Reproduced from Gault. R., (1993). 2nd generation ceramics. Interaction in Ceramics, Art, Design, Research. UIAH: Helsinki, 75-79 with permission from the author. Some modification of layout has been made to improve reading from a screen. metric measurements have been added.
2nd generation ceramics.
With recycled paperclay, it is possible to construct, sculpt, or cast forms of size and complexity never seen before in fired, glazed and durable ceramic and find a good use for out-of-date printed papers in the process. A majority of traditional hand building rules no longer apply.
Remember how sculptures in progress had to be covered with plastic? or stored in a damp room? With paperclay, wet can be applied and modeled directly over top of dried out greenware armatures or slabs at any time before the first firing. This means that more construction methods are available to clay sculptors than ever before. Once a sculpture has been started, you can sculpt when you want to, not when you have to, for there is little worry if the piece were to dry out sooner than planned.
For example, suppose you want to change the features on a face you modeled yesterday, which is already dry. Add a fresh layer of wet and/or plastic paperclay overtop and continue where you left off. Change your mind again tomorrow and that's OK too. Add as many layers as you need to. The combined depth could be as much as about 3" and the layers do not have to be even.
Maybe you want to build a standing structure such as a torso. Make up some rolls, hollow tubes, or coils of paperclay in different sizes. The hollow rolls are strongest. Bend them how you like, maybe to form the gestures of the body. let these dry out overnight. Next day, assemble a basic armature out of these tubes using wet and plastic paperclay to join the ends together smoothly. If that does not look right, break off an arm deliberately, and re- attach in a new position with more paperclay. Maybe drape some thin slabs, wet, dry or damp, over the top. Later, after the form has stiffened up a bit or dried out yet again, add more thicknesses of wet or plastic paperclay to build up 'muscles' or round and smooth out the surfaces.
Paperclay is very strong in the green state, so transport of large sculpture to a kiln is less of a risk. Even so, when accidents and/ or cracks happen, repairs to paperclay are simple. Fill in and putty around the weak area with both wet and plastic paperclay right over top of the dry.
Should you decide to insert small sculptural fragments of already fired bisqued or glazed ceramic into the wet paperclay, go right ahead. These may or may not be made of paperclay. Small items of greenware may also be used.
Remember how sculptures in progress had to be covered with plastic? or stored in a damp room? With paperclay, wet can be applied and modeled directly over top of dried out greenware armatures or slabs at any time before the first firing. This means that more construction methods are available to clay sculptors than ever before. Once a sculpture has been started, you can sculpt when you want to, not when you have to, for there is little worry if the piece were to dry out sooner than planned.
For example, suppose you want to change the features on a face you modeled yesterday, which is already dry. Add a fresh layer of wet and/or plastic paperclay overtop and continue where you left off. Change your mind again tomorrow and that's OK too. Add as many layers as you need to. The combined depth could be as much as about 3" and the layers do not have to be even.
Maybe you want to build a standing structure such as a torso. Make up some rolls, hollow tubes, or coils of paperclay in different sizes. The hollow rolls are strongest. Bend them how you like, maybe to form the gestures of the body. let these dry out overnight. Next day, assemble a basic armature out of these tubes using wet and plastic paperclay to join the ends together smoothly. If that does not look right, break off an arm deliberately, and re- attach in a new position with more paperclay. Maybe drape some thin slabs, wet, dry or damp, over the top. Later, after the form has stiffened up a bit or dried out yet again, add more thicknesses of wet or plastic paperclay to build up 'muscles' or round and smooth out the surfaces.
Paperclay is very strong in the green state, so transport of large sculpture to a kiln is less of a risk. Even so, when accidents and/ or cracks happen, repairs to paperclay are simple. Fill in and putty around the weak area with both wet and plastic paperclay right over top of the dry.
Should you decide to insert small sculptural fragments of already fired bisqued or glazed ceramic into the wet paperclay, go right ahead. These may or may not be made of paperclay. Small items of greenware may also be used.
Ever try to make a very large flat slab that did not warp? And even if you could accomplish such a thing, wonder if it will survive a firing? large slabs of wet paperclay, poured out wet on an absorbent plaster surface, do not warp. Thick areas next to thin areas also survived my tests without cracks. These flat slabs can even be fired with success bridged across kiln shelves. Size of the kiln, not the kiln shelf is the ultimate limit for works constructed in paperclay and fired intact.
