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Paperclay and other abominations |
MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years) 
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6391
From: The Anvil of the Sun
|  Posted: 2009-01-24 08:57 am Permalink
To those familiar with the characteristics and limitations of regulsr clay, paperclay seems like a mythical beast. It’s fabled advantages over regular clay include;
Increased strength in greenware
Dramatically decreased shrinkage
Decreased fired weight
Decreased cost if your make it yourself since you extend your clay with free paper
And most incredible, the ability to mix wet, dry, and fired clay all together
My “local” (130 miles away) clay shop doesn’t sell any paper clay and I’m too cheap to pay shipping so I decided to try my hand at making some. I looked at a few methods and decided on the one listed at http://www.ceramicstoday.com/howto/htpaperclay.com It called for 200 grams of newspaper per kilo (2 lbs) of clay. I weight out the paper in folded sheets (should have counted how many sheets make 200 gm) then fed it through a shredder.
I put the shreds into a stockpot and boiled it for about half an hour. I read in another recipe to add a couple drops of dish soap to the pot but I hear some people say that clay and soap don’t mix so you might not want to do that. I can say that the paper strips really started to break down after the addition of the soap. I boiled and stired the paper until it turned into a grey gruel and set it off to cool.
In the meantime I measured out 2 lbs of clay, broke it up into little pieces, and put it in a bucket with just enough water to cover.
After the paper pulp and the clay slip had set overnight, I mixed the clay into the water well to make a slip and poured the paper pulp into a collander to drain. Here’s where the story unravels… I had chosen this recipe because it had clearcut weights: 200 gms of paper per kilo of clay. But 200 grams of newspaper makes a whole buttload of paper pulp! Much more volume than the original 2 lbs of clay. That just didn’t seem right.
So I just grabbed up a big handful of pulp, dumped it into my clap slip and mixed it well using my hands and a wire whisk. So much for science and ratios!
Now to dry off the excess water, wedge it, and see what I've got.
Anyone out there have any experience making or using paperclay?
_________________
I'm gonna sit right here, I'm gonna watch the sun
Disappear into the ocean, it's been years since I smelled this salty sea.
[ This Message was edited by: MadDogMike 2009-05-20 19:08 ]
[ This Message was edited by: MadDogMike 2010-07-29 12:10 ]
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little lost tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 12, 2006
Posts: 7459
From: Orange,CA-right near the Circle!
| Posted: 2009-01-24 09:13 am Permalink
wow..
it's like a clay crackhouse you got goin on! 
Mike-you are the brave explorer!
charting into unknown realms and tackling it!
Kudos!
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I'm on FaceBook Too!Look me UP,folks!
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atomictonytiki
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: May 14, 2002
Posts: 1267
From: Bangkok
| Posted: 2009-01-24 4:27 pm Permalink
It seems that suddenly everyone is talking about paperclay, I spotted Vantiki discussing using paperclay on his art thread and the tutor at the ceramics class I've just started swears by paperclay.
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years)
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6391
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2009-01-24 5:00 pm Permalink
LLT, more like a clay meth-lab. It's a good thing my wife is out of town today- I don't have a plaster bat to dry this slop, so I dumped it out on the kitchen counter and put a fan on it. I go by every so often and stir it
I heard about paperclay several months ago from VanTiki but apparently it has been around for decades. Carol Farrow from England was using it in the '70s but it has arguably been around since the ancient Egyptians added straw to their clay.
To add to it's list of incredible characteristics - it doesn't warp like regular clay, and it can be glaze fired without a bisque firing.
_________________
Clay, the oldest and most divine art media;
"And now, from the clay of the ground, the Lord God formed man" Genesis 2:7
Pirate Ship Tree House
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Babalu
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Nov 19, 2006
Posts: 2498
From: Lemon Grove
| Posted: 2009-01-24 9:30 pm Permalink
Your Insane! I love that about you.
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VanTiki
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Nov 25, 2005
Posts: 901
From: Hawaii
| Posted: 2009-01-25 4:32 pm Permalink
You gotta get the book Paper Clay by Rosette Gault. There are entire chapters on making all different kinds of Paper clay - even paper clay casting slip! You are the man for mixing your own! I am waaaaaay too chicken 
Henrik
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years)
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6391
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2009-01-28 7:52 pm Permalink
I guess I'll have to break down and make a plater bat. My paper clay slurry has been sitting in an open bucket for 4 days and still hasn't dried to clay consistency yet. I'M NOT A PATIENT MAN DAMMIT!!!
