October
October went by fast. I met with my project advisors, wrote this essay on grief, ghosts, and lamentations, decided to stop struggling with the time-intensive paper pulping process for now (even though I love it) and embrace more traditional paper mache methods, and made a lot of methylcellulose paste. I worked in the rain and in cloudy, bright days that have gotten cold and moody. One day, a couple of deer came to visit, and Nova decided they were HER deer. I sent out a mid-October update.
Hand one - sculpted directly onto base at the top of a post… difficult angle to work at!
Hand two - I cut half the base off a post, and brought it inside to work on. Much easier!
Roots under hand 1 - I used larger strips of paper, clear methylcellulose paste, and even some leaves.
Methylcellulose (paste) is slimy, clear, and unlike traditional paper mache paste made from wheat flour or starch, doesn’t mold or mildew in the rain.