Is this Paperclay idea crazy?

[Jrzeegrl]

Hi all paperclay users.. I have never used paperclay and wondering if I am going down a path that will be a disaster. I've read many tutorials and looked at countless examples of everyone's talents with paperclay. I am going to attempt to create exterior walls in a river rock set in a mortar or mud look. I am trying to recreate from a picture of a RL building and these rocks seem to have much more depth to them than the examples I've seen paperclay used for which means the clay will be fairly thick and i'm worried it will crack or never dry ;). I've played a little by rolling out a pie crust thickness of paperclay then balling up bits of clay and "smooshing" them into the flat clay to form the rocks vs trying to carve the rocks. I'm trying to keep the individual rocks as thin as I can but concerned they are still too thick. This will be a huge effort as I am estimating I will need to make about 2000 rocks. To make things more complicated, all of this has to be glued over RGT grooved MDF. Is this a really bad idea? A slightly bad idea or a good idea and I just have my work cut out for me? I appreciate all the advice I can get. Thanks.

[kellyannmo]

I have made many things using balled paperclay to make river rocks and then filled in the spaces with mortar.. never to the extent you are talking about, but I did cover the whole tower on my Canterbury.... I think it is a good idea, just make sure you glue each stone seperate and you shouldnt have any problem.... They still only take a day, two at most to dry... Good luck

[Jrzeegrl]

Thank you Kelly, I didn't want to have to glue each stone so here's what I am thinking might work: I was planning on applying a liberal amount of glue (presuming wood glue) to the MDF Clapboards and working a thin base of paperclay into the milled grooves, then while paperclay is still wet working (i.e. pressing) the wet stones into it and allowing it all to dry. Once dry I can then give the entire surface a paint wash or two or three which will create the mortar lines if you will and then paint each stone in varying shades using a stippling method. In your experience with paperclay, do you think that will work?

I know I can probably sand out the milled MDF grooves but that is a terribly (dusty) job.

Any other recommendations will be much appreciated. Thank you again .. your work is simply stunning!

[havanaholly]

You could also smooth spackling compound over your milled clapboard and sand that smooth when it dries, and lay your paperclay on that. You do know that you can simulate a lot of depth with color washes and dry brushing and brushing & blending grated chalk pastels on individual paperclay "rocks" to give the illusion of depth.

[KathieB]

... while paperclay is still wet working (i.e. pressing) the wet stones into it and allowing it all to dry.

This sounds like a good plan. I would put a dab of white glue on each stone before pressing it into the background layer. Not sure if sticking paperclay to paperclay will give you a strong enough bond after it dries.

[Jrzeegrl]

You could also smooth spackling compound over your milled clapboard and sand that smooth when it dries, and lay your paperclay on that. You do know that you can simulate a lot of depth with color washes and dry brushing and brushing & blending grated chalk pastels on individual paperclay "rocks" to give the illusion of depth.

Thank you Holly.. now I know why they call you the Queen of Spackle ;).. That's a good idea..much less expensive than paperclay too!

I'm nervous 'cause I need to improve my painting skills .. I will do some practice before jumping in. Thanks again!

[Jrzeegrl]

This sounds like a good plan. I would put a dab of white glue on each stone before pressing it into the background layer. Not sure if sticking paperclay to paperclay will give you a strong enough bond after it dries.

Thank you Kathie.. I will use the glue if I proceed with this (better safe than sorry)..Not having the experience, I worry about longevity with many of these materials and I am working on a gift so I don't want it to start to crumble.. Time to practice a few techniques..Thanks again for your insight.

I'm sure I will have many more questions in the coming weeks and very much appreciate everyone's willingness to help on this forum. ;)

[kellyannmo]

Donna, I think your plan would work..., but personally though, to make things easier for you and not having to go over the house twice... I think if you make a nice size ball of clay, perhaps the size of a dime, you could just go over the house once.... even with the MDF siding.... the clay is really forgiving.... I am with Kathie on this too... I think you would still want to use glue even if you were going to put paperclay stones onto a paperclay background... I am not sure though... I've never tried it that way. As far as longevity... when you are all done and it's painted... just give it two or three coats of clear coat poly... so far I have had no problem with the paperclay cracking or breaking off... and I've shipped many of them and the arrived safe and sound....

please keep us posted, I'm interested in what you come up with....

Hugs

[havanaholly]

...Time to practice a few techniques...

My rule is always make a test sample to see if it works and if it's what you really want.

[KathieB]

My rule is always make a test sample to see if it works and if it's what you really want.

My rule is to PLAN to make a test sample. Nine times out of ten, though, I'll just think it through and jump in.

This could be why I keep getting better at covering up the oopsies.

[Jrzeegrl]

My rule is to PLAN to make a test sample. Nine times out of ten, though, I'll just think it through and jump in.

This could be why I keep getting better at covering up the oopsies.

Ha! This time I stayed up till the wee hours and "tested" my paperclay skills or should I say Lack Thereof .. I think I am going to shelve that idea for a little while..move onto something else and ponder a bit more on the exterior.. Egg Carton stones might just have to be the next experiment..so much to learn, so little time .. but can't think of anything better to do in the wee hours ;).. thanks again!

[havanaholly]

With paper mache stones you can get different thicknesses and grout them (after sealing).