Hey everyone. Well, my resolution about writing more posts seems to have faded. As you all know, little Max passed away a couple months ago. I wrote a memorial to him. Two weeks later Eddie quit eating. He is now recovering, but it has been a long haul. So I’ve spent a lot of time with him in my studio where he loves to be. I was doing art and feeding him a little every time he woke up. So life flies by. I’m sure you all experience the same things. I swear I’m going to make a non-dragon project soon. But I ended up making three dragon trophies while hanging out with Eddie. Not commissions, just for myself. You can see some photos below. I did manage to make a time-lapse video as well. Many of you have already seen it. But if you haven’t, and want to, just click on the last photo. Happy Holidays all!
Click on the photo below to watch the video.
Gourmet Paper Mache Blog 
Dan, you always amaze me with the variety of details your dragons have! These are wonderful!
Andreally I enjoyed the USA Today piece they did. I hope your Eddie perks up. I always had two dogs and losing one is in two ways painful; the loss itself and seeing the sadness manifested in the survivor. I know you can never replace little Max, but maybe Eddie could use a new little friend? Just a suggestion-
Happy Holidays and Keep ’em coming!!
Cher in Deltona
Hi Cher. We have actually been thinking the same thing about a couple of kitten friends. There are so many cats to save. Thanks for the nice remarks. Happy holidays!
hi dan I would like to know what type of fabric you use since we are dedicated to manufacture allegorical cars in my country …
Hello Alexander. I use old bed sheets for my projects. As far as “allegorical cars”…I am sure something was lost in translation.
Hi Dan so sorry that you have lost a dear feline friend and having a hard time with the other one. Hope they pull through ! A week ago I lost my feline friend, Alice died a a whooping 19 years old.
You blow my mind every time you post your work , they are spectacular!!!
I will get round to doing mine soon I hope, have too many hobbies that’s my problem and work gets in the way lol. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a happy new year 🙂
Hello Anne. I’m sorry for your loss. That must have been tough. Yes, it’s hard when you have too many interests! It’s hard to pick one! Good luck to you. Thanks for the nice comments about my art, and my cats.
Love your dragons and the special treat of seeing your how-to. It’s like magic! Thank you so much.
Condolences on losing Max, and good job helping Eddie recover. They grieve,too. That’s the hardest part of having our furry family. Hang in there.
Thanks Leslie. I appreciate your nice remarks. Eddie is doing better these days. Have a great holiday season!
So sorry about Max. Hugs to Eddie. He’s missing his buddy.
Thanks Anna. Eddie is improving. We are cautiously optimistic. Animals….our blessing and our bane.
I’m so sorry to hear this. It’s been a hard year for our cats too having lost 3. 😢 Hugs n love to you and your family. But a couple months ago we adopted 2, then 7 month old brothers, and boy! I had forgotten how busy a kitten is! Let alone 2 of them! But it’s worth it. 💟🎄💙 Take good care and here’s to a better 2017!
Thanks for the note Lynn. We are thinking that Eddie might like another little friend or two. Sounds like you are busy! Happy New Year!
Wow,the colors and details are amazing.Happy holidays and best wishes for Eddie.
Hey Mona. Hope you had a great Christmas. Eddie is doing much better. I’m feeling cautious but relieved. Talk to you later.
Always love an update from you in my email and seeing what comes out of that amazing imagination of yours! (Especially the time lapse vids). Saddened for your loss and hope Eddie is on the mend.
Claire in IL
Thanks Claire. Eddie is doing much better. I’m optimistic. Glad you like the new pieces. Happy New Year to you!
Sorry to hear about your fur pals. The 3 new trophies are great as usual. Have a great New Year!!! Barbara
Hey Barbara. Thanks for your remarks about Max. Eddie is improving. Happy New Year to you too!
Hi Dan, I was so sad to hear you’d lost Max and I’m sending Eddie my best vibes for good health. We love our little furry friends so much … Your dragons are fabulous! Of course! Best wishes for a wonderful 2017 – from hot and humid Sydney, Australia.
Hey Carol. Always nice to hear from you. Thanks for the note about Max. We miss him terribly. Eddie is doing much better. Greetings from the frigid Northwest corner of the US!
So sorry to hear of your loss of Max. I know how these little angels can leave such a hole in your heart. Hope Eddie finds some solace. These new dragons are really great!! Hope your New Year is happy and safe .
Thank you Jeanette! I really appreciate the thoughts. Hope you have a great new year as well!
