Work by Others - Anne-Lise Koehler

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An on-going series of posts that profile papier-mâché work others. Here is sculptress Anne-Lise Koehler
I have translated from her own blog - 
'Manufacturing typically takes several weeks, but sometimes months and even years because each sculpture is an adventure, which has its own ripening time and reflection.'

'Fascinated by the wild fauna and flora, I have made naturalistic sculptures from papier-mâché.  From the smallest field flower to large mammals - to fungi, insects, fish, birds, amphibians and reptiles, I enjoy sculpting all that I observe and try to understand the beauty of the mystery of the presence of living beings around us. 

These beings, we often come across too quickly but hurry not - instead ask - how are they alive,  present in the world and in the light? How do they live their lives? What are their desires? What is our common destiny?  These questions arise in my daily work as a  sculptor and through scenarios that I write for my animation. This fascination for wildlife, and the pleasure I have to represent dates back to my childhood, and I do not know how to explain it. Papier-mâché is the ideal material for my sculptures. It allows me to start work at the heart of the form and shape gradually, as skeleton and muscles back up to the surface of the body. I also love finding printed paper books, that convey thoughts, human emotions, evidence of the relentlessness of our species to want to understand the world around us.  To appoint a single thing, with plant and animal forms, these strange aliens who are our neighbours and where the truth is inaccessible to us.

I always carefully selected the papers for my work, the quality of the material itself  and also as to the content of texts displayed on the sculptures.

The printed paper that I use, is almost exclusively from the works of the collection: "The Pleiade" Gallimard.

Each sculpture is the culmination of a slow development in successive layers, that takes into account the constraints of many drying times. 

Technique
My sculptures are made of patterned paper on a stainless steel frame, the lightest possible.
This process allows me to start the sculpture in the heart of the form and shape gradually skeleton and muscles back to the surface shapes. The sculpture must dry between each step of work.  Each project is an adventure-going and original art in itself. The paper sculpture also allows me to keep a large part to the colour. 
Papers
I use for my sculptures of many types of paper, according to their texture, their weight, their appearance.  Leaves of books, paper drawings, handmade papers.  I am very attentive to the quality of the paper and all the materials I use for a good conservation of sculptures in time.  

Adhesives
To stick my sculptures, I use a mixture with varying proportions of glue and Caparol Methyl cellulose.

Colours
To colour the sculptures, I use white and black acrylic - brand - Lascaux.  I complete my range preparing myself the rest of the colours from Lascaux Acrylic Emulsion LINK

and pigments I select for their brilliance and stability.

All sculptures are painted with a matt varnish of the same brand, to preserve their conservation.

April 2014 - speeding up the drying process for papier-mache.

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I tried drying out air dried papier-mache in a microwave oven last year and it worked perfectly. Also rolled loo paper beads, dipped in water, squeezed to shape.
 Now I am about to run some experiments so that I can teach a class of 6 people how to make a reasonably crisp, hard dish/platter/bowl that can then be decorated in 1 hour or even less.

All my previous workshops have taken place over a weekend in my kitchen and of course I had my trusty old Rayburn to lend a hand

overnight. People very often like to learn a craft in a day or even half a day, or at least, the beginnings of one so that they can then decide whether it's something they'd like to pursue as a hobby. I meet lots of people who love to have a day out with a friend or friends or family, learn something together, meet new, like minded people, have lunch and take a finished piece home with them. So, I'm tailoring workshops to cater for these kinds of events as well as my workshops that take place over a weekend and/or over 2 or 3 half or full days. Some simply processes demand more time.

I'm using a flat bottomed Pyrex dish in this video and putting good old Cling Film inside it by way of a release agent. It can then be removed after the first 2 or 3 layers as the dish will usually hold it's shape by then. You are the judge of it.
I ripped layers of white photo-copying paper and a cold water and plain white flour mix.

  It's simply 1 part cold water added to 1 part flour. I also added a desert spoonful of cornflour as it makes for a smoother mix. It's very important to microwave in short
  blasts of a few seconds and then let out the steam.

My smaller objects could be dry in 4 seconds, so it's 
important to really
concentrate only on 
the job in hand and 
not wander off and 
start something else!

