixer with your other dry materials.
>
> And there you have it, paper clay.
>
> Erin
>
Christine Davis on thu 16 jan 97
I buy blocks of premixed moist clay. Is it possible to wedge the paper
into clay that has already been mixed?
You Name on thu 16 jan 97
Deb
make it just as you would make regular clay, just add blended paper. Shread
or tear paper, fill the bucket 3/4 full of shreded paper, then add warm to
hot water. (depending on your clay batch paper amt. is usually 2 to 5
gallons) The temp of the water seems to break the paper down quicker. Then
use a power drill with a long mixer bit and blend until there are no visual
signs of letters or colors from the paper. Then screen some of the water
out, and throw it into the mixer with your other dry materials.
And there you have it, paper clay.
Erin
Paul Monaghan on thu 16 jan 97
Deb & Curt Maxwell wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Can anyone give me any tips on how to make paper clay?
> Thanks - deb in Calgary, Alberta
Deb & Curt,
There are many possibilities but here's one I've used. I took shredded
computer paper and soaked it in water with a cup of bleach/20 qts. NO
MAGIC ratio just the size of the bucket I was using. The bleach kills
any mold and is not necessary if you use it in a resonably short time.
I then mixed it with a jiffy mixer to get a fine pulp in a slurry. This
could have just been mixed with clay to the desired consistency but I
wanted analytical data so I could reproduce the results (you know
engineers). I dried the fibers and added 30% by weight to a batch of
clay with the clay being 100%. I've also tried the same with 50% paper
and both work great. The best thing to do is try it and experiment. I
then made some sculpture pieces and some pots over drape molds. The
thickness was about 1/16" and they fired beautifully into light tough
bowls. Hope this helps. Good Luck.
Paul
--
Paul J. Monaghan email: paul@web2u.com
WEB2U Productions --- http://www.web2u.com
The "COOLEST" Site on the WEB
"The Computer Secrets are hidden at www.web2u.com/secret"
Richard Ramirez on thu 16 jan 97
Question about paper clay. When it comes time to fire, in an electric
kiln,what kind of problems do we encounter with the burning of paper residue
thats in the clay? Does it require special venting considerations, especially
in a public school? Is one type of paper better then another? If anyone out
there has some experience in this area , please post your observations.
Thanks inadvance,
Richard,R12396
Richard Ramirez on thu 16 jan 97
Gail, read your responds to "how to make paper clay". Yes I would like a set
of instructions on hoe to make paper clay. If it's not too much trouble,
could you send me a copy of that page of instructions that from that book you
talked about.
Thanks in advance,
Richard.
Dannon Rhudy on fri 17 jan 97
----------------------------Original
message----------------------------
Can you add paper
pulp to wet clay? Is the proportion the same of pulp to wet clay?
Can
you do this for all clays, lo as well as high fire?
>
There are a number of ways to add the paper to the clay, and
proportions do not seem to be critical, in my experience. When
I make paper clay, I just make a batch of clay in the usual way,
I use a Soldner mixer for this. I make the clay a bit wetter
than usual, and then just add shredded paper to the mixer until
it seems to me to "have enough" as it were. The paper I use is
just the shredded computer stuff that banks throw out by the
bagful every day. I don't do anything to it, put it in the mixer
dry. It breaks down at once, (perhaps 4-5 minutes of mixing)
and I check the paper content by
eye: just pull out a handful, hold it up to the light, and you
can see fine little threads of paper "fringing" the clay where
you have pulled it apart. This is an easy way to do it, and I
have never found any problems with it. The first few times I
made paper clay, I wet it, blunged it, did stuff, took time -
but one day on a whim I just threw it into the mixer and voila!
it worked. So now I just do it that easier way. Sometimes when
I empty the mixer there will be about a double handfull of
un-disintegrated paper wrapped around the base of the center
post on the mixer; I just pull it off, throw it away. I've
done this with stoneware, porcelain, and terra cotta - all the
same, not any problems.
Dannon Rhudy
potter@koyote.com
Pat Sherwood on fri 17 jan 97
Richard Ramirez wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Question about paper clay. When it comes time to fire, in an electric
> kiln,what kind of problems do we encounter with the burning of paper residue
> thats in the clay? Does it require special venting considerations, especially
> in a public school? Is one type of paper better then another? If anyone out
> there has some experience in this area , please post your observations.
> Thanks inadvance,
>
> Richard,R12396
###################
Hi, all--
I, too, have done some work with paper clay, and found it an exciting
material to use; primarily for sculpture pieces, or where I wanted to
reduce the fired weight for some reason. (Paperclay tends to be
difficult to throw, and unless there is some special need for the
particular advantages of paperclay [greatly improved greenware strength,
reduced weight upon firing, the ability to add wet clay to dry, etc.]
there may be no particular advantage to trying to throw it).
If you're in making the stuff, there's a wealth of info in Rosette
Gault's book on paperclay -- it's only $19.95 and contains a wealth of
information, including electron microscope photos which help explain how
and why paperclay works. Someone else's post today gives her address.
If you want to buy paperclay already made, or sheets of
already-processed high-quality pulp with which to make paperclay, a
source is:
Clay Art Center
2636 Pioneer Way E.
Tacoma, WA, USA 98404
These are sources I used when I was researching paperclay, and found
them both to be helpful and prompt.
