Paper maché interview with yours truly

Published by Manning on March 11th, 2025

An art student in Australia emailed me a couple interview questions, and I was happy to reply! I decided to publish my responses here in case they’re interesting to anybody. Just two questions, but I wrote a lot; you know I love hearing myself talk/type!

1. What drew you to paper maché as your preferred choice of art medium?

I initially started doing paper maché projects when I joined a Mardi Gras marching krewe here in New Orleans in 2012. I had been doing illustration my whole life, and then in my mid-30s I had this opportunity to start making paper maché monster masks to walk with this krewe in small parades. I received some tips from my fellow krewe members — e.g. using a hard hat to make a big mask wearable and comfortable — but I mostly just made up my own techniques for building a base shape for my masks. A lot of the materials and techniques that I use — which I imagine you’ve seen on my blog — are not typical, but they work for me!

Anyway, something about paper maché really clicked for me, and I found that I get more enjoyment and satisfaction from paper maché projects than I do from drawing. I continued making more elaborate masks for Mardi Gras every year, and I also began making lots of big Halloween decorations and props for my annual Halloween party. My life these days is basically half a year of Mardi Gras planning and half a year of Halloween planning, all involving lots of paper maché projects.

Paper maché remains my choice for these kinds of art projects because it’s relatively cheap and doesn’t require a lot of special equipment or a dedicated work space. For example, I know other artists who make similar props and masks out of wood, or fiberglass, or even metal, but these require a bigger commitment with equipment, space, cost, etc. Anyone can do paper maché; most of the materials I use for building a base shape come from the trash and the dollar store, and it’s safe to do all of this stuff on my kitchen table — with the exception of spray paint, which I do outside. I dream of someday having a dedicated work space for all of this stuff, but I’m not a professional artist; I still have a boring nine-to-five career. Paper maché is just a hobby that takes over a huge part of my life.

2. What things did you struggle with when you first started paper maché and how did you overcome the problems?

I always tell people: paper maché is the easiest thing in the world; you can learn it in five minutes. But that’s just the process of putting paste on paper and sticking it onto something. The biggest challenge, to me and most other paper maché artists I’ve talked to, is building a base shape that looks the way you want; creating a solid 3D thing that matches the image in your head. In my earlier projects I’d try to build a base shape by finding different cheap/free objects (e.g. boxes, cups, bottles, random bits of foam packaging, etc) and just taping them together, but then this often ends up letting the materials drive what the shape will look like. This is why, after a few years, I invented my method for creating a much more precise “armature” (for lack of a better word) out of slices of foam board assembled into a specific shape; you may have seen this process on my blog. Being able to draw and to sort of think in 3D are pretty important parts of my process, and of course not everyone who wants to do paper maché can do these things easily.

Coming up with this armature method helped me overcome my frustration of not being able to make masks and props in the exact shapes I wanted. This armature method usually lets me create someting that really closely matches the picture in my head. It requires a lot of planning and a lot work, but I really enjoy it. Anyway, once the foam board armature is built then I just cover it with some materials to help smooth it out, e.g. strips of paper and lots of tape, and then a release agent if needed (usually shipping tape), and then I can cover it in many layers of paper maché.

The other challenges I’ve encountered in my paper maché projects are really engineering problems rather than artistic problems! Things like: solving problems around weight, and balance, and making something that’s strong enough for what you need, making something that’s wearable and comfortable, etc etc. I’ve overcome a lot of these problems with trial and error over the years.

For example, a lot of my fellow krewe members complained about their big masks being painful to wear because they’re unbalanced and they pull on your head/neck in one direction all day. So the first time I encountered this problem, like on a mask with a long heavy snout, I decided to try adding a counterweight to balance out the mask. I just glue rocks or coins inside the mask, on the side that’s opposite to the heavier side. This works beautifully. A mask with a counterweight in it is heavier, obviously, but it actually feels lighter on your head because the weight is distributed evenly.

For props and decorations, there’s often the challenge of making something strong enough and balanced enough that it can stand up on its own. I’ve made up various methods for this using trial and error. I’ve dabbled with using some thin wooden parts inside of my bigger projects, but working with wood and screws and stuff is something I’m not naturally great at. Sheets of cheap foam board (aka foam core) are my solution for almost everything. If you put enough sheets together you can make something very rigid and very strong — not as strong as wood, but you don’t need to do any sawing and drilling and screwdriver-ing.

The main thing I mention when I talk to aspiring artists about these challenges is that you need a lot of patience and a lot of time to figure these things out. If you’re not patient, and if you’re not willing to try multiple techniques to get the result you want, you may end up frustrated and disappointed. I always write up a schedule leading up to my deadline, and I build in plenty of time for mistakes and re-doing things. A lot of my fellow krewe members just settle for whatever happens on the first try, and that’s fine, but I’m too much of a perfectionist for that! I really do want to end up with a piece that matches the image in my head, and I’m willing to re-do certain things a few times to get there. Within reason, of course!

So going back to your question of “how did you overcome the problems?” my main answer is: being willing to try and try again. The result is satisfying enough to me that the time and effort are totally worth it.

Interested in commissioning a piece from me? Please see my page about custom paper maché pieces. Please email me; don't put your request in a comment below.

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