_________________
Clay, the oldest and most divine art media;
"And now, from the clay of the ground, the Lord God formed man" Genesis 2:7
Pirate Ship Tree House
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years)
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6391
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2009-02-05 9:31 pm Permalink
So after 12 days of sitting in an open bucket, my paperclay slurry has finally dried enough to start resembling clay. Still too wet to work with but it's getting there The canvas is helping wick out the extra moisture, should be ready to play with in a day or so. Then I found out if it works or if I have wasted 2 weeks of my life
_________________
Clay, the oldest and most divine art media;
"And now, from the clay of the ground, the Lord God formed man" Genesis 2:7
Pirate Ship Tree House
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years)
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6391
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2009-02-23 07:44 am Permalink
I don't really understand how this paperclay is supposed to work but I'm not one to let lack of knowledge get in my way
I wanted to build this Hawaiian warclub with shark teeth. I planned to make the club and push the teeth in from the inside. Since the paperclay dries stronger I figured I would be less likely to break teeth made of paperclay rather than regular clay. I know you can use "wet on dry" with paperclay but only the teeth (not the club) are paperclay so I don't know how that will work out. I did a test tile with a tooth sticking through it and it seemed to work OK. The tooth was a little loose in the tile but when I glazed both sides that fixed it. We'll see what happens when I fire it. (The woodgrained clay is a brown and a tan clay marbled together)
_________________
Clay, the oldest and most divine art media;
"And now, from the clay of the ground, the Lord God formed man" Genesis 2:7
Pirate Ship Tree House
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OceaOtica
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Sep 29, 2003
Posts: 869
From: la, home of Tiki Ti
| Posted: 2009-02-23 08:04 am Permalink
MDM,
glazing paper clay? this is new to me. I have worked with paperclay, made my own a couple years back, and have the premade powder to mix with water called Celluclay but was completely unaware it had a fireable ceramics application. I would have assumed even at decal firing temps the paper clay would burn to nothing. So i am really intrigued, and a paper clay slip, really want to try that for non fire applications, very cool. looking forward to hearing more about your trials with it and to searching out the reference material about its applications.
edit: i just reread the top of the thread, i get it now, the paper clay acts as a filler, so it does burn out, leaving a lighter weight bisque, similar to using cotton and doilies in slip and firing them out to leave the shape, cool, will have to try it out
[ This Message was edited by: oceaotica 2009-02-23 08:20 ]
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little lost tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 12, 2006
Posts: 7459
From: Orange,CA-right near the Circle!
| Posted: 2009-02-23 08:11 am Permalink
MDM-CHARTER OF UNKNOWN TERRITORY!
we salute you!
hope the paperclay glazin will work
great mug/weapon!
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pwest71
Tiki Centralite
Joined: May 04, 2007
Posts: 74
From: Pittsburgh, PA
| Posted: 2009-02-24 06:40 am Permalink
Here's an example of what can be done with paper-clay, the Plumeria Hibiscus and Orchids in this arrangement were made by (Not my site) http://www.islandflowerstudio.com. The Hibiscus, Plumeria and yellow, orange and pink Orchids were made by her. She uses pastels to make her paint...
Paul
[ This Message was edited by: pwest71 2009-02-24 06:40 ]
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years)
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6391
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2009-02-24 12:12 pm Permalink
There are two different products called paperclay, it confused me too. These flowers are made of an air-dry paper mâché type product made of mostly cellulose fibers with a glue for a binder. The ceramic paperclay is at least half ceramic clay with about 20-50% cellulose fiber added in and is kiln fired.
_________________
Clay, the oldest and most divine art media;
"And now, from the clay of the ground, the Lord God formed man" Genesis 2:7
Pirate Ship Tree House
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years)
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6391
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2009-02-25 9:10 pm Permalink
PAPERCLAY VICTORY!!!
The warclub fired fine, no problem with the dry clay stuck into the wet clay but that's not the exciting part; I managed to break off one of the shark teeth after everything was all bone dry leaving only a stump. I molded a new tooth on top of the dry stump and it looks like it worked! There's no way you can do that with regular clay!
_________________
Clay, the oldest and most divine art media;
"And now, from the clay of the ground, the Lord God formed man" Genesis 2:7
Pirate Ship Tree House
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years)
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6391
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2009-05-12 6:45 pm Permalink
Today I bought 25 lbs of WC953, Max's Paperclay
"Fires gray-stony-white in reduction at cone 10, off white at cone 5 oxidation, and bright white at cone 05 (raku). It is a medium textured, low shrinkage body designed for large-scale hand-built sculpture and tile work where thick cross sections (up to 1 inch) are anticipated. Contains fine and medium mesh grog."
I'll let you know how it works out
_________________
Clay, the oldest and most divine art media;
"And now, from the clay of the ground, the Lord God formed man" Genesis 2:7
Pirate Ship Tree House
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