Kinda small for a T Rex but we are limited on space sometimes. One reason for the general sizes of the majority of my work.

This was a paper mache sculpture that was done many years in the past. It was not intended for any art show or sale. Just something I felt like doing at the time. So it was on display in my old apartment for conversation and amusement.

At some point the landlord had to bring an inspector through my apartment and later told me that he had to move the sculpture. Not for any official inspection reasons, just to see if it was real rock. So that was nice to hear.

This piece got banged around over the years. Some nicks and scuffs. Some side areas were folding in from resting on them. Cardboard, paper, flour. Not really tough materials. Finally it came to reside in the attic of our current place. Subject to more abuse in the form of extreme heat and cold as the seasons changed for a few more years. And the moving around. Neighboring storage items. Etc.

When I was sizing up the wall spaces available at Wild Elder I thought, “that spot right there might just be a good place for that sculpture.”

Thus began a rehabbing of the sculpture that took more effort than I anticipated.

It needed first to be shored up well enough to attach D rings for hanging. I found simple wood glue was great for this purpose. Watering it down and brushing it on. At times I got a bit too ambitious and nearly ruined it. Cardboard soaks up water. My original design was not well planned out and there were underlying structural pieces with straight edges and right angles that suddenly I was uncovering by soaking.

Some peeling was occuring on edges. This needed to be glued back down and together.

I tried a matte finish shellack to attempt to seal. It left a gloss finish anyway. I tried a matte sealer. Same effect. I almost resorted to a steel wool sand. But instead experimented with a diluted wood glue mix again. This may have muted some of the original color but it took the sheen away as hoped.

Anyway. Enough was enough. I had to cut it off somewhere and what you see is that result.

This is not the only paper maché work I have done. And I had always hoped to do more. Perhaps with the little one I will get back to the medium again sometime.