People ask me how I add my "newsprint" backgrounds to my paper clay pieces. So here is the process...After I have painted my paper clay piece, I tear up book pages, newspaper pages or whatever I am working with...removing headlines, lines, empty space, and anything that is not consistently the same size type.

Using Elmers Glue (I use School Glue because it can be reconstituted if you want to remove it) and water (equal amounts) I paint on the glue and add the paper scraps bit by bit. I paint over and under them as I go.

I always fit around the images first and then fill in the rest. Sometimes a little cutting is necessary to fit tight corners...but mostly, the edges are all torn.

When finished, I sand the edges to make a nice clean edge and paint the sides of the canvas black.


My last step is to paint the whole thing with Matte Medium. Sometimes, I will go around all the edges of the paper clay image with a light black acrylic wash to help give it a more polished took. It helps to integrate the background with the paper clay image.