The colours look rather darker than they are here in the photographs. In fact the bowl looks rather lovely just as it is. It's very light weight and very strong and can be made in half an hour!   This process does allow papier-mache bowls to be made in one day or even half day workshops and be able to decorate in the same day. Shapes will of course depend on the Pyrex dish being used. 
For larger pieces I would still use more traditional methods of working on large balloons, buoys, clay plaques or plaster moulds.

I found an interesting link for working with Plaster of Paris here
for anyone interested. I use PoP for a number of things and it's important to be aware that reuse of your uncontaminated Plaster of Paris can be accomplished by breaking the set plaster into small pieces, placing it in an old roasting pan and reheating it to its melting point -- 325 degrees Fahrenheit -- to remove water. When the material can easily be crushed into powder it is ready for reuse. Complete the process away from other projects and follow recommended safety precautions. These include wearing goggles for eye protection, a face mask to prevent inhalation of dust particles and gloves to prevent skin irritation. I've heard that it can also be composted but I have yet to experiment with this fact.

Workshops - Making Papier-Mâché Shoes

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Papier-Mâché Shoes 
workshops this year - details to follow 
I make all sorts of different kinds of things with papier-mâché - I like to experiment and push the boundaries of what might be possible. 
For example - papier-mâché shoes - copies of historic foot ware -

The shoe above is Delftware, made in the 18th century. They were often given as gifts between friends and lovers.

Or the above - a brocade shoe from the 18th century. in point of fact a pair of Marie Antoinette’s shoes - below, in green and pink striped silk sold at auction in 2012 for £39,500!

It would be interesting to make a papier-mâché version and at the same time look into the history, not only of court shoes but also the shoes of the shoes of the revolutionary working women and make a pair of these -
Incidentally, a blog, called Two Nerdy History Girls can be found here
I like to recreate interesting shoes in papier-mâché and shall be running workshops showing how to make them, starting later this year, also I will post some tutorials on My YouTube Channel
My photos to follow. 

But now I shall divert my attention to the extraordinary world of Isabelle de Borchgrave, in this instance making some of her own quite wonderful papier-mâché shoes.

(The above photo is from Isabelle de Borchgrave's studio.) 

I nearly always paint on paper or card and then cut into strips, sometime I then crumple it and smooth it out. This technique is great to use on shoes - just as I do in my jewellery making. This gives lovely details and helps to do the more delicate work needed on shoe making.  I also paint on Japanese rice paper, tracing paper

and blotting paper etc - in fact too many to mention in detail here. I will compile a list sometime - the point being - they all have different qualities to explore and develop.

Inadvertent shot of my apron! I usually begin by gathering together my ideas - colours, textures, moods etc from all my references from when I'm in my favourite places - Venice, Paris, London, Côte d'Azur, Capri, Pompeii,

Cornwall and when mooching around at home in Devon. I have sketchbooks, notes, photographs, videos, samples of papers,

fabrics and endless curious and found objects. They are all to hand in my studio.
I recently saw this sash on a dress by paper artist Isabelle de Borchgrave on YouTube - if, by chance you have never heard of her - click on her link and explore her quite incredible skill. 
This is a section a sash from one of her pieces -

It reminds me so much of a detail from some of the many paintings I've done over the years and also of one I'm working on at the moment. I often start off by painting in acrylic size then adding silver leaf or silver foil first of all - it's painting 'blind' in many ways and brings an added degree of freedom that I like. After gilding, I paint the blues - indigo, cerulean, cobalt and turquoise around them, on top of chalky and titanium tinted whites. I work often with acrylic inks - they over paint nicely on top of foils and resist silver leaf. These remind me of the full moon on the Mediterranean at night. I am in fact working on a collection - The Full Moon in Springtime. There's rather a lot of synchronicity going on in my life at present.

Making resin rough cut diamonds and sapphires.

