Paper mache with white paper towels?

ISO Paper Mache Artists! Advice needed!?

• I'm an altered art artist trying this new medium. I want to offer custom paper mache favor boxes for weddings, and for other practical and decorative items. I will work from purchased unfinished paper mache bases. I have already purchased a number of small boxes for the favors, my first project. I notice that they do not close smoothly. My questions include: Should unfinished paper mache be gessoed or otherwise primed before other paint or decoration? I plan to mask the parts of the boxes that close together, in other words, the inside of the lids and the parts of the sides covered by the lid. I don't want to make them a tighter fit. Good idea? Can I add a simple ink to color these unprimed areas? Can I make the connecting areas slicker to close more easily? How? Rosin? Beeswax? Paraffin? What techniques and materials work best on paper mache? What is the best nonsticky sealant for an embellished paper mache box? Recommended books or sites? Any advice appreciated!

• Answer:

  Hmmm. First, remember that you've chosen to work in paper. Given this, I'd have to say that these handmade paper items (even over a pre-made form) shouldn't have to be permanent or static. Sealing may make the items more durable, but they may also lose some character and life that could come with age and use. Some art should be fleeting. It makes it even more special and temporal. Like life. Gesso or another primer can be used if you want your decoration or paint/ink (or whatever) not to be absorbed or "move around" but sometimes that is desirable. Watercolors and blending can be enhanced by the absorptive properties of paper. Try it all! Experiment! Do want strickes your fancy! Wet 'em down, dry e'm out, peirce them, distort them, wax them--do it all and figure out what YOU like best. That's another great part about art, there aren't any rights or wrongs. Second, I like all of the ideas you mentioned--for different reasons. Like what I mentioned above, your materials and how you choose to use them will all depend on what you want the finished product to end up being. Masking and /or painting the parts that come together is a great idea, but still, I'd experiment. With color, pattern, and leaving raw... If the boxes start out high-quality and opening/closing properly, you shouldn't have too much to worry about. Even still, maybe you distort a box and need to soak and stretch the lid to accomodate--you can make it free form or create a stiff pattern to clamp the lid to, so it will dry into the shape you're looking for. Whatever works. For an already tight-fitting lid, what about wetting the lip of the box part enough to pinch it so it is a little thinner/taller. Or pinching and bending slightly inward? Finally, don't be afraid. Art that is afraid isn't art. It won't be what you want it to be.