Today in the world of ceramics there are many different techniques and mediums. One that has been around for sometime, that is just now really making an impact is PAPERCLAY. It is based with clay and well, molds and does everything like clay but has paper in it. The paper in the clay also adds a non-warp aspect and has more dry building properties... not to mention is is super strong without being fired.
"As indicated previously by Caplan, Ellery, Gartside and Gault (see references), any clay can be made into a paperclay by mixing a smooth puree of water and paper fibre into the clay body while in slip form. While some artists prefer to use cotton-based paper, the local non-gloss newspaper is both satisfactory and inexpensive. I roll it up and push it through the branch port of an electric garden mulcher before covering the paper flakes with about ten times their loose volume in hot water. A free-standing slip mixer is used to puree it until all individual pieces of paper disappear. A flyscreen or plastic shade cloth is used as a sieve to remove most, but not all, of the water. As a guide, I remove just enough water so that the puree does not slide through my fingers. I mix a third of a bucket of puree with two thirds of a bucket of clay slip, by volume. I have not needed to use this technique for some time, however, because a local clay manufacturer has been producing and selling earthenware and stoneware paperclay at conventional clay prices for the past year."
Paperclay, like said before dries well and fast. Because of this you can build in many ways other then up or down. Your building, etc can have movement coming from every direction.
I was very intrigued by paperclay, very natural looking (organic i suppose), strong, mystifying, and seemingly dreamy. Very interesting... I would love to try something like it in the future. Paperclay seems like it could give an artist many options in building. It gives hand building a new name!
