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Whitewater Whirl!
a mini dance vacation in WV's New River Gorge area
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Create a papier-mache fish!
Part of what's made our Whirl dance hall look great each year is a school of papier-mache ("paper mah-SHAY") fish, suspended overhead with invisible fishing line. This is a simple and fun project to do with a group of kids of any size.
(If you'll be doing a large group project, start collecting newspapers and corregated cardboard now; you'll need a fair amount of cardboard and a LOT or newspaper.)
If you plan to arrive before 6 PM on Friday, consider making one or more fish for our dancehall "airquarium"! We'll hang your creation(s) before the Friday night dance.
What You'll Need:
Marker (to draw your fish onto cardboard)
FOR FINS, TAIL, and BODY: stiff cardboard (corregated cardboard boxes work well) for fins and tails
ALSO FOR BODY: lots of newspaper
FOR EYES: those disk-shaped plasic eyes will the jiggly pupils work great -- 1" or a bit smaller in diameter
X-Acto or other sharp knife (to cut cardboard)
a workspace, a tarp or dropcloth
large bowl
hot water
flour
lots of newspaper, torn in strips about 1" wide
masking tape
spray paints in bright colors
OPTIONAL:
glitter (make your fish sparkle)
glue (to attach the eyes)
a narrow paintbrush, about 1/4" wide, and tempera paint (to paint on scales)
To create the shapes (forms) that you coat with the papier-mache:
1. Draw the shape of your fish, in profile, on corrugated cardboard, and cut it out. Include upper and lower fins and a tail. Our fish tended to be rounded-bodied like in the photo above, but if you want to make a long fish, that would work well too.
2. Blow up two balloons of a size and shape approximating the shape of the body of your cut-out. Tape one balloon to each side of the body -- this is the first step in making your fish 3-D, and will provide the structure for the rounded body you are going to create.
3. Roll up newspaper into two fat rolls. On each side of your fish, tape a roll around the base of the balloon, creating a sort of fat paper nest -- this nest serves to fill out the body where the balloons curve in near the cardboard. If your fish's body needs more filling out, wad or roll more newspaper and tape down until you have the approximate shape of the finished fish.
Here's how to make your mache and to papier-mache your fish:
1. Put two cups of hot water in the large bowl.
2. Add two generous cups of white flour.
3. Mix thoroughly until there are no lumps.
4. Tear newspaper into narrow strips if you haven't already.
5. Dip strips into the paste mixture, fully coating both sides with the mache.
6. Lay coated strips onto your fish, including fins and tail. Repeat layering a couple more times till it looks good to you.
7. Let it dry a couple of days at least.
Session 2: Decorate your fish
We spray-painted the primary body color on first - we used basic colors - red, yellow, green, blue. After the paint is dry, you can brush on "scales" in a second color, and even mix in some glitter. When it's dry, glue on the eyes.
[If you'll be hanging your fish] To hang your creation, get a large needle, or a drill with a small bit. Hold your fish by the top fin, finding the balance point. Put a hole through the fin where your fingers were, string some fishing line through, and tie it off. Your fish is ready to hang. Ta-dah! Be careful with your fish. Until you build up a few layers, it's somewhat fragile. The good news: if you damage it, you can repair it with tape and then more papier-mache.
Most importantly, have fun!
