Hey puppetsandstuff:

I just picked up some paper clay.  I read about it briefly last night in another thread and have some questions after looking at paperclay.com and picking some up at work today.

1.  How well does it stick to wood.  I would like to use some small dowels for marionette limb armatures sculpting paper clay onto them for the bulk of each limb.  How about metal, how well does it stick?
2.  How thin can you go with it?  Can you make a shell with it for puppet heads?
3.  Is it light enough that you would need to have a weighted core for some marionette parts?

I'll probably do some testing with it tomorrow, but any info would halp.

Thanks,

Marty

Well.....I roughly said "paper clay" in my other post about it but the one that I use which is a Japanese product is actually a type of polymer.  I have tried actual paper clay and it was really smelly.  Did you find that with the brand that you got?  I also found that it dried up really really fast.  I didn't get excited about air dry clay until I found the Japanese brand.  It behaves just like cake decorating gum paste.  It is very pliable.  What brand did you pick up?

The two that I love are Hearty and Deco....but again these are not TRUE paper clay rather than a type of polymer.  I would love to see a picture of the one you picked up.  The Hearty and Deco clays stick to ANYTHING.  They are both an amazing product.  I'm not just saying that because I carry it in my store.  It has been my hidden secret for quite awhile now but thought that I would start sharing since everyone has shared so many wonderful things with me....hehe.

Some people can make amazing things with true paper clay.  That goes for papier mache, too.  However, I lack the skill with both of these.  I'm excited for you to try your new clay.  Please let us know how you like it or dislike it.

Aloha,
Nikole

I'll answer your questions in regards to either the Deco or Hearty brands of clay.

1.  How well does it stick to wood.  I would like to use some small dowels for marionette limb armatures sculpting paper clay onto them for the bulk of each limb.  How about metal, how well does it stick?

      Very well....in fact, if you mold it and attach it while the clay is very soft, you may not need to use any glue at all.

2.  How thin can you go with it?  Can you make a shell with it for puppet heads?

     I have gone as thin to where you can start to see through it.  It is AMAZING to do petals for a flower with.

3.  Is it light enough that you would need to have a weighted core for some marionette parts?

      It is extremely light that it would be necessary to cover like wooden dowels for marionettes.

Hope this helps!
Nikole

Ok....I just went to that site that you mentioned paperclay.com.  Sorry, I didn't know that the product name was paper clay...HA HA HA.  It is not the same product; HOWEVER, upon looking at their products available, they DO have a product that is just like the one that I use.  Their product name is called DELIGHT.  This is a product that I would highly recommend trying if they have it available near you.  Hearty and Deco are just brands that originated in Japan and are only distributed in a few other locations...Hawaii being one.  But this type of clay has been used for a long time in Japan.  Friends of mine from Japan say that it is very hard to even get polymer clay and if they do have it, it is very very expensive.  This is why the air dry clay is so popular in Japanese arts and crafts.

Anyways, here is the paperclay brand of the stuff I use:
http://paperclay.com/product.htm

Glad to know that it is available nation wide since the stuff is SOOOOOOOOO AMAZING!!!  Oh and that was the paperclay that I tried but it was quite a few years back.  I remember the packaging just didn't know that was the official name....hehe.  It's funny that it says odorless because I remember opening it and my husband asked my to go craft with it outside.  Also, when I bought the Hearty and Deco clay for the first time, hubby was very cautious about me using it in the house b/c he was afraid of the odor.  I'm happy to report that he lets me craft with it anywhere because it really has no smell at all.  I don't want to sound like I am knocking your product choice.  Please don't take it that way.  I'm just trying to explain my experience with the product.  If you can get the Delight product by the same company, I think you will enjoy the benefits more.  I know that I didn't care for the consistency of the paperclay product but I really do think that Delight will be just like the stuff I use.

Aloha,
Nikole

A bit or white glue an Paper Clay well stick to just about anything.   I haven't mentioned this for some time so check out this (incomplete) tutorial http://carnival.puppetsandstuff.com/  Perhaps some day I can finish that.

