Recycling paper into papier-mâché lampshades

Maggie Cai and Grant Tyler Feb 3, 2020, 7:22 PM

• Maja Petek is an artist from Slovenia.
• She creates home-decor items like lampshades using recycled objects and natural materials.
• The base material for all these pieces is paper, which she recycles by turning it into a pulp and molding it into lampshades. 

Following is a transcript of the video. 

Narrator: Maja Petek is an artist from Slovenia.

She specializes in creating home decor using paper.

She uses a method called paper clay, which is a type of papier-mâché.

The difference from traditional papier-mâché is that paper pulp is molded instead of laid down in strips.

She uses it to make decorative bowls and lampshades.

First, she shreds paper she collects from local schools.

Then she soaks it in warm water overnight.

She mixes it into a pulp and drains the water.

Depending on the design, she adds decorations like sea glass or buttons.

Maja applies the pulp mixture to a gymnastic ball to create the round shape.

Once the pulp dries, it’s polished and sanded.

A water-resistant wood glue finishes the lampshade.

To make this functional, she adds a special wooden holder.

This is where all the electrical parts are attached.

For safety, they should be used with energy-saving light bulbs.

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