The almost lost techniques of paper application through paper mache and Where my knowhow and skill comes from

Hi there. Thanks for taking an interest.

Frank Dowie

My name is Christopher W. Dowie and I come from a long line of crafty people.  My Grandpa, Frank Dowie, was a natural entertainer.  He was in the Canadian Army through World War I and was one of the founding members of the famous theatrical troupe "The Dumbells" that was formed in the trenches by the troops during lulls in the fighting in order to keep themselves amused. They became quite popular and after the war the Dumbelles made a cross country tour of Canada and then recorded a phonograph record, however, Frank wanted no part of it after the war and went home to his sweetheart instead.  He was always a popular entertainer and would sing Cockney songs, like "Down at the old Bull and Bush".  He would play piano and sing 'round the pubs for five dollars a night (a lot of money in those days) as well he would do a turn on the Vaudeville stage and mount his own shows from time to time.

But back in those days being an entertainer wasn't considered a respectable job by most folks.  It was all right for a secondary thing to dabble at and make the odd bit of cash, but not as a main source of income for a family man.  So Frank also had a respectable trade as a paper hanger and he would go about the lower mainland of British Columbia putting up wall paper and painting trim, etc.  My Grandma, Violet, made him a new bucket of paste every day and he would use it all up come suppertime.  He had all sorts of tricks he would do with the wall paper paste to make things go along much smoother for himself and to save time.  Some of those tricks he shared with his son, my father, Fran Dowie.

"Frank & Fran" 1929

My dad was a full time entertainer.  He started in Vaudeville doing a double act with Frank when he was only 9 years old.  My dad's first "real" job was as a Junior Display Artist at a big department store.  At that time each store had it's own display department and the different stores would compete to see who could have the biggest and most elaborate displays.  My dad made great use of paper mache in those days building all kinds of objects from giant Cornucopias to oversize toys and more stuff than I care to explain here.  Suffice it to say that my dad was a master with paper mache and it served him well through his whole life. Building parade floats and displays for clients as well as props, sets and scenery for the multitude of shows he produced over the years. Paper mache for him was something that was taken for granted.  A natural solution to an otherwise baffling task.  

Fran Dowie

I was drafted into the shop when I was only six years old.  One of my first tasks was to paper mache forty big balloons to make giant eggs for an Easter display Dad was making for the lobby of the Vancouver Hotel. Dad never lost touch with his display work and would often get commissions from the big hotels around the country to make something special for there lobby. My first job was to make the giant eggs. So you see, I began to learned my paper mache skills at the knee of the master.

Me and Bill & Lillian Vanderzalm

I myself have done many interesting things with paper mache and I am hoping you will stick around a while and follow this blog so that I can share with you the almost lost techniques of paper application through paper mache.  In this blog I plan to share my Grandma's recipe for paste and show you how to paper mache in a way that is fast, clean and reliable.  Plus I will spill the beans on secrets to such things as the right technique to cover a balloon and how to repair furniture and make hard to finish areas look like you spent a week sanding.  Plus I will show the secrets involved in reproducing almost any object and make a paper duplicate.  I'm hoping that all this information I have on such an obscure subject will find it's way into the hands and minds of creative individuals who can use it.



Modus Opporandii:
Arm yourself with the best techniques and work on them to master them.  Try every technique you can, not every one will be right for you.  Keep what works and discard the rest and by doing that, you will build yourself a bag of tricks you can apply to the job at hand with confidence.  If you try something and fail at it, at least you found out what doesn't work. A person must know there limitations.
It's only a failure if you don't learn anything from it.
Practice makes perfect!

Yours sincerely,
Christopher W. Dowie

Dad and I on the set of my TV show "Puppet Parade"