How to Make Paper Mache Plates and Bowls

Create Attractive Gifts or Useful Utensils from Recycled Materials

May 22, 2009 Jo Murphy

Paper mache is inexpensive and there is no limit to the expressive sculptural forms students are able to make for the class room or to take home as gifts from school.

Teachers will find it useful to scaffold learning about paper craft by making simple forms in paper mache before moving on to create more complex sculptural forms. This gives the students a chance to explore the qualities of the medium before designing more imaginative work.

Materials for Paper Mache

Making the form:

• paper for recycling – not waxy or highly polished
• thick wallpaper paste or a paper mache preparation available from art supplies shops
• petroleum jelly
• plate or bowl for mould
• brushes, knives, scissors,
• buckets and containers, cleanup rags

Decorative stage:

• paper and pencils for designs
• poster paints, acrylic paints or water based paints
• paintbrushes
• clear spray varnish or a can of waterproof water based varnish

Instructions for Making a Paper Mache Form(SimpleFree to Download Task Sheet of the Process)

Before students begin ask them to:

• wrap a dinner plate in plastic wrap. This will serve as your mold or template as you make your paper mache plates.
• cover this with petroleum jelly so that the plate will lift easily from the plate or bowl
• prepare paper mache glue
• prepare your paper medium. Although this project can be done with newspaper, students can also collect other strips of coloured and construction paper. Coated papers do not hold and absorb the paper mache glue. Rip or cut your paper into a series of 2- to 4-inch strips. Be flexible about the length as different sections of the bowl may require shorter or longer pieces.

Making the Paper Mache Form

Stage One

• dip each strip of paper into the paper mache glue, and apply it to the form.
• using longer strips first and apply across the middle of the plate
• working outward toward the sides
• when you get to the edges of the plate, use the smaller strips and carefully fold them over the edges, making about a half-inch lip
• repeat this process until you have covered the plate in three to four layers of paper mache
• allow the form to dry at least overnight

Stage Two

• when the form is dry use a sharp craft knife to cut the lip from the bottom of the plate or from around the rim of the bowl
• lift the material off of the form and use sandpaper to smooth the trimmed edge of the plate or bowl
• lift the plate off the mold to view your finished project

Priming the Plates and Bowls

• coat the material with white under coat or gesso
• apply two or three under coats, because the more coats of acrylic paint you apply the stronger the plate will be

Decoration of Paper Mache

The decoration will be influenced by the purpose students have for making it. Bowls created as a receptacle for donations or for the takings from a play may have words written on them. If the bowl is a gift for Mother's Day, the students may match colourings to the room into which it will go.

If the lesson is part of a unit on culture, guide the students in their research into authentic cultural patterns and ways of painting. Most plate designs are simple, colorful, and attractive, so encourage them to keep it simple. Avoid water colors, as they will saturate the unsealed paper mache making it soggy and hard to manage. As the paper mache will absorb some of the paint as it dries, more than one coat will be required to achieve an attractive look.

The decoration stage will be easier if students:

• design the decoration on paper before they commence painting
• have design templates at the ready so that the decorating stage can be smooth and engaging
• set the paper mache plate back onto the mold so that it is held firm while they paint it. It will then be protected from warping, being squashed or breakage during painting.

Finishing the Form with Style

These kinds of projects always look better when varnished. Spray varnish is the best option because it is quick and simply to apply. It is best if students apply very light coats of spray varnish every hour through out the course of the school day.

Once students have learned the skills of making simple, useful forms with paper mache, teachers may want to extend the activities to creating sculptural forms. This image of bird mobiles shows just how attractive and versatile paper mache craft can be. Photography of Grace

The copyright of the article How to Make Paper Mache Plates and Bowls in Arts Education is owned by Jo Murphy. Permission to republish How to Make Paper Mache Plates and Bowls in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Decorated Pape Mache Plate

Paper Mache Bird Mobile

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