Havaguday,
Pat Sherwood
Glenrock, WY
patsher@trib.com
Estelle Renberger on fri 17 jan 97
Stern HQ wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Erin, a couple more questions about your directions: Do I understand that
> you are mixing the paper pulp with dry clay? Is your "30-50% paper pulp
> by weight (i.e. 3 lbs paper pulp to 7 lbs dry clay?) Can you add paper
> pulp to wet clay? Is the proportion the same of pulp to wet clay? Can
> you do this for all clays, lo as well as high fire? Thanks for the
> answers. Jeni
>
> On Wed, 15 Jan 1997, You Name wrote:
>
> > ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I cant help jumping in on this one....I also have been working with paperclay f
good..all clays work for paperclay and its great for raku!
Dave/Janice Schiman on fri 17 jan 97
Hi Everyone who has asked about paperclay.
I have had a bit of experience with making it and took a workshop last
year on it. There seems to be enough messages asking about paperclay,
so I thought no one would mind if I wrote all the steps to the whole
group. Here is what I know...
1. Use any kind of paper. The cheaper the better because it is easier
to break down. I think toilet paper would work good since it is made to
break down. Newspaper will darken the clay a bit, but the ink in
colored paper will burn out.
2. Shred paper and put in bucket. Add very hot but not boiling water.
Let sit for a bit then beat it with a paint mixer attachment or whatever
you have (small batches-a blender). If the pulp has not broken down
enough (still large chunks or you can still read the lettering on
paper), drain and repeat with hot water. When you are satisfied, drain
enough water so that it will look like thick soup.
3. At this time it is wise to add in bleach. The paper will get rotten
and it is hard to describe the odor exactly, but suffice it to say that
you don't want to work near it or with it. How much bleach depends on
you. Too much and your hands will become sore, though.
NOTE: You can dry out your paper pulp, crumble it and wedge it into
moist clay. An accurate reading on the % you add in is fairly
impossible to calculate this way but there is nothing wrong with doing
it.
4. Add paper pulp mixture to your clay slip by VOLUME. A good % to
start with is 30% pulp to 70% clay. Experiment with more or less. I
wouldn't go above 50% because the strength of finshed pieces will be
compromised. Have your bucket of slip. Stick ruler in. Say it measures
6 inches deep. Therefore you add the pulp in until it measures 9 inches
deep on ruler. Mix thoroughly. I did this by hand.
5. Dry on plaster bats to working consistency or any other means you
use.
6. Sculpt away. The bisqued clay is more porous then it would normally
be, so even though you can make ultra thin slabs when wet, they will be
more brittle when fired. I have tried to throw with 30%, but I found it
hard to make thin walls. Instead, I carved into the pots to make nice
relief designs and then rakued them. I like the results alot.
There will be a smell and smoke in the first stages of firing. We try
to fire only a few pieces at a time in each load and fire at night.
There hasn't been any problem yet.
Note to Laura: I know what you mean about fixing cracks in bisque
ware. I have not had any luck so far either.
Janice Schiman
Moose Jaw, Sask., Canada
Richard Ramirez wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Gail, read your responds to "how to make paper clay". Yes I would like a set
> of instructions on hoe to make paper clay. If it's not too much trouble,
> could you send me a copy of that page of instructions that from that book you
> talked about.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Richard.
You Name on fri 17 jan 97
Jeni-
The proportions I gave were an eye ball guess when looking at the proportions
of each in the mixer. I use 3 to 5 gallons of wet paper pulp to 100# of dry
clay materials. The clay can be almost half paper, just mix it well.
You can add it to dry clay, just mix it well. I did it by taking the left
over pulp I had and squeezed out all the water I could. I bagged it up, and
I just take out what I want when I want it. You have to take out most of the
water so when you do mix it with wet clay you don't have a soupy mess. If it
is to wet, just wedge it on a plaster wedging table. Experiment to see what
proportions you want. You will be able to tell how much is too much, by the
clays plasticity. If it's not sticking together, then it's too much. there
should be a fine network of paper hairs when you break a piece off....not a
lump of it here or there.
And finally, you can use it on whatever clay you like. I have tried it with
5 types of clays in firing ranges of cone 04 to 8. So have fun with it...be
experimental, It doesn't need to be an exact science. And in clay and glaze
making that is a welcome relief!!!!!!!!!!
Erin
Marcia Selsor on fri 17 jan 97
Dear Christine,
I don't think that would work, but I have a little mixer that is real
simple to put together. It is a 1/4 hp motor mounted on a channel iron
with an on/off switch and which runs a shaft with a home made jiffy
mixer type of shaft with blades.. This channel iron slides into a
slightly larger channel iron which is mounted on a stand which is sized
to fit a five gallon bucket. I dissolve paper in 5 gallons buckets with
a dash of soda ash for good measure. Hot water works best. I think if
you were to take some of your premixed clay, let it dry out, smash it up
and resoak it, you could add the paper pulp. You could try adding the
pulp to your straight clay, I haven't tried that. Who knows?
Marcia in Montana
Christine Davis wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I buy blocks of premixed moist clay. Is it possible to wedge the paper
> into clay that has already been mixed?
--
Marcia Selsor
http://www.imt.net/~mjbmls/
mjbmls@imt.net
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