Materials crunch

I'm almost done sculpting the twin canvases for Distant Sharing, but need to come up with more modeling goo. I have a batch brewing, but my current method takes a while before the paper is sufficiently pulped.

Normally I submerge shredded paper directly into latex paint and let it sit until it starts to break down into pulp, but that takes weeks and these paintings are all set for sculpting and I have casts ready for at least another two. The usual method of soaking paper in water then using a blender to pulp it is difficult because of the extra moisture, but it is far more quick.

I had a block of "Cellu-Clay", basically bone dry paper pulp. Yesterday, I broke it open into some paint and mixed it with sawdust - about 40/60 paper/sawdust in just enough latex paint to make it into a wonderfully soft yet full-bodied modeling material. But Cellu-Clay is *really* expensive, so now I'm determined to find a good way of quickly coming up with dry pulp at home.

I have a tub of shredded paper soaking in the greenhouse. I saw a papermaking site that mentioned pressing the pulp in an old t-shirt to drain it, then sun-dry it on screens. We'll see if that works.

I have a whole series of meditation paintings lining up in my head now, too, so the need for more is only getting worse. Sheeeeesh.