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I am about to make a necklace using lots of the papier-mache baroque pearls that I make - 
To which I will add some faux - that is made with epoxy resin - rough cut gems - I add acrylic ink to get the right colours. I spotted this necklace and thought I could develop the idea -

These are faceted beads, I tend to prefer the rough cut ones. I am starting with faux rough cut diamonds and papier-mache baroque pearls and may well work my way through the mineral kingdom!
they look like this -

Some papier-mache baroque pearls could also have colour added to resemble these -

rough cut raw sapphires are like this and papier-mache 

pearls below. I think it could work with a few adjustments. Below is the real thing - uncut sapphires.

And here are the prototypes for the sapphire moulds - just simple pieces of gravel.
So first things first - I pondered how to make the actual shapes of the resin 'diamonds' and 'sapphires' for a moment or two and then realised that there was plenty of gravel outside my studio - I could make moulds from that. I chose some different sizes and washed them in a plastic cup with washing up liquid, shaking vigorously. 

It would probably be better to pop them in the cutlery holder in a dishwasher, alas an appliance I don't have in my studio, in fact there's only just enough room for me and I still haven't got everything in yet. Need more shelves.

Stones now washed and dried. I work on tiles or sheets of glass as a rule when doing things like this. There are extensive renovations being done here at Seale Hayne. The old student accommodation from the days when Seale Hayne was an agricultural college is being improved to make comfortable rooms for guests and for people coming to do workshops here. As a result there are plenty of off cuts of tiles in the skip!

I use a two part epoxy molding paste called Siligum to make my moulds. The process involves mixing blue and white together.    
       

You have to work quite quickly as the mixed paste cures within 4 minutes. It will then remain usable and flexible almost indefinitely. 

April Workshops at Hannahs at Seale-Hayne in South Devon

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Papier-mâché with printmaking - two crafts for the price of one in April, May and June 2014.

I am embarking on a series of workshops at Hannah's at Seale-Hayne The first ones will be in collaboration with a fellow artist - Sara Gilbert

Sara is a print maker and painter who works in a variety of mediums. So Sara will be explaining and demonstrating lino cutting, showing how to make images that can stand alone or be coloured in a variety of ways. I will be demonstrating mold making using Plaster of Paris and a product known as Silligum that can be used to make repeatable air dried clay reliefs that can be added to the papier-mâché platters or bowls. 

We will be dividing the day into three sessions and be working alternately with half a group each and having the third session as the time to assemble and finish. I'll be showing how to make papier-mâché platters and show 'some I made earlier'. I'll be using pre-made hanging basket liners as we'll never have the papier-mâché pieces ready to actually work on on the day because of drying times, if we had to make them all. The relief work can be dried in 20 seconds in a microwave so we'll have one of these to hand. They can then be glued onto the work.

Sara will be showing how to make various types of prints on Japanese rice and other papers and you will be able to make cards from your lino cuts as well.
I will also demonstrate some gilding and finishing techniques. We can take between 10 and 12 people in the Art Room. The cost will be £60 including materials, tea, coffee, biscuits etc. Really excellent food and barista coffee can be bought from the Bistro or you can bring your own lunch. There is also a very good Takeaway too. The workshops will initially run on the second Saturday in April, May and June. The series of photos here show how a platter can be developed. This is just one way - there are far too many to show!

We have lots of ideas for future ones too. Sara also runs independent printmaking workshops from her studio. I am planning some similar daytime sessions with just a couple of people at a time from my studio in The North Wing at Seale-Hayne. We are both planning evening classes as well. Below is a very simple bowl made with papier-mache

to which has been added a lino cut of a periwinkle printed on Japanese rice paper. The blues/turquoises have been painted with acrylic inks on the base and the deckle edges gilded with silver leaf.

I'm also developing more in depth workshops in 2015 that will be held in various locations in the town and the country and I'll be calling them Town and Country Workshops - naturally! They will be held in peoples homes - homes that will be able to host them will have either a large kitchen or workshop/studio with heating in the form of an Aga, Rayburn or similar for drying the work where necessary. They will also be held in Village Halls and small Hotels. They will be running as half day, one day and two day workshops. I shall be inviting other artist/crafts people to teach as well so that there will be a wide range of skills to choose from. The idea is to have a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting time and to meet like minded people in a homely environment. I used to run such workshops in the 1990's from my cottage in Herefordshire that I was renovating, as you may be able to imagine from the short film that the BBC commissioned of my work.