From: Tyra Smith
Subject: Paste Papers Tips/Techs #1 8/21/98

From: Kristina

Paste Paper

Everything in these instructions I learned while taking a class taught by Pam Bakke of Bellingham WA (Her address is 303 Highland Dr, B'ham WA 98225. You can buy a kit from her that includes her instructions, trowel, and 1 tbsp methyl cellulose. NO idea how much it costs so you'll have to send an inquiry first.) I *really* encourage you to take a class taught by Pam Bakke if she's ever in your town. She is an enthusiastic and encouraging instructor. The following was written entirely in my own words.

Materials Needed:

1a) 1 tbsp methyl cellulose (can be purchased from Daniel Smith. Call 1-800-426-6740 to request a catalog. Costs ~$17 for 1 pound.)
-or-
1b) 1 tbsp wallpaper paste -- dry flakes. I bought 1/2 pound of "All In One-- Wall Size & Wall Covering Adhesive" for $3.99 at Fred Meyer. This is the brand Pam recommends. It comes in a purple, white, and teal green box. The word ONE is big (about 1.5" inches high) on the teal green background.

2) PAPER: you don't want it to be too absorbent or too weak. Experiment with whatever you have on hand. (Watercolor paper is generally too absorbent. Papers with smooth surfaces work best.)

3) PAINTS: cheap is ok. Use acrylics, watercolors, tempera, dry pigments, whatever you have on hand. Glitter can also be added to the paste.

4) TOOLS: hair combs or picks, sponges, cookie cutters, rubberstamps, trowels (with ridges on the sides intended for making designs in wall plaster), q-tips, cake decorating tools, etc. (Once you use a kitchen utensil for paste paper don't put it back in the kitchen to use for food.
Consider it a sacrifice for your art!) Rubberstamps and cookie cutters work best if you press down and twist ever so slightly. If you press down and up like we've all been trained then it won't make much of an impression.

5) PAINT CONTAINERS & BRUSHES: Use something with a lid to hold the paste (margarine tubs) and cheap 2.5" or 3" brushes to apply the paint. You'll probably want one brush for each color. (I bought 3" wide bristle brushes for 80 cents each at Michaels. Don't look in their artist's corner, that's where they have the expensive brushes. Look in the crafter's paints and glues section.)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) If you use methyl cellulose (M.C.) you will need to mix the paste up the night before (or at least several hours in advance) so it has time to set. Add 1 tablespoon of M.C. to 1 cup of warm water, mix well. Let it sit for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes to prevent lumping.
After 2 hours add 1/2 cup of warm water and mix again. By the next day you should have a honey-like consistency to which you can add ~2-3 tbsp of paint. Add less or more paint, depending on the intensity of color you're aiming for. (Hint: you can break this paste up into 1 or 2 more containers and tint each container with a different color. If you're doing this alone it would be more economical than using 1 tbsp. of M.C. for each color. You can then get away with using less paint out of each color tube since there's less paste in each container to tint.)

If you use wallpaper paste flakes instead of M.C. you can mix it up 15 minutes before you want to start playing. Add 1 tablespoon of the flakes to 1 1/2 cups of warm water, mix well. Again, you are aiming for a honey-like consistency. Add paint as directed above.
The paste will last for a couple weeks as long as you keep it covered. You don't need to put it in the fridge. When it starts to smell bad it's time to toss.

2) Put your paper on newspaper. Wet the paper well with a sponge or clean 3" brush dipped in water. You don't want it soaking wet. The idea is to lay down water so the paste glides over the paper and doesn't concentrate itself in the spot where it first touches down.

3) Lay down one color of paste, you don't want it too thick. If you can still see the paper underneath the paste that is a good thing.

4) Lay down another color of paste. You'll notice the colors mix and mingle. (I like light colors on top of darker colors but don't be afraid to experiment, what's the worst thing that can happen?) Don't worry about putting the once-yellow, now yellow-and-red brush back into the yellow paste. It's ok, REALLY. :) It will only enhance the next piece of paper.

5) Two colors is a good start. Now start playing with your tools. Draw designs in the paste with the wooden end of a paintbrush or drag a comb across the paper. Experiment, go crazy. If you don't like anything you've done then wipe it out with the top color's paintbrush and try again. Know when to stop and let the paper dry. Even horrible mistakes can look gorgeous after they dry and are cut into functional pieces or are covered with even more paste (see STEP 8 below).

6) Repeat steps 2-5 until you drop from exhaustion or run out of paper. Let your papers dry overnight.

7) The next day (or weekend or month) take your dry papers and iron them on a low NO-STEAM setting. Sandwich the paper between newsprint.

8) Repeat steps 2-5 again on all the papers you just ironed (unless the design is so perfect you can't stand to cover it up.) The multi-layered effect is incredible! Try using completely different colors for a really stunning "How did you do that?!" piece of paper.

Sound easy? It sure is! If something doesn't make sense please ask, I can clarify anything that seems fuzzy. Someone wanted to know how I made a faux marbled piece of paper.
I first put down a layer of dark blue and then a layer of red on top of that. Then I took the red 3" paint brush and put it perpendicular to my nose. Starting at one end of the paper I wiggled it away from me and back towards me in a very tight, stiff wiggling motion. Kind of like scribbling with the brush but in a very controlled manner. I never lifted the brush -- just moved it away from me and back towards me very quickly all the while moving across the sheet of paper to the opposite end. When I was done with one row I started the next row until the entire piece of paper was done. If this doesn't make sense you're more than welcome to fly out here and visit me and I'll demonstrate in person. Just give me a week's notice so I can clean this place. ;) I repeated the marbling effect with blue on top of purple, etc, so it wasn't a one-time fluke. I'm not hallucinating, Pam said it looked like marbled paper with no prompting. :)

Some interesting color combinations to try:
green on top of yellow
blue (or purple) on top of red
white on top of blue
yellow on top of red
red on top of black
blue on top of purple (very subtle, niiice)
yellow on top of orange

From: Denny Cramer

You can add as many colors as you want at the same time - you can get some really pretty or wild combinations. Re what to use to make patterns - I took Pam Bakke's class and we used so many things - here's a few that I can remember:
cookie cutters (place and twist as little or as much as you want), lots of different sponges (sea, kitchen, rough, smooth), netting, tools for wood graining, she gave each of us a rubber tool with 3 or 4 sides each having a different set of teeth, square, etc., look in your kitchen tool drawer - there are a lot of things to use in there. Have fun!

From: Sandra McCall
You can lay down several wet colors together and make a pattern with that or you can let that dry and then add more wet paste and work another pattern over that first one.
A great tool for your paste papers is your stamps. You can also cut pretty good combs with chipboard and your decorative scissors. Q-Tips and fingers work great too.