Papier-mache : From a pen storage box to a work of art

In fact, papier-mâché is a very old and genuine art. but the real name of this art is French and it means mashed and chewed paper. To find out the real roots and origin of this art you should go back to your childhood when you made very simple artwork by very basic , simple and primitive materials like paper and glue. But now you are using more professional techniques and material to make a more sophisticated and complicated paper object.

What is the basic creative papier-mâché?

In fact, papier-mâché is a kind of technique to make statues which the basic raw materials and the techniques are very different from other statue making categories. But the origin of this art goes beyond France itself. It is important to know where this art started and how it spread to other parts of the world from ancient times to modern history of art in recent centuries.

What is the meaning of papier-mâché

To find out the roots of papier-mâché we should surf many different countries than France itself. But the real French word means mashed and chewed paper. But today the phrase papier-mâché is used for many 3D objects that have a paper core made from different kinds of paper. In fact, this is a very hard and strong object made from different simple parts added and fused together. This object is very strong against water which is very useful and functional.

The history papier-mâché

In a period of 100 years in Great Britain form middle of 18th to 19th century the new fashioned and pioneer art and industry glorified in the name of Japanese papier-mâché. The very roots of this art which influenced the architecture and other industries like table sets and other ornamental and decoration artistic objects, goes back to far east and china. In that period different kind of products even furniture and chairs were made form papier-mâché and released to the market. You can trace this art to other countries, even Iran, the historic old and ancient far east, India, Afghanistan and even further parts of the continent.
The trace of this art in making handicrafts, masks, coffins, paper boats and… shows how important was the valuable art of papier-mâché which covered all industries of England and exported to other countries in different continents of the world. The use of thin layers of newspapers soaked in liquid glue thinned by water and add together layer by layer makes a very exclusive design in art which cannot be found in other artistic works in the world. Like clay in hands of the masters in pottery, the layers of thin paper in hands of papier-mâché masters are extremely flexible to make a vast variety of products . the technique used in all of them is copied from very basic and simple forms of old fashion papier-mâché. A very important and exclusive points in papier-mâché is you can make anything from it with high degree of creativity and confidence. You can make many objects like ornamental bracelets, earrings, broaches to other handicrafts like masks, furniture, tables, chairs and even bowls, dishes, cups and other table sets and the only thing that makes all of these objects from ordinary arts is the degree of imagination imposed by artist to the artistic objects they make. By improving the creativity and getting inspiration from other people and arts you can make and create other things on a professional level like the masks and statues and models of high tech arts like cinema and for example other industries of the world. The art of paper-mâché is not restricted to small objects like ornaments or dishes, but in case of need you can make very huge objects like carnival transportation cars, and even boats and small ships from papier-mâché. Actually during world war II, the aviation industry used papier-mâché fuel thanks to improving the range of aircrafts and decreasing the money spent for making those fuel tanks. Making a fuel tank from paper instead of scares and very expensive metal of aluminum pushed the aviation industry to use chip and simple papier-mâché instead of expensive and heavy aluminum.

Different techniques of making objects from papier-mâché

To make an object from papier-mâché you need very basic materials like newspapers, glue, other basic tools like sandpaper, knife and other simple tools. You can use paints to make a colorful object instead of a plain one. In the first procedure, thin layers of newspaper are soaked in the glue and water and after that layer by layer the newspapers are adding together and after completing the layers ,the final object form is achieved and it rests for days to get totally dry and hard and ready of finishing phase including sanding and polishing, cutting and forming and at last painting the object to complete the very basic forming system. In this phase all the defects are formed and removed and all the finishing processes are used to improve the quality and form of the final product.
Sometimes the artist use a last layer made of oil or lacquer or polyester…. to improve the shining of the object which is created by the artist including past experiences of the masters in papier-mâché.
In second procedure, the artist uses the paper paste to make models of papier-mâché. The paste is made from small particles of paper mashed and glue and water, the paste should be consistence and thick enough to give the ability of molding like clay. because of this specific characteristic the artists and masters have the chance to make many different and vast numbers of forms and styles of statues made from papier-mâché. One of the interesting things about papier-mâché is the ability of the artist to use recoverable materials inside homes or outside the workshop to create a masterpiece instead of using new raw materials. This factor is very important in contemporary world which the volume of trashes in the planet is now a big headache for the governments and recovering materials from used objects is first attention of scientists and concerned citizens.
To make a beautiful and valuable papier-mâché you can use from used material and make a very basic form to add other components in advance.
Using very simple materials like paper, card board, tissue, newspaper glue, natural and artificial colors, metal wires to make the skeleton of the object, lacquer, polyester and some other materials and even molds helps the artist to make a very beautiful masterpiece in classic or modern form. The very basic forms of papier-mâché are very simple and you can use the very basic simple materials to create very sophisticated forms and models, the only factor which makes difference in objects made from papier-mâché is creativity. Making more and more the objects makes you more creative and let you have more creativity after making each project. The only restriction in this case is making yourself more restricted. By releasing yourself from these restrictions you will feel more confidence and find yourself more creative.

Papier-mâché and artists of Isfahan

The art of papier-mâché introduced to Persian artists in in safavied era in Isfahan and Qazvin because the former was the new capital and the other the first one. The Isfahan papier-mâché artists accepted this new art and raised it to the highest points and summit of art in different points of view, from aesthetic points to functionality. Isfahan artists, use several layers of paper and soak them from two sides in a herbal glue named “serish” which extracted from special plant in desert and add layers together and press and form them in hot molds warmed up to 100 centigrade degrees for several hours to improve its strength against water and decrease the vulnerability against humidity, scratching and other climatic hazards.
After this they add a thin layer of white color and after than a thick black layer and start to make the designs and painting the whole object in different colors and even golden and silver colored motives. After this phase they wait until the colors dry and stablish and for the last layer they add a transparent layer of lacquer, linseed oil and even polyester to finish the job. Today papier-mâché is one of the widespread art in Iran exclusively Isfahan. The birth place of papier-mâché in Iran is absolutely Isfahan. The artists of papier-mâché today are producing beautiful objects from pen case to jewelry box, photo frames and other objects as genuine art of Isfahan . Most of these objects are good to buy as souvenir because they are beautiful, functional and they are sailed to market in a very reasonable price. Most of the motifs are genuine and are common with motives of rugs, tiles, paintings and especially miniature paintings of Isfahan . So next time you intend to visit Isfahan, do not forget to by a papier-mâché for your dear family or friends as they are apt for using these fine art objects now and in the future. SanaPersian is looking forward to visit you in Isfahan to show  masterpieces  and handicrafts, especially papier-mâché ones in Isfahan.