Post #538766 by tikitony on Thu, Jun 24, 2010 6:30 PM

AWESOME!!!!!!

I had my students mix plaster in a small paper cup and let it harden... then just using a butter knife, spoon, pencil, and some clay tools, they carved tikis. Some were pretty darn good, but I did give them ample resource material!

I love your idea! I experimented a little and found that you can mix in paper pulp while mixing plaster and the plaster is much stronger, and won't chip as easily if dropped. You can buy a big bag of paper pulp at Home Depot, its used for attic insulation and its recycled newspaper. Or you can just wet some newspaper, and blender it, but the wife's really don't like that idea.

Also, one of my students mixed two acrylic paint colors while the plaster was still wet, and he got a cool swirl effect when it hardened. Plus, when its dropped and chips, a color shows through, not white. I guess you could just mix in one color too!

Good luck! BTW... when you coming over?