Queen of Cardboard

This is the last day of the June 2006 workshop in Terrier Rouge Haiti. The students made a display of all the materials and their finished projects.

For those who would like to try their hand at making paper and cardboard creations, here are some basic instructions.

This is a cardboard hat I made using six layers of single/simple cardboard (from cereal or cookie boxes here) laminated in alternating directions to equalize the "pull" as it dried, this thicker base was for the brim. One layer of "cookie box" cardboard was molded to the size of my head, then used as the top part of the hat. I cut a fringe of slits in the hat part to attach it onto the brim.The blue colours come from ads on the flyers I used to layer over the cardboard base. The hat has been covered in plastic wrap to protect it for the purposes of this demonstration.

One of the first techniques to master is making "3-layer" newspaper, and tearing it into narrow strips that are placed over an object in layers of alternating direction. A very important attribute of paper is its "grain". Grain refers to the direction that the cellulose fibres are lined up.

This picture shows "3-layer" newspaper being torn both with the grain (the long straight strip), and against the grain (the short jagged tear on the left hand side. Paper does not tear easily across the grain.


Making the "3-layer" newspaper requires paste, and paper that has been prepared by tearing it into pieces of a workable size. 1/4 of a page of a large size newspaper, or 1/2 page of a smaller size newspaper seems to work well.





Paste is prepared by dissolving some flour in cool water until it is of a smooth and thick creamy consistency, then quickly adding boiling water while stirring. This cooks the gluten in the flour and makes a sticky paste.








Each sheet of newspaper will be covered in a thin layer of paste. The first sheet is pasted on both sides to stick it to the table and to ensure that the paste penetrates completely through the paper.









Once the paste is spread evenly over the newspaper (right out to the corners), the second sheet is placed carefully over top and the pasting is repeated.










The same thing is done for the third layer.



Now the "3-layer" is ready to use. It makes sense to prepare 6 - 10 pieces ahead of time. They can be folded and stacked, ready for use.














Now the newspaper can be torn along the grain into narrow strips, and pressed/massaged over the plastic covered form that is to be copied. The first layer will go in random directions, the second will be all horizontal, the third all vertical, the fourth and fifth all diagonal. This accomplishes two important things: firstly by layering in a number of different directions strength is given back to the cellulose fibres that were originally part of a strong tree, and secondly, the forces exerted by the shrinkage of the fibres as they dry are equalized. The equal pull in all directions helps to prevent warping of the object being made.


This shows horizontal layering.







Any object can be used as removable mold, or as a base to be layered over. A brick can become an attractive door stop. A bowl, platter, or lid from a pot can become a tray or a container. A plastic drink bottle (garbage) can be cut and layered over to be transformed into a beautiful little container for coins or jewellery.


So get out there and transform some garbage into treasure and make the world a better place!