Although it does not show the steps of applying the Paper Clay it does give you the base I use for puppet heads.  As I lay down the first layer of Paper Clay over the foam base I apply white glue. After that you don't have to use glue although often if I am adding something on like a large nose or ears I'll start with a bit of white glue on the dried Paper Clay.  It is always best to work in stages allowing bit of the face to dry.   This actually makes it a bit easier to sculpt I think.  Also if you "apply" your Paper Clay to thick or in to large a "chunks" it can crack as it drys. Not really too much of a problem since you can fill in the cracks with more Paper Clay.

I never detected any bad oder to the product but then again I have a pretty muted sense of smell. The product can dry out but if you keep it in a baggy with a damp paper towel in the refrigerator it can last for quite some time. I did start buying direct from the company that makes it because the stuff on the store shelves was old and would be partially dried out from the start. I spoke to the company about this and they said they where aware of that and had even offered to replace the stock on shelves for the stores that bought from them but that they had a hard time getting chains to take them up on this offer. That was back when they where first getting started and that may have changed now between packaging and recipe changes.

Hey:

Thanks Nicole and Shawn.  I just got around to opening one of my packages of paperclay.  I have to agree with Shawn that it has no offensive odor.  In fact I find just the opposite that it has a kind of pleasant, sweet odor.  Also, I have never cared for the chemical smell of polymer clays like Fimo.  They also have an unpleasant, greasy feel and residue.  Don't get me wrong, the sculpting qualities are what is important with this category of materials and polymer clay does give excellent results.

I took a small ball of the paper clay and kneaded it out flat just to see how long it takes to dry.  I do like the fact that it air dries instead of needing to be baked. 

I'll definitely look at the tutorial.  My current plans are to use it over prefabbed papier mache craft eggs for head consturction and over wooden dowels, possibly wire armatures for hands, all for some marionette projects I have planned.

Here's another question for Shawn.  I guess you've seen Emily Decolas ExpertVillage videos?  She shows a German controlin the videos, but doesn't explain much about them.  Although I think I've got the basic concepts down just from watching her vids over and over, can you recommend a source for German controls?  Something with illustrations would be nice.

Up to now for the few I've built I've used airplane controls.  I'm particularly curious about the hand control bars with wire hoops.  Emily said in a brief phone conversation that the wire loop is a means of controlling both the wrist/hand and elbow joints of a marionette.

Thanks,

Marty

Hey Shawn:

The tutorial is very informative.

I can sympathize with you about the publication process.  I have an original magic effect that I invented over 10 years ago.  I've used it in my own shows and have shown the workings to very few of my fellow magis.  An inventor and writer in the magic field wrote a definitive work on this particular category of magic told me after showing it to him that I should get it in print ASAP and that was 3 years ago.  Alas, you can't set a magic trick down half way through or at any stage to photograph it and the illustrations are the only thing holding me up.  Hopefully this summer I'll get a magician buddy who is also a photographer to finally do a photo session and get the thing in print.

Let me know when the next installment to your tutorial is uploaded.

Thanks,

Marty

I don't know that I am familiar with the German control you mentioned.  I may have seen the video but you know how use old folks are with our memory....  What was I talking about?!

I do use an airplane control and really like it.  I have seen many other versions and even tried them out but they just where not comfortable for me.  You can get control over the elbows, wrist and hands with an airplane control. If you can shoot me the link of the video I may be able to help out on some ideas.

Hey Shawn:

Yeah I know about old timers.  In fact, how old am I and what did I just say?  I'm 47.

The Emily Decola videos on expertvillage.com are at:
http://www.expertvillage.com/video-series/2415_marionettes.htm

She is from NY City and is part of a puppetry studio called Puppet Kitchen.  She's studied with Albrecht Rosser from Stuttgart Germany.  I've been in communication with his group and they are working on a book describing his techniques and the German control.  They also recommended a book by another German marionettist, but right now the group their name and the topic of the book (just kidding about the topic) eludes me, but I think I can find it.  The book was in german so I didn't pursue it further.

As I understand it, the German controls are much more complicated than an ariplane control or an upright control.  I also found some pictures posted of one on Jim Gambles website (address?).

I'm intrigued by the action possible with arm control and I think I've got it figured out.  Apparently there are other aspects of these controls such as pivot points in the middle of the control, but Emily doesn't go much into how these aspects function.  She's a busy lady and I may try calling her again.

If I can give you anymore info get back with me.

Thanks,

Marty

Maybe I got an old batch then like Shawn mentioned.  It could quite possibly be.  I remember it didn't seem FRESH when I opened it.