Faculty of Design

Graphic Design

Jingjia Zeng

Spiritual Food : Material Exploration With Paper

In this project, I would like to try 3D technique with paper, and experiment with paper mache, because I was surprised by how stiff can those fragile paper could be. I have tried using pulled sheets of paper to form vassels in Paper Portfolio project, but found it was thin and still fragile, so I would like to try different methods to increase the strength of my object.The object I planned to make was a bowl, with the combination, or embellished with recycled books and magazines. The idea that I want to express here is that books and knowledge are the food of our brain, or say, spirit. Bowls are the container for our food, to I use it as a symbol for anything that could feed us, physically and mentally.(I also made a video of how I made this bowl, link in below)

“In my research, I found that there's a couple of ways to make paper mache:1. Paper pulp applied, cast or extruded into a molded form.2. Paper strips adhered together over a molded form.3. Paper sheets adhered together and pressed between molded forms. (Reyden and Williams)So I wanted to try them all to see which works best for me.According to an article written on a blog called The Heart and Heaven, I got a recipe and ratio of paper pulp paste to try, and from a Youtube channel: TheArtfulness.com, I learned how to make it with newspaper strips.Anyway, it was a really interesting process to try different techniques.REFERENCEBroege, Erin. “DIY Paper Mâché Pulp Bowl.” The Heart and Haven, 20 Mar. 2020, theheartandhaven. com/2020/03/20/diy-paper-mache-pulp-bowl/. Reyden, D. V. D. and Williams, D.. “The History , Technology , and Care of Papier-Mache : Case Study of the Conservation Treatment of a Victorian " Japan Ware " Chair.” (2006).TheArtfulness.com. “How to Do Paper Mache.” YouTube, YouTube, 28 Aug. 2015, www.youtube. com/watch?v=TdPkoPwRkZ4. ”