This week I began testing materials for a sculpture series I had developed through my seminar workshop. Because the sculptures would be housed mainly outside I would need to decide if I wanted them to be waterproof and last or bio -degradable and more ephemeral.

I ran two tests, looking at either using lime plaster and creating a waterproof render like material that would be more permanent, or using a ‘slimache’ based one which then was more temporary on the wall.

Both utilised paper pulp as a binding / bulking material. I wanted whatever material I develop to be environmentally friendly and ideally biodegradable in the long term so that wherever it ended up it didn’t cause harm. I like the idea of packing the material with flower seeds and as they fade away new life appearing.

Lime plaster

I was interested in ‘hemp crete’ which is an eco friendly version of concrete using for building which combines lime plaster and hemp. I adapted the recipe to replace the hemp fibre with paper pulp to try and see what kind of strength that might give. I wanted to create the same water proof finish offered by the lime, but intergrate paper waste as I have a good supply of this.

The outcome was very brittle, and where I used foil to cast the shapes the lime powder caused a reaction and fused.  Using lime was also quite stressful because it can easily burn the hands, and needs to be handled with care before it cures.  

Overall it wasn’t successful but I really liked the shapes created by the foil, and found this technique to be fast and gave me freedom when I was sculpting. 

I managed to hang the face with small tacks, but the fastening would also need some consideration.

Slime Mache

I mixed up some slimemache, which is a combination of paper pulp, white sand ( salvaged), corn glue and natural preservatives. and decided this time to apply to material directly to the wall. This also takes away the stress of trying to hang the pieces and allowed me to work directly with my hands rather than trying to cast the features.

This worked alot better, and dried really hard over night. I was reminded of school when we’d wet tissue paper and throw it on the ceiling(!) I would really like to try this method with just wet paper pulp and mix in wild flower seeds. I really like the idea of the faces fading when the weather changes and then the seeds settling and possibly growing.

I didn’t realise but I tested the face on the wall opposite my desk so now I have my own smile watching over me while I work. I can confirm I cant help but smile!