I am very sorry for your loss of Max, I hope that little Eddie will be pouncing back soon! your dragon trophies are absolutely stunning! I wish you and all of your family (and furrr babies) all of the best in the new year! Take care,
Michelle Ramoutar
Thank you for the nice note Michelle. Eddie is indeed recovering slowly. He’ll be back to tearing up newspaper soon. Happy New Year to you too!
Hello, happy newyear to everyone! It is so beautifull to see your cats with your sculptures, checkin it out… verry sorry to hear max has passed away, and I think it’s beautifull how you pay attention to eddie.
I really love your dragons! I want to make something like that, on a hmm whats it called .. stroller? A crib for a baby/child, on wheels?
I’m from holland and in a few weeks we celebrate Carnaval. I play in a percussiongroup and we walk through town. But my health makes it difficult to carry my drums all around town, so now I have a stroller… But I want to disguise that it is a stroller…
So, my costume is a dress/coat A-line, with blue and light blue sky, and with a boa (feathers), and I was thinking of making it a ‘ice-princess’-dress… and in most story’s; Princesses are garded by dragons…
But I would like soms guidance… I don’t know where to start and what materials to use…
like the teeth; do you make them yourself and how?
you use newspaper, tape (we call it painters-tape; painters use it; am i correct or is it other tape?)
You also use linnen or a bedsheet?
I red something about you using flower as glue?
I am impressed about the eyes, you use glass balls? Hmm I think I try the bottom of a jar.. But wat paint you use? there are different kinds of paint, and I am so impressed with the colour and transitions, I don’t think every paint has that potential…
So I was thinking of the crib to be the body, the hood to be breast-neck, wings upwards to protect my bigger drum (drum doesnt quite fit… 65cmx45cm) and maybe extra set of legs to protect drum in basket under… (or maybe… I have my eye on a twinn stroller; 2 seats behind each other)
What are your thoughts about this? Can it be done in like 4 weeks when I work every day like 2 or 3 hours?
Where do I start?
Hoping to hear from you,
Inge
for a short impression
there are better feeds but not online… 😦
Sorry for my english, I hope it was clear what i ment, I’m sure there are many grammatic mistakes…
Hello Inge. Some of these questions I can answer. Others I cannot. I sculpt with paper mache pieces. I use flour and water paste with newspaper strips that I put over crumpled paper. I cut these up and put the pieces back together with masking tape. Yes, it is the same tape you mentioned, that painters use. I make my teeth and claws etc out of Fimo or Sculpy (brands of polymer clay). When I’m finished sculpting I add “skin” of cloth (bed sheets) dipped in white (all purpose) glue. I paint with all purpose, water based paints. Any water based paint will work. I buy my eyes from taxidermy companies. Sometimes I use “blanks” that I get from the same companies. Those I paint myself. Those are the questions I can answer. Since I have never made a project like this, I really don’t know what to tell you about building off of a stroller. I’m not sure how you would connect the paper mache pieces to the stroller. Maybe just the masking tape will work, but I don’t know. My projects can take many weeks to make. There is drying time to consider, a week just for the paper mache pieces to dry. With no experience with these techniques, I don’t know how fast you can work or whether you can build this in the time you have. It sounds like a very ambitious project. I’m not sure what else to offer. Good luck.
Hi Dan!
Thank you so much for your reply! I’ve send you an email.
Inge
I have to say your dragons are some of the best examples of paper mache art I have ever seen! I just discovered your time lapse videos and have been watching them over and over.
It’s actually inspired me to try making my own dragon trophy.
I have already done paper mache Jack-o-lanterns for Halloween but nothing to this scale or complexity. It’ll be fun to try!
Sorry for the loss of your beloved Max!
Thank you for the nice note diytinker! Glad you like the projects. And thanks for the comment about Max. Yes, he is sorely missed. Good luck with your trophy!
Hello I love these arts I’m very curious what do you use to make the thin parts of the wings in case the part that covers it and what fabric or what kind of paper is this?
Hello Kelson Luiz. I do not understand the first part of the question. I don’t know what you mean by the thin parts of the wing. Sorry. I use old bed sheets for the fabric.
Dan, love your work…
What is the clear saliva goo that you sometimes put in the mouths? Is it just varnish? It looks a bit more ‘gloopy’ to me..
Thanks Paul. I use Clear Casting Resin for the goo. It is basically liquid plastic. You can get it where they sell plastic products.
Ooh ok, thanks… as one of my friends told me, if I’d have read your book, I would have known that… 🙂
Funny. No problem. I certainly don’t expect everyone to read my books!