Large sculptures in conventional clay can be heavy and cumbersome. Because paper fibers burn out of clay in the first firing, the ceramic remains of paperclay are noticeably lighter in weight, and thus, less expensive to ship, and possibly, easier to install. If the ratio of pulp to clay is correct vitrifted paperclay will be just as strong as before. The prime ingredient in paper is the vegetable fiber. Cellulose.
Cellulose has been of little interest to ceramic science because it ultimately evaporates in the fire. Nonetheless, it has a beneficial effect on clay bodies during the plastic and green states which is worth
consideration for the ceramic sculptor. In my tests, and those of my colleagues, paper pulp (cellulose) can be added to any 'parent' claybody or prepared casting slip, be it red terracotta, raku, earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, salt or combinations of these. Glazes and firing specification of paperclay will be the same as those of the 'parent' clay.
Information on paperclay for ceramic sculpture is divided into three sections:
1. The Scientific Focus About Paper and Clay. What happens when the two are mixed;
2. Practical Application of These Facts: How to select and recycle paper, mix paperclay in the studio, what its like to work with;
3. The Aesthetic Results and Potential for the Future. Discussion of fired finished ceramic sculptures by artists who have successfully used paperclay from Britain, Canada, and the United States.
Large sculptures in conventional clay can be heavy and cumbersome. Because paper fibers burn out of clay in the first firing, the ceramic remains of paperclay are noticeably lighter in weight, and thus, less expensive to ship, and possibly, easier to install. If the ratio of pulp to clay is correct vitrifted paperclay will be just as strong as before. The prime ingredient in paper is the vegetable fiber. Cellulose.
Cellulose has been of little interest to ceramic science because it ultimately evaporates in the fire. Nonetheless, it has a beneficial effect on clay bodies during the plastic and green states which is worth
consideration for the ceramic sculptor. In my tests, and those of my colleagues, paper pulp (cellulose) can be added to any 'parent' claybody or prepared casting slip, be it red terracotta, raku, earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, salt or combinations of these. Glazes and firing specification of paperclay will be the same as those of the 'parent' clay.
Information on paperclay for ceramic sculpture is divided into three sections:
1. The Scientific Focus About Paper and Clay. What happens when the two are mixed;
2. Practical Application of These Facts: How to select and recycle paper, mix paperclay in the studio, what its like to work with;
3. The Aesthetic Results and Potential for the Future. Discussion of fired finished ceramic sculptures by artists who have successfully used paperclay from Britain, Canada, and the United States.
PART 1: SCIENTIFIC FACTS ABOUT PAPER AND CLAY.
Some understanding of basic paper and cellulose chemistry is helpful to make satisfactory pulps from recycled papers that do well in claybodies.
When extreme close-up images of kaolin particles (from clay) are shown next to cotton linter fibers (from paper) structural differences between them are obvious. Flat slablike particles of kaolin look much in the small like the rocky minerals they are in the large. Cellulose fibers under the microscope look tubular and branch-like, intertwining and tangling with each other as roots do in the earth, or tree branches in the winter sky. Kaolin particles are super tiny. They average between 0.1 - 1 0 microns long. One micron equals .001 of a mm. In comparison, paper fibers are relatively huge. Cotton linters measure from 0.5 mm up to 6.0 mm in length.
ABOUT CELLULOSE
Cellulose fiber, a natural byproduct of photosynthesis in plants and trees, is a main ingredient in most commercial papers.
Common sources of fibers used in papers are cotton linters, linen flax, and hard and soft woods. Under extreme magnification, many different sizes, varieties, and interweavings of cellulose fiber are visible in both the original plant and the man-made paper.
Cellulose, in simple, is a hollow flexible tube like structure, tapered at the ends. lts main purpose is to efficiently siphon water up from the earth to the leaves of the plant. The fiber is extremely water absorbent, spongy, and resilient to stresses such as compression, 'beating', and twisting.
