Back to All Events

Virtual STEAM Workshop: Paper Maché Part I

Join us for a two-part workshop led by artist Antonia Perez!

Paper Maché is a versatile method of using simple materials to make beautiful, long-lasting three-dimensional objects such as sculptures, masks, and household items. Participants in this two-part workshop will learn how to form an armature (the structure) from found materials, build up the form with paper maché (which means mashed paper in French) and refine their projects into a finished artwork. Once you learn the basics of working with paper maché, you can use your imagination to create a wide variety of objects and forms!

Audience:

  • Ages 7 and above

  • Families welcome.

Session Schedule:

  1. Thursday, September 16 at 3:30pm ET: 
    Learn how to create an armature (your sculpture’s foundation) from found materials.

  2. Thursday, September 30 at 3:30pm ET:
    Learn how to work with Paper Maché, and refine your project into a finished artwork.

Participation in the workshop requires your attendance in both workshops (September 16 and September 30) to learn all the steps needed to complete your project. People of every skill level are welcome, but this workshop is designed for people new to the art of Paper Maché.

Materials:

Before the first workshop, please have the following materials set up on a table covered with plastic or newspaper:

  • Pencil

  • Masking tape (1″ roll)

  • Scissors (plus a utility knife if working with an adult)

  • A small pile of newspapers

  • Aluminum foil (optional)

  • Elmers Paper Maché Art Paste (you may use flour and water instead but risk it not drying quickly and forming mold. It also attracts insects and vermin—not recommended for this workshop)

  • Quart sized take-out soup container with lid

  • Long spoon, fork, or chopstick

  • Pipe cleaners (optional)

  • Three-dimensional items from your recycling bin or trash such as:

  • Paper towel rolls, bathroom tissue rolls

  • Plastic bottles of any size or shape

  • Plastic forms used in packing (firm plastic)

  • Cardboard boxes (small-like tissue box or smaller)

  • Styrofoam forms used as packing material (but not Styro peanuts)

  • Flexible wire (aluminum or plastic)

  • Flat cardboard pieces (such as from shipping boxes)

  • Materials for the second workshop:

  • Small piece of fine sandpaper or an emery board (nail file)

  • White acrylic or latex

  • Acrylic paint colors (at least red, yellow, blue, white, black)

  • Plastic take out container lids for mixing paint

  • Assorted paintbrushes from ¼” to 1″ (Or instead of paint: a selection of colored tissue papers and Mod Podge plus 1″ and ¼” brushes.)

Here are links to some of the materials. You do not have to get the exact same items or order from these sites. These are just for your reference:

About the Artist:

Antonia A. Perez is a mixed-media artist living and working in New York City. She focuses on the reuse and transformation of materials, primarily plastic bags, discarded textiles, papers, and cardboard, that she constructs into assemblages, collages, or sculptures. In addition to making objects, she engages audiences in various ways—through placing artworks and participating in performances in public places, holding workshops and public events that involve audiences with art, and advocate for the environment. In 2017 she was the first artist to install a sculpture (titled Light Spectrum) in the Lewis Latimer House Museum garden.

Register Now >>

Previous
Previous
August 28

Natural An/Dems Outdoor Poetry & Bookmaking Workshop

Next
Next
September 22

James Baldwin’s Fire-Baptized Truth: Notes on a Native Son