Monday, August 3, 2015

How To do Paper Casting

Hello, Paper Casting is a form of handmade paper making that is dimensional.  Today I am sharing some examples of mould castings I recently made with Cotton Linter.  As a Designer for the Arnold Grummer Design Team Blog (here) I get to play with all sorts of interesting materials to make paper.  I recently played with some new to me moulds from AG and some Cotton Linter squares.  That's right: Cotton!   What I used is actually a by product of the Cotton making industry that is pure natural fibre and when mixed in a blender with some water creates the finest and whitest of pulps that is excellent for using in moulds.  The strength of the cotton fibres make the resulting projects very strong,  The finesse of the fibres when mixed into a pul make this a wonderful medium that moulds almost perfectly and takes on all the fine details of the moulds.  The end result is also a very white finish which is great for leaving as is or altering with any colour desired.



Here I have taken just a few squares of Cotton Linter, about 3 cups of water and used my trusty old blender to create a cloud like pulp.  Which I drain of water by using a sieve and pressing the pulp firmly into a mould.  I let these moulds dry over night.  It is possible to dry these in a low temperature oven as well.



Once the shapes are completely dry I just prop them out of the moulds with my finger nail.  Or you can also use a pin.  The pieces are then ready to be used as is or altered.  Mind you, this is made of 100% natural cotton fibre and will soak up any wet medium quickly.  I choose to work with mostly dry mediums such as pencils and pastels, and limiting my use of wet mediums to one choice.



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Keep staying crafty

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