Around each absorbent hollow cellulose 'tube' is a thin layer of adhesive substance that is water-repellent called lignin. The amount of lignin varies in plants and trees, and hence in the papers made from the fibers of those plants and trees used in paperclay.
Of all types of paper, cotton linters contain the least amount of lignin (1 %), linen flax (5%) and soft and hardwoods contain about 20-30% lignin. Types of paper also vary according to how much pure cellulose, or hemicellulose, is present. Again cotton linters contain the most pure cellulose (96%), whereas flax (85%), and both hard (50%) and soft (50%) woods contain noticeably less. (Whitney: 1979)
Some understanding of basic paper and cellulose chemistry is helpful to make satisfactory pulps from recycled papers that do well in claybodies.
When extreme close-up images of kaolin particles (from clay) are shown next to cotton linter fibers (from paper) structural differences between them are obvious. Flat slablike particles of kaolin look much in the small like the rocky minerals they are in the large. Cellulose fibers under the microscope look tubular and branch-like, intertwining and tangling with each other as roots do in the earth, or tree branches in the winter sky. Kaolin particles are super tiny. They average between 0.1 - 1 0 microns long. One micron equals .001 of a mm. In comparison, paper fibers are relatively huge. Cotton linters measure from 0.5 mm up to 6.0 mm in length.
ABOUT CELLULOSE
Cellulose fiber, a natural byproduct of photosynthesis in plants and trees, is a main ingredient in most commercial papers.
Common sources of fibers used in papers are cotton linters, linen flax, and hard and soft woods. Under extreme magnification, many different sizes, varieties, and interweavings of cellulose fiber are visible in both the original plant and the man-made paper.
Cellulose, in simple, is a hollow flexible tube like structure, tapered at the ends. lts main purpose is to efficiently siphon water up from the earth to the leaves of the plant. The fiber is extremely water absorbent, spongy, and resilient to stresses such as compression, 'beating', and twisting.
Around each absorbent hollow cellulose 'tube' is a thin layer of adhesive substance that is water-repellent called lignin. The amount of lignin varies in plants and trees, and hence in the papers made from the fibers of those plants and trees used in paperclay.
Of all types of paper, cotton linters contain the least amount of lignin (1 %), linen flax (5%) and soft and hardwoods contain about 20-30% lignin. Types of paper also vary according to how much pure cellulose, or hemicellulose, is present. Again cotton linters contain the most pure cellulose (96%), whereas flax (85%), and both hard (50%) and soft (50%) woods contain noticeably less. (Whitney: 1979)
ABOUT MANUFACTURED PAPERS
When manufactured papers are reduced to pulp, the water absorbency of the pulp will vary according to how many lignins and what form of cellulose are present in the original paper recipe.
For purposes of paperclay, use more volume of pulp made from papers that have lots of lignin to get the same 'loft' and properties as a smaller amount of pulp from a high cellulose and low lignin paper. Paperclay made from high cellulose cotton linters has a slightly different fired internal density than the paperclay made from lower grade paper. This subject is worth more specific research in the future.
Manufactured papers often contain additives such as bleaches, wetting agents, and even traces of clay and chalk. In the studio, some of these chemicals dissolve into solution in the hot water of the pulp making process. Other chemicals will be burned away in the kiln. Mostly these chemicals will affect the PH/acid balance of the pulp water. Although I personally have never experienced any adverse effects (such as rashes or skin problems) from pulp making, use gloves and take common sense measures.
ABOUT PAPER AND WHY MIXED TOGETHER
What happens when a paperclay body dries out and naturally shrinks? The water absorbent cellulose tubes surrounded by the clay compress as they soak up water from within the clay. What happens to dried paperclay if a layer of wet paperclay is poured over top? Hollow tubes of absorbent 'thirsty' cellulose that reach the surface of the dried out paperclay start to soak up the available water from the fresh paperclay mud. These perform as a network of tiny 'roots' in the claybody to distribute the moisture in a capillary action over a wide surface area. The cellulose fibers in the dried paperclay body expand and contract again each time it dries out and/or more wet mud is added. The bond between both the older and newer layers of paperclay is surprisingly strong, provided the ratio of pulp to clay is adequate. In a balanced matrix of fiber and clay, fibers tend to interrupt and eventually stop stress or shrinkage cracks in their tracks. Fibers have long been used for this purpose and also to improve green and or fired strength of clays in the past. However the fibers used were mostly machine-made such as nylon and fiberglass. These do compare in variety, complexity, size, and amount of water absorbency to the tiny, delicate, and resilient cellulose fiber found in paper.
