New Paper Mache Dragon- Feet, Arms, Body

By Danmonsterman @danmonsterman
As you can see, Eddie is anxious to get started on the assembly of this dragon.  And so am I. 

I must admit that much of art is what I call "grunt" work.   There isn't a lot of creativity involved with twisting paper around a piece of wire.  And the actual paper mache process isn't particularly fun after 40 years.   But these parts of making a project have a  Zen-like quality to them.   I can really loose myself in the more boring parts of making art.   I have been known to paper mache for 8 hours straight.   It's very satisfying to me to have the mache drying while I sleep or work.   Still, I'm always excited when I have all my pieces and am ready to start assembling the project. 
  
I'll start with the feet and legs.   I have my toes, my paper mache legs, a phone book for paper, and a couple rolls of masking tape.   I crumple a few sheets of paper and add toes.   In this case I wanted four toes.
 
I break the legs at the knees.   This is one of the reasons I love having wire clothes hangers in the middle.   They hold the legs together after I break them and keep the shape I want.
 
Now I'm ready to do a partial assembly of the body.   In the photo on the left you'll see my tail (on the left) and the neck (on the right) and two bodies in the middle.   I know what some of you are thinking...why does he have two bodies.  Well, it's because whenever I paper mache the bodies and appendages I make extras.  (Surely this is a paper mache trade secret.)  That way I use up the paste.   And if you've read my other entries you'll notice that many times I cut open paper mache balls and pull out the wads of paper inside.   I throw the insides into a corner until I do my next paper mache batch.   If you've ever looked at my studio (go to my site and check out the 360 degree view) you'll see a pile of paper mache balls and appendages ready for me to use.   So...long story short (well, longer actually) I decided to use the more elongated body instead of the paper mache ball I made for this dragon.  
See you soon.