Wow, so, this is by far the biggest thing I have ever made out of paper mache. My wife and I were in a show around Halloween of 2012 down with Payson Community Theater, and in the show I made a walrus mask for one of the numbers.
Then, in summer of 2013 I got a call from the prop guy, saying that he needed my help on some props for their upcoming show - Shrek the musical. I agreed, not really knowing what I was getting myself into. Turns out in the show there is a guard at the castle who is wearing a giant head of the Lord Farquaad character. Anyway, they needed a way to make a huge, light, and sturdy head...and I was the only paper mache "expert" they knew...so...2 months, 2 bags of white flour, and several giant cardboard boxes later. Voila!
I heard that the head was then used by the Scerra theater in Orem, and now I have no idea where it went.
In order to keep the cardboard together while applying the paper mache, I had to sew it into the right shape. I started by punching 2 parallel rows of holes with a nail along the edges, and then sewing them together with a yarn needle. Later I found that knitting needles worked well enough for a hole punch, and the work went faster. The knitting needle left larger holes, but it didn't really compromise the structure since thething was just so dense.
The hair and the nose were challenging. The hair just because I wanted to make sure it would be durable, and the only way to get the shape I wanted was with really flimsy cardboard. The hat because there were so many pieces, and I had to do a lot of calculations in order to get it right the first time.
I spent 3 entire days covering this with paper mache. The thing was so big that by the time I would make it around the head, the first stuff would already be dry! The mouth got a little to much moisture, and warped a little, and the hat ended up being a little crooked, but everyone loved it.
The End
Thanks Dad, Sarah, and David for your help...you kept me sane during the process :)
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