When manufactured papers are reduced to pulp, the water absorbency of the pulp will vary according to how many lignins and what form of cellulose are present in the original paper recipe.
For purposes of paperclay, use more volume of pulp made from papers that have lots of lignin to get the same 'loft' and properties as a smaller amount of pulp from a high cellulose and low lignin paper. Paperclay made from high cellulose cotton linters has a slightly different fired internal density than the paperclay made from lower grade paper. This subject is worth more specific research in the future.
Manufactured papers often contain additives such as bleaches, wetting agents, and even traces of clay and chalk. In the studio, some of these chemicals dissolve into solution in the hot water of the pulp making process. Other chemicals will be burned away in the kiln. Mostly these chemicals will affect the PH/acid balance of the pulp water. Although I personally have never experienced any adverse effects (such as rashes or skin problems) from pulp making, use gloves and take common sense measures.
ABOUT PAPER AND WHY MIXED TOGETHER
What happens when a paperclay body dries out and naturally shrinks? The water absorbent cellulose tubes surrounded by the clay compress as they soak up water from within the clay. What happens to dried paperclay if a layer of wet paperclay is poured over top? Hollow tubes of absorbent 'thirsty' cellulose that reach the surface of the dried out paperclay start to soak up the available water from the fresh paperclay mud. These perform as a network of tiny 'roots' in the claybody to distribute the moisture in a capillary action over a wide surface area. The cellulose fibers in the dried paperclay body expand and contract again each time it dries out and/or more wet mud is added. The bond between both the older and newer layers of paperclay is surprisingly strong, provided the ratio of pulp to clay is adequate. In a balanced matrix of fiber and clay, fibers tend to interrupt and eventually stop stress or shrinkage cracks in their tracks. Fibers have long been used for this purpose and also to improve green and or fired strength of clays in the past. However the fibers used were mostly machine-made such as nylon and fiberglass. These do compare in variety, complexity, size, and amount of water absorbency to the tiny, delicate, and resilient cellulose fiber found in paper.
PART 2. PRACTICAL APPLICATION
The main purpose of a global approach to the paperclay medium is to serve a practical need of clay artists no matter where they live, what recipe of clay, or what paper they may have on hand to recycle in that clay. The information here should give enough success to trigger more specific experiments in the future.
Formal scientific methods can and should be done, by scientists, when actual batch recipes for both the paper and the clay are available to analyze for a specific application.
SELECT PAPERS THAT ARE EASY TO 'RECYCLE'
Most non glossy, out of date printed materials are free for the asking. For paperclay, the best papers have relatively shorter fibers, with no glosses or glues. These papers dissolve to pulp in hotwater within 5- 1 5 minutes of beating.
Some scrap papers have already been shredded into tiny strips, which speeds the pulp breakdown process all the more. Papers from offices (even mixed with carbons), copy centers, computers, and print shops give excellent results and fire out white. Certain types of drawing and blotter papers may also be used, especially if they tear apart easily.
The more difficult the paper is to tear, the longer time it will take to break down to pulp. Most printers inks do not affect the ceramic. Every color of ink, xerox, or computer print I tested disappeared in the first fire. Nevertheless, inks prepared with oxides of iron or cobalt could slightly discolor a white claybody. Test fire a small batch for peace of mind.
Newsprint and cardboard are not recommended for white firing results. This may be important to some sculptors. Avoid or remove envelope windows, cellophanes, waxes, plastics, glues, and staples as these do not dissolve in water.
The main purpose of a global approach to the paperclay medium is to serve a practical need of clay artists no matter where they live, what recipe of clay, or what paper they may have on hand to recycle in that clay. The information here should give enough success to trigger more specific experiments in the future.
Formal scientific methods can and should be done, by scientists, when actual batch recipes for both the paper and the clay are available to analyze for a specific application.
