ok...I'm gonna start at the beginning...

I played with papier mache as a kid.Not a lot, 'cause my mother hated messes. We had a living room that we never...EVER used..but that's another blog...lol...

When I had my kids, I took all the books on arts and crafts (of which I am a huge proponent...believing that the artistic expression feeds the soul...the mind...and doesn't allow the body to get into too much trouble!) Knock wood *taps cranium*, I have never heard any of my 4 children ever use the word "bored"...and they are all in their 20's!

But I digress. I lived in the Queen City of New Rochelle..."45 minutes from Broadway" and a half an hour by train from the heart of Manhattan. We had the most awesome Children's Library on the Planet. The Head Librarian, Louise Sonet had the most wonderful programs for children and was extremely supportive of an underground homeschooling Mom...her library was out haven.

Being a hands on Mom, I volunteered as a parent for any program my kids were involved in, which brought me back to papier mache... and introduced me to Barbara Clark, a delightful red-headed artist!

That was the Summer of '88. We papier-mached a 10-12 foot cardboard die-cut brontosaurus that the library had on display. We taped the sagging corrugated card, covered him with chicken wire, newspaper, supermarket brown bags and mottled colored tissue a la Eric Carle.
The class lasted 6 weeks...I was re-hooked....

The next Summer, we made a 6 foot whale with a fiber optic spout...

Then in 1990, Sheila McGraw published "Paper Mache Today"...I was a goner...

It is by far the best starting book for a new paper mache artist...( I would tie it with Dan Reeder's "Simple Screamer" or "Make Something Ugly"...but they are out of print...more on them tomorrow!!!)

Sheila's instructions , both written and photographic are clear and concise... Her choices of pieces are wonderful and totally involve the reader/artist..."I can make that!!!!"
She inspires such confidence...This is a must for the bookshelf and highly recommended for homeschooling Moms. Her techniques are easily adapted for history, geography...any course of study will be more fun!!!

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