SELECT PAPERS THAT ARE EASY TO 'RECYCLE'
Most non glossy, out of date printed materials are free for the asking. For paperclay, the best papers have relatively shorter fibers, with no glosses or glues. These papers dissolve to pulp in hotwater within 5- 1 5 minutes of beating.
Some scrap papers have already been shredded into tiny strips, which speeds the pulp breakdown process all the more. Papers from offices (even mixed with carbons), copy centers, computers, and print shops give excellent results and fire out white. Certain types of drawing and blotter papers may also be used, especially if they tear apart easily.
The more difficult the paper is to tear, the longer time it will take to break down to pulp. Most printers inks do not affect the ceramic. Every color of ink, xerox, or computer print I tested disappeared in the first fire. Nevertheless, inks prepared with oxides of iron or cobalt could slightly discolor a white claybody. Test fire a small batch for peace of mind.
Newsprint and cardboard are not recommended for white firing results. This may be important to some sculptors. Avoid or remove envelope windows, cellophanes, waxes, plastics, glues, and staples as these do not dissolve in water.
If appropriate, grade and sort papers for quality and type, eg. all computer paper should be pulped up as a batch separate from pulps from the fine quality high rag drawing papers. Different types of paper may have different fiber sizes and times required for beating into pulp. Combinations of high and low grade papers are more easy to control and keep track of after pulp has been extracted than before.
TO MAKE PAPER INTO PULP
With a glaze mixer (preferably variable speed electric), blunge or beat the paper strips or paper fragments in a big barrel with plenty of hot water until they look like a thin soup of 'pulp'. Add a little bleach to retard growth of bacteria, especially if the fresh pulp will not be used immediately. When the printing is no longer legible on the fluffs of wet paper floating in the water, pour the soupy mixture over a reinforced screen to strain out excess water.
Store clumps of wet condensed pulp in a plastic bag or equivalent for later use for up to several weeks.
If the paper you selected takes longer than an hour or two to break down, let the soup sit overnight, but not longer than a weekend. You may have used a paper with relatively long fibers that are more difficuit to untangle. To remedy, the next day, strain and replace the cold water with a fresh batch of hot water and resume beating. Multiple screenings and remixings to strain out water and break down pulp will not hurt the pulp in the least.
TO MIX PULP WITH CLAY
Add wet pulp to the parent clay by sprinkling handfuls over top a barrel of well-blended clay slurry or casting slip. 1 prefer a consistency like thick honey. The clay should be liquid enough to thoroughly saturate all the wet fibers and not over tax the mixer. Blend thoroughly. Students report they have added pulp to a slop-like clay batch in a conventional claymixer. Additives to the parent clay recipes such as grog or sand are no longer needed, unless you like how they look and feel. To me, a fine-grained claybody yields the smoothest possible ceramic surface for burnishing, plaster casting, modeling and glazing.
TO MAKE PAPER INTO PULP
With a glaze mixer (preferably variable speed electric), blunge or beat the paper strips or paper fragments in a big barrel with plenty of hot water until they look like a thin soup of 'pulp'. Add a little bleach to retard growth of bacteria, especially if the fresh pulp will not be used immediately. When the printing is no longer legible on the fluffs of wet paper floating in the water, pour the soupy mixture over a reinforced screen to strain out excess water.
Store clumps of wet condensed pulp in a plastic bag or equivalent for later use for up to several weeks.
If the paper you selected takes longer than an hour or two to break down, let the soup sit overnight, but not longer than a weekend. You may have used a paper with relatively long fibers that are more difficuit to untangle. To remedy, the next day, strain and replace the cold water with a fresh batch of hot water and resume beating. Multiple screenings and remixings to strain out water and break down pulp will not hurt the pulp in the least.
TO MIX PULP WITH CLAY
Add wet pulp to the parent clay by sprinkling handfuls over top a barrel of well-blended clay slurry or casting slip. 1 prefer a consistency like thick honey. The clay should be liquid enough to thoroughly saturate all the wet fibers and not over tax the mixer. Blend thoroughly. Students report they have added pulp to a slop-like clay batch in a conventional claymixer. Additives to the parent clay recipes such as grog or sand are no longer needed, unless you like how they look and feel. To me, a fine-grained claybody yields the smoothest possible ceramic surface for burnishing, plaster casting, modeling and glazing.
RECIPES FOR PAPERCLAY
For general-purpose sculpture, 10-30% squeezed out wet pulp to clay by volume gives excellent results without sacrificing durability, or strength. The exact proportion is not critical. 1 calculate the approximate volume of pulp to 'clay by eye. Keep notes to refer to later and test if necessary.
Paper sources for ‘recycling’ vary considerably, as do claybodies and the personal preferences of clay sculptors. For this reason, an understanding of the basic principles involved should case the final decision of exactly how much pulp should be added to the parent clay for best results. The less pulp the more dense is the fired result.
Up to 50% of pulp by volume may be added to the parent clay for wall installations and situations where lightweight and a more porous and open claybody is acceptable. When the ratio of pulp to clay is between 30-50%, fired tensile strength of the parent clay maybe reduced. Try firing the claybody a few cones higher to find a good vitrification temperature for the parent clay body, and or adjusting the amount of flux in the parent recipe, to compensate for openness of the body, and/or unknown amounts of clay found in the paper.
For example, 1 test fired a cast bowl form in paperclay to cone 6. The parent clay was a white earthenware talc/ball clay body rated to cone 05-06. Normally this parent clay slumps at cone 1. The high cellulose pulp was made of excellent quality non-gloss out- of-date brochures. When mixed with water, the brochures quadrupled in size just as if they had been highly compressed dry sponges. The ratio of pulp to clay by volume was approximately 45%. As a ceramic, this low fire paperclay did not melt or slump at cone 6 as expected. It was mature, vitreous, lightweight and had shrunk only a little. Water, when poured into the bowl, began to seep through the 112" thick walls after five minutes, probably through the many microscopic voids where the fibers used to be.
There may well have been enough refractory material in the paper, and enough pure cellulose in the clay, to raise the maturing temperature. Perhaps, on a microscopic level, during the firing, ash, from the burned paper contained trace minerals, which melted or glazed the interior of the voids left by the fibers. It could be also that, during drying the clay particles lined up more evenly and more densely along the interiors and exteriors of the cellulose fibers, behaving much like deflocculated clay particles do when slip cast in a plaster mold. If either case is true, then there would be proof that the tensile strength of fired paperclay is increased under certain conditions. Future research would shed more light on this and other matters.
For general-purpose sculpture, 10-30% squeezed out wet pulp to clay by volume gives excellent results without sacrificing durability, or strength. The exact proportion is not critical. 1 calculate the approximate volume of pulp to 'clay by eye. Keep notes to refer to later and test if necessary.
Paper sources for ‘recycling’ vary considerably, as do claybodies and the personal preferences of clay sculptors. For this reason, an understanding of the basic principles involved should case the final decision of exactly how much pulp should be added to the parent clay for best results. The less pulp the more dense is the fired result.
Up to 50% of pulp by volume may be added to the parent clay for wall installations and situations where lightweight and a more porous and open claybody is acceptable. When the ratio of pulp to clay is between 30-50%, fired tensile strength of the parent clay maybe reduced. Try firing the claybody a few cones higher to find a good vitrification temperature for the parent clay body, and or adjusting the amount of flux in the parent recipe, to compensate for openness of the body, and/or unknown amounts of clay found in the paper.
For example, 1 test fired a cast bowl form in paperclay to cone 6. The parent clay was a white earthenware talc/ball clay body rated to cone 05-06. Normally this parent clay slumps at cone 1. The high cellulose pulp was made of excellent quality non-gloss out- of-date brochures. When mixed with water, the brochures quadrupled in size just as if they had been highly compressed dry sponges. The ratio of pulp to clay by volume was approximately 45%. As a ceramic, this low fire paperclay did not melt or slump at cone 6 as expected. It was mature, vitreous, lightweight and had shrunk only a little. Water, when poured into the bowl, began to seep through the 112" thick walls after five minutes, probably through the many microscopic voids where the fibers used to be.
There may well have been enough refractory material in the paper, and enough pure cellulose in the clay, to raise the maturing temperature. Perhaps, on a microscopic level, during the firing, ash, from the burned paper contained trace minerals, which melted or glazed the interior of the voids left by the fibers. It could be also that, during drying the clay particles lined up more evenly and more densely along the interiors and exteriors of the cellulose fibers, behaving much like deflocculated clay particles do when slip cast in a plaster mold. If either case is true, then there would be proof that the tensile strength of fired paperclay is increased under certain conditions. Future research would shed more light on this and other matters.
TO PREPARE PAPERCLAY FOR USE
Sponge out excess water from the top of the mix in the barrel and then spread the mud-like paperclay over plaster absorbent bats. Let dry to desired consistency. If you must wedge, do so quickly and only when the mix is as soft as possible. At a certain point in drying process, paperclay dries to leather hard more quickly than conventional clay. A wedged paperclay body, with short fiber cellulose pulp can easily be sliced clean with a wire. Tiny paper fibers at the surface barely visible to the naked eye may be burnished smooth with a finger or rib tool. Reserve some of the mud from the mixing barrel for later use as an adhesive and or slip.
If casting, do not let the mix dry out completely inside a plaster mold, it will be difficult to release. It is easy, however, to release paperclay from the mold before it has dried out completely.
Use the mix as soon as possible, and keep it well covered. After two weeks or so bacteria may grow and the wet mix will start to smell like mold. If this happens, let the mix dry out and the smell will stop. Robert Rauschenberg, in hot, humid India in the 1950s, started to make a sculpture from a mix of paper and clay. Of course, as taught, he must have kept it covered with wet towels and maybe even plastic. After a few weeks the clay started to smell. The smell was so unpleasant that the project was abandoned. Nowadays, this problem would be easy to solve, because coverings are only an option not a requirement for paperclay.
Sponge out excess water from the top of the mix in the barrel and then spread the mud-like paperclay over plaster absorbent bats. Let dry to desired consistency. If you must wedge, do so quickly and only when the mix is as soft as possible. At a certain point in drying process, paperclay dries to leather hard more quickly than conventional clay. A wedged paperclay body, with short fiber cellulose pulp can easily be sliced clean with a wire. Tiny paper fibers at the surface barely visible to the naked eye may be burnished smooth with a finger or rib tool. Reserve some of the mud from the mixing barrel for later use as an adhesive and or slip.
If casting, do not let the mix dry out completely inside a plaster mold, it will be difficult to release. It is easy, however, to release paperclay from the mold before it has dried out completely.
Use the mix as soon as possible, and keep it well covered. After two weeks or so bacteria may grow and the wet mix will start to smell like mold. If this happens, let the mix dry out and the smell will stop. Robert Rauschenberg, in hot, humid India in the 1950s, started to make a sculpture from a mix of paper and clay. Of course, as taught, he must have kept it covered with wet towels and maybe even plastic. After a few weeks the clay started to smell. The smell was so unpleasant that the project was abandoned. Nowadays, this problem would be easy to solve, because coverings are only an option not a requirement for paperclay.
TO SCULPT WITH PAPERCLAY
In addition to familiar and traditional modeling, pinch, coil, slab construction, and plaster molding methods, the following other approaches to creating a form are now available to the ceramicist.
As mentioned before, wet paperclay mud can be poured out on top of dried out paperclay and new surfaces built up. Green can be assembled to green, with wet, and/or soft plastic paperclay in between. Surfaces can be built up in successive layers over top each other, dry or wet. 'Papery' and/or 'watery'
textures are now possible as well as burnished or imprinted clay surfaces. Armatures can now be made of dried paper clay and built upon with wet.
Large slabs dried on plaster do not warp or crack like conventional clay slabs would be expected to do. Paperclay has strong green strength. Breaks or cracks can be repaired at any time before firing. Bisqued and glazed fragments of conventional and/or paperclay sculptures can be embedded in wet paperclay and fired intact. Experiment. Invent. Design. Think.
In addition to familiar and traditional modeling, pinch, coil, slab construction, and plaster molding methods, the following other approaches to creating a form are now available to the ceramicist.
As mentioned before, wet paperclay mud can be poured out on top of dried out paperclay and new surfaces built up. Green can be assembled to green, with wet, and/or soft plastic paperclay in between. Surfaces can be built up in successive layers over top each other, dry or wet. 'Papery' and/or 'watery'
textures are now possible as well as burnished or imprinted clay surfaces. Armatures can now be made of dried paper clay and built upon with wet.
Large slabs dried on plaster do not warp or crack like conventional clay slabs would be expected to do. Paperclay has strong green strength. Breaks or cracks can be repaired at any time before firing. Bisqued and glazed fragments of conventional and/or paperclay sculptures can be embedded in wet paperclay and fired intact. Experiment. Invent. Design. Think.
PAPERCLAY IN THE KILN
Because it is carbon based organic material, paper begins to burn into the atmosphere at 45 degrees F, early on in a firing. Until the paper has burned out and stopped smoking, fire your electric kiln with the lid or door well propped open and only with proper exhaust ventilation. Depending on how much paper you added, it will be very smoky for about an hour or two. For electric kilns, avoid creating a 'reducing' atmosphere inside the kiln, which might shorten the life expectancy of the heating elements. After the smoke burns out, close the lid or door, and continue to fire as normal. 1 leave the peeps open as a precaution for any residual gases to escape as the temperature climbs.
In kilns fueled by gas, oil, or wood, these precautions are not needed. Paperclay has been fired raku as well as in high fire reduction and salt atmospheres. Thermal shock properties of the parent clay are improved.
PART 3. AESTHETIC RESULTS
More choice in design and construction methods means greater freedom in ceramic than before. During a residency at Canada's Banff Centre in summer of 1990, the fired paperclay 'paintings' for the wall by fellow artist Ibraham Wagh of London, England, inspired me and other artists to begin experiments with it for use in clay sculpture. In addition to Wagh, works were shown from Canada, by Alec Sorotschynski* (Barre, Ontario),and Jennifer Clark *(Toronto); Ed Bamiling* (Banff, Alberta), Anita Rocamura (Saskatchewan). Grace Nickel (Manitoba), and from the United States, the author (Seattle).
Many of the paperclay works to date are a synthesis of the disciplines of painting, drawing, sculpture, with references to the pottery and ceramic tradition, in away not seen before. Whether it be the look of dark semi-metallic flashy raku, or warm earth colored stonewares and terracottas, white porcelain, or bright colors of earthenware, freestanding, or for the wall, hard or soft, dry or liquid, rough or smooth, formal or informal, primitive or refined, gestural or painterly, modelled or carved, molded or not, thick or thin, coil or slab, each artist has found a different way to take advantage of the special properties of
paperclay to express part of a unique personal vision. Fear of losing large clay sculptures and slabs to quirks of drying and firing is reduced or non-existent, so, for example, a series of sculptural bas-relief metamorphic wall installations by Anita Rocamura, intricately carved and glazed, probably inspired in part by the graphic artist M.C. Escher, was well worth the effort. Clear evidence of the increased scale and complexity of this and other works by artists in the group was shown. Fresh points of departure are now possible for the clay sculptor. The lattice, for example, is one form that could not be made easily in conventional clay. Consider a photo of a 1981 installation by Coco Gordon of a sculpted paper and wire 'cage' that covered the entirety of both John Cage and his grand piano; or the room sized vessel forms made of interwoven tree branches by the sculptor Patrick Dougherty.
What new forms in ceramic can now be realized with simple and economical paperclay? This question can only be answered by the artists whose imagination would be well served by such a medium in their hands.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Gault, Rosette, Amazing Paperclay Ceramics Monthly, June, 1992.
Minot 'Clay Minerals’ Scientific American: April, 1979, Vol.240
Whitney, Roy Chemistry of Paper, from Paper, Art, and Technology, Paulette Long Ed., World Print Council, San Francis- co: 1979.
Tsu Wei Chou, Roy McCullough, R. Byron Pipes, Composites Scientific American: October, 1986
Toale, Bernard, The Art of Papermaking, Davis Publications, Worcester, MA: 1 983
Heller, James, Papermaking, Watson-Gupthill, New York. 1978
Reproduced from Gault. R., (1993). 2nd generation ceramics. Interaction in Ceramics, Art, Design, Research. UIAH: Helsinki, 75-79 with permission from the author. Some modification of layout has been made to improve reading from a screen